A South African comedian would question the need to compare his brand of humour with international standards. For many professional comedians, it’s a no brainer because humour is universal but the manner in which it is presented differs only in terms of accent, topic, and type. Obviously, a South African comedian would have a noticeably musical accent when speaking unlike the hard British accent which is also very dry. As for type of humour, everyone uses slapstick, stand-up, intellectual, and physical comedic styles. It’s not something that you find only in one country so it’s hard to have a face-off based on these. Nevertheless, we shall attempt to compare the two.

The international comedy films will never tackle subject matters like racism and AIDS as a humorous topic. They tread lightly and slowly on crime, segregation, and drugs because for them, they aren’t funny topics. Not so with South African humour. They will freely and easily jump on racial stereotyping as the basis for a joke. The underlying factor that here separates the two sides is that South Africans have lived with racism all their lives, and humour is one way to bring it into the public sphere for further discussion. Indeed, perhaps humour has helped to cross the cultural divides that characterise South African society. In post-Apartheid South Africa, it isn’t unusual to find people from different cultures mingling together as friends.

Due to Apartheid era government censorship, freedom of speech and social commentary was severely constricted, resulting in the restriction of comedy topics. During this time, comedy in other parts of the world was being celebrated and enjoyed at live shows, films, and even in the printed media. According to Trevor Noah, commercial comedy in South Africa only began 12 years ago. This was the time when stand-up shows and early night shows began to pick up in viewership. One of the pioneers in comedy in South Africa is Loyiso Gola. He is a comedian of pure joy because of his candour and wit. He is one of the faces of South African comedy. In the international scene, Loyiso Gola could be likened to someone who isn’t afraid “to tell it like it is”.

Kurt Schoonraad is another comedian from South Africa. He is a peer of Gola having started out around the same time. He does live comedy shows, TV and hosting. His brand of comedy is also fearless and honest.

These two comedians can be considered as meeting the international standards of comedy. They are innovative, energetic, and young. Just like in other parts of the world, comedians are also unable to exist on their skills alone. Many bide their time waiting for the spotlight to shine on them by doing odd jobs. A bulk of the income from comedy in South Africa comes from corporate contracts for live shows.

Also, unlike the US, Canada, and Europe, it’s easier to break into the scene in South Africa because of the support from the government. TV stations have been mandated to put out a minimum number of local shows per year. This makes it easier for them to work on their craft while earning a living at the same time.