| What: Jive Cape Town Funny Festival When: June 2-29, 2025 Lineup: See https://funnyfestival.co.za/ Where: Baxter Theatre, Cape Town Bookings: Webtickets |
As they say, laughter is the best medicine. Get to the Jive Cape Town Funny Festival which is on until June 29, 2025 at the Baxter Theatre. I loved the festival – a tonic. The festival opened on June 2. We attended last night, June 17. For the second part of the festival, there are some changes to the lineup. Alan Committie was in fine form, kitted out in his ath-leisure tracksuit and gold sneakers. Committie took over from Dalin Oliver who hosted for the first two weeks. The lineup is excellent – a delish mix of comedy and speciality acts.
This is the 26th Funny Festival. A big round of applause to producer Eddy Cassar for this awesome festival which is a vital platform for comedy – established and emerging. We were wowed last night by the sassy Mbali Gudazi. She was the winner of the Funny Championships. Interesting to note her story as written up in the programme. As an employer of Transnet she became their MC at events, so she has been honing her comedy in the corporate world. She entered the Funny Championships at Canal Walk and here she is, on for the full festival. Fabulous.
Talking of fabulous, it is wonderful to see the extraordinary Tumi Morake in Cape Town. It’s been a while and it is great to catch up on her news of navigating life in the USA, through her observational comedy. Her drama training (WITS) is evidenced in her use of her body – those sounds she makes with the mic. You have to be there.
Delicious towel act by brothers Brad and Ash Searle – aka The Big Boys from the Kalk Bay Theatre. This is a balletic athletic edition of this much loved act. I have seen them perform the towel act on numerous occasions and each time, they tweak the act so it is the same but different, with precise choreography in keeping the towel in place.
Compagnia Baccalà blew us away. This physical theatre and clown duo from Italy is made up of the husband and wife, Simone Fassari and Camilla Pessi. They ran away from the circus and created their own show, Ps Ps – utterly charming – with clowning, juggling, trapeze swing. There is serious audience participation with their act – for the physically strong. Watching the trapeze swing (also called trapeze bar), brought back memories of Flying Trapeze, performed by Boswell Wilkie Circus in the big tent, with the smell of sawdust and popcorn. Their agility and physicality is lyrical, making for compelling non-verbal theatre. Compagnia Baccalà has won 15 international awards and performed in over 53 countries, on five continents. And now in Cape Town. The season at the Funny Festival started last night and runs until the end of the festival – June 29.
Magician Charlie Caper hails from Sweden – a delight to watch his ol’ school tricks – beautifully executed. This is artistry of sleight of hand, creating illusion which made the audience gasp. He has performed in over 60 countries and although he has visited South Africa, it is his first time performing. Chatting to him at interval, he enthused that many of his colleagues have performed at the festival and love Cape Town.
Brothers Emo and Loukmaan Adams are the headline act for the full festival. With their finessed mix of comedy, song, music and dance, they are in a category of their own – incomparable. Pure entertainment. They are emblematic of a warm Cape Town and yes, they include, a rousing rendition of Welcome to Cape Town, the song written over twenty years ago by David Kramer and the late Taliep Petersen (2003 to be exact). That song. Ahh. Emo and Loukmaan – ahh.
This 2025 Funny Festival lineup is very much a family show – brothers Ash and Brad Searle (they have done the full festival); brothers Loukmaan and Emo (full festival) and husband and wife, Simone Fassari and Camilla Pessi of Compagnia Baccalà (June 17-29). The festival has always been family oriented, sans extreme language. The 2025 edition is very much a happy and safe space to laugh. The production specs are excellent – lighting, sound. A big shout out to lighting design by Luke Ellenbogen. I was fascinated how each set is lit – theatrically – for example – the use of shadows in the Compagnia Baccalà set. Highly recommended. Do not miss.
✳Featured image – Tumi Morake (SA) performing at Jive Cape Town Funny Festival from June 17-29, 2025. Pic: Robyn Cohen/TheCapeRobyn.
