Nando's Cape Town Comedy Festival at the Baxter

Good Hope FM and M-Net in association with Graca are proud to present the Nando’s Cape Town Comedy Festival starring the world’s hottest comedy acts at the Baxter Theatre in the heart of the Mother City.

Running from the 31^st of August until the 19^th September 2010, the 14^th annual Cape Town Comedy Festival has officially opened for sales with an announcement of a star-studded line-up of international and local stand up acts.

Following hot on the heels of the successful Nando’s Durbs and Jozi Comedy festivals, the Cape Town leg features the comedic genius of Bobby Lee, Mo Mandel, Trevor Noah and the hysterical trombonist Jonathan Arons. For the very first time the likes of international acts Ian Bagg, Dave Thornton, Ava Vidal and Orny Adams will grace the stage of the Nando’s Cape Town Comedy Festival.

“We at Nando’s love nothing better than having a laugh, whether it’s at our country’s colourful politicians, our errant sports stars, our foolish foreign visitors, or even ourselves. We can’t wait to see some of the best and funniest comedians on the international and local comedy circuit perform at the biggest Comedy Festival in Africa”, says Carla Davis, National Brand Manager of Nando’s.

The ethos of Graça the talking, eating, drinking, laughing, singing, sharing wine has been added to the mix making this year’s event even more exciting, engaging and entertaining, setting the stage for the biggest and best comedy event to hit our shores. The Cape Town Leg has been watched by over 150 000 audiences in its 13 years of existence placing it firmly in the top 5 comedy events in the world.

Jonathan Arons (USA) will perform his hilarious opening act for the first time ever at the Cape Town Festival. Grammy award winning New York City trombonist, dancer, and writer who’s backed up such R&B artists as Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys and Mariah Carey is most known for is being the “trombone dancer”, the guy who plays trombone a little and dances a lot on various television show which include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Steve Harvey's Big Time.

Ian Bagg is on a quest to take over the comedy world. What started as regular gigs at the Comic Strip and the Comedy Cellar in New York morphed into appearances on the Connan O’brien Show and film roles. Now he is constantly touring through the Improv chain, with repeat performances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson.  Ian Bagg will make a first ever appearance in South Africa as host of the Cape Town Comedy Festival.

His quick and self deprecating wit makes him an engaging comic with a truly Australian take on life, Dave Thornton’s award-winning success as a comic has quickly broadened into a range of performance credits on TV, radio and stage. Hosting an Australian live chat show ‘Studio A’ he will make his debut appearance at the Nando’s Cape Town Comedy Festival.

A hit at the recent UNHinged shows at the Nando’s Jozi Comedy Festival Mo Mandel first gained attention by winning Comedy Central’s Open Mic Fight in 2007, and has since made  stand-out performances on Live at Gotham, and starring in the cult hit show Reality Bites Back.  Most recently he was chosen to play a lead role in a new sitcom pilot for FOX by the creators of “Will and Grace,” opposite Emmy award winning actress Laurie Metcalf and Jere Burns.

Joining the international line-up from the 31^st of August until the 5^th of September is South African favourite, Trevor Noah. He is already firmly entrenched as one of SA’s favourite comedians with his trademark sharp wit, intelligent commentary, unmistakable charm and clinical delivery. His meteoric rise to fame has made him a household name as one of the best performers from South Africa. From winning the SA Comedy Awards’ Best Breakthrough Act in 2008 to performing around the world, Trevor will be the only local act in the line-up.

Taking over from Trevor Noah from the 7^th September to the 19^th September British comedienne Ava Vidal will certainly be an act to watch. The accomplished young stand-up and has risen quickly through comedy's ranks. The only female finalist in the BBC 3 New Comedy Awards in the very first year of her career, she already has a clutch of TV appearances to her name, including Comedy Central's The World Stands Up, Edinburgh and Beyond and C4 reality show “Kings of Comedy”.

A regular on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, and co-starred in the movie “Comedian” with Jerry Seinfeld. Orny Adams was named in The Hollywood Reporter as a “favourite comedian to watch on the New York comedy scene” he has written jokes for many top comedians such as Jay Leno and, Garry Shandling, as well as the Annual Emmys Broadcast. Orny’s comedy style is unique, yet universally appealing. Quick on his feet to deliver a clever, sophisticated, and fast paced routine that attacks topics from an angle that many people have never considered.

Bobby Lee’s success in comedy gained momentum after being spotted by legendary Pauly Shore and went on to land a cast role on MADtv.  Bobby quickly became an audience favourite on the long-running sketch show and became known for his unique brand of pain-inducing, physical humour. He created such memorable original characters as the comically confused film critic “Johnny Gan,” the world’s worst interpreter “Bae Sung;” and hapless warrior “the Blind kung Fu Master.” Bobby Lee was a festival favourite of the UNComedy show at the last Nando’s Durbs and Jozi Comedy Festivals.

Book at Computicket (www.computicket.com).

Tickets are priced between R120 – R150 with a 10% discount on block booking of 10 or more.

For more information and show updates visit: www.comedyfestival.co.za