Comedy festival to launch in Durban

Just For Laughs is to launch a comedy festival in Africa.

The Canadian company is to stage a major event in Durban, South Africa, next July as the first part of a drive to showcase and develop comedy talent across the continent.

Gala shows will be filmed at the festival with the aim of securing broadcasts across Africa.

Announcing the news at the flagship Montreal comedy festival today, Just For Laughs chief executive Bruce Hills said: ‘We have taken great pride in having had great South African comics here at Montreal – the Olympics for comedy – over the years.

‘We want to make sure we do a bang-up job in Durban, but we also want to make a deeper connection to be part of the comedy scene across the continent, and to get African comedians to appear on TV around the world.’

And festival founder Gilbert Rozon added: ‘We have already established successful Just For Laughs festivals beyond Montreal including Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney and couldn’t be more excited by this new venture in South Africa.

‘We are bringing something to the table for sure, but we are also there to learn.’

The Montreal festival, which is now in its 35th year, is already televised on M-NET and Comedy Central Africa, while African comedians who have been invited to Just For Laughs in Montreal in the past have included John Vlismas, David Kau, Pieter-Dirk Uys, Basketmouth and Trevor Noah.

Just For Laughs Africa is a joint venture between the global comedy brand and a South African-based conglomerate, with the event in Durban – ‘Africa's playground’ – backed by the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government.

‘The opportunity to bring the experience of the Just For Laughs team to developing African comedy was one we just couldn’t turn down,’ said Just For Laughs Africa Director Moyikwa Sisulu, a TV and entertainment producer in South Africa

‘Their experience in developing local comics, showcasing global superstars and generating amazing content for distribution across multiple channels is second-to-none and we can’t wait to grow the continental comedy scene with them.’

A number of smaller Just For Laughs events have also been mooted in the run-up to the Durban festival to spread the word.

Published: 26 Jul 2017