Nqoba Ngcobo Wins Comedy Showdown Final

The Comedy Showdown gave wannabe comedians the chance to step up to the mic in front of a panel of established local and international comedians and Festival representatives to test their skills in a series of heats throughout August.

The crowd at Parker's was not disappointed by the quality of the newcomers who took to the stage, signalling a bright future for South African stand-up comedy. Joe Parker, who MC'd the evening, sees great potential in this group of young comics. “Everyone who steps onto that stage and puts themselves out there deserves respect,” he says. “Making people laugh is one of the hardest things you'll ever try to do and all 8 of our finalists tonight are great talents with the ability to do just that.”

Inspired by the quality of young comics who took to the stage during the Comedy Showdown heats, Parker has decided to establish a regular open mic night at the club on Wednesdays from 2 September. “We'd like to invite anyone and everyone to try their hand at stand-up at Africa's only dedicated comedy club,” he says. “The first half of the show will be dedicated to open mic slots and the second half will feature one of our regular international acts and the talented and well-established team from Starship Improvise”.

Nqoba will now will share the stage with international heavyweights like Canadian “Hitman of Hilarity” Angelo Tsarouchas, Saturday Night Live's Dean Edwards, Egypt's Ahmed Ahmed and rising SA star Trevor Noah on the closing night of the UN Comedy Show on 23 August.

Don't miss out on more top-quality comedy at Parker's, 5 nights a week! Lineup information and bookings are available at www.parkerscomedy.com or by calling 0861 GIGGLE.