[Submitted via press release]
CONRAD KOCH TO HOST COMEDY CENTRAL LIVE ... AT PARKER’S SIMMI AREFF, DAVE LEVINSOHN & SIYA B JOIN IN THE FUN
Pic by Hastings Moeng
It’s time to polish up your laughing gear and take a huge dose of comedy medicine as the second edition of Comedy Central Presents … Live At Parker’s hits Jo’burg.
Hilarious stand-up comedian and ventriloquist Conrad Koch steps up to the plate on Wednesday 25 April to headline the new live comedy showcase and TV series that salutes African stand-up comedy and comedians.
For its second outing, Comedy Central Presents … Live At Parker’s is really picking up the pace, complementing Koch with SA funnymen Simmi Areff, Dave Levinsohn and Siya B.
Koch - one of South Africa’s most in-demand comedy talents and winner of the Entertainer of the Year award - combines hilarious comedy with world-class puppetry and ventriloquism and - err - anthropology.
A frequent guest at some of South Africa’s biggest comedy events, Koch’s most famous character is Mr Chester Missing (his 51% BEE partner) - who has also become a regular on hit TV show, “Late Night News with Loyiso Gola”.
Keeping his audiences in stitches by talking to himself through a variety of extremely eccentric characters including Ronnie (a precocious monster) and Hilary (an ostrich with bad attitude), Koch shows that self-ridicule and cultural commentary has never been so funny!
Simmi Areff comes from the small town of Durban…but doesn’t want you to hold it against him. Asked how he would describe his comedy, Simmi says: “It is Blazing” - a phrase you’ll be hearing a lot of. When not taking long walks on North beach, Simmi likes nothing better than making people laugh.
He recently has been doing just that by headlining at clubs and comedy festivals across the country. He has also hosted South Africa’s “Newbies” at the Globe theatre and headlined “Strictly Makrooh” - a Muslim comedy show. Oh, by the way, a reputable newspaper with the word “Sunday” in it claimed Simmi has the funniest Twitter account in the country. Even Trevor Noah agrees. Check it out at @simmiareff.
Known as one of the Kings of Improv Comedy,
Dave Levinsohn is one of the most original acts on the circuit, with a quirky, “slightly-weird-guy-next-door” approach to every subject under the sun. Odd - without being offensive - Dave has regularly performed at comedy festivals around the country while TV viewers are already familiar with his left-field, irrepressible humour as the zany co-presenter in the first series of the SABC 3 TV series, “Going Nowhere Slowly”.
Dave’s anarchic re-examination of everyday topics has won him fans at every appearance, as does his ability to improvise when interacting with the crowd. His on-the-spot skills often make it look as if he’s making it up as he goes along …
Siyabonga Brian Radebe a.k.a “Siya B” is most widely recognised for his successes on the small and the large screen, but the first love of this multi-talented entertainer has always been comedy.
Previously, Siya B made his mark in the world of television and film in TV shows such as SABC 1ʼs “A Place Called Home”, “Home Affairs”, “Rhythm City” as well as Hollywood blockbuster “District 9”, but this success is now starting to spill over into his comedy career, winning fans for his unique, character-driven comedy.
Comedy Central Presents Conrad Koch Live At Parker’s is due to raise the roof at Parker’s Comedy & Jive, Montecasino, Fourways, Johannesburg on Wednesday 25 April 2012 at 20:00 CAT.
Tickets, priced at R150, are available from
info@parkerscomedy.com, or 011 511 0081/2, or from Computicket outlets from w/c 16 April, or can be bought on the door at Parker’s on 25 April.
Comedy Central Presents Conrad Koch Live at Parker’s will air exclusively on Comedy Central (DStv Premium, Channel 122) at
20:55 CAT on Friday 15 June 2012.