That night at News Cafe

It is Tuesday night. I am tired. Work is crazy. All I need now is to crawl into bed and go to sleep. Get ready for Wednesday - the most important day of the corporate lifestyle. After Wednesday no real work gets done. No one makes important decisions on a Thursday, and definitely not on a Friday. The last time any big decisions were made on a Friday it was whether Zebras should have stripes or not... Think about it. It is in the Bible.

But no, the faiths had different plans for me. I found out, as I do, about a comedy event happening in what could be called my backyard. I don’t actually own it, but it's less than 10 kilometres away from where I live, and when you live in a big city, that is your backyard. Yes, the comedy event was at News Cafe in Table View (or Blaauberg Strand, Dolpin Beach, whatever you feel like calling it). The MC for the night was none other than Mark Palmer. You can’t ask for a better MC than him. I have two favourites when it comes to MC’ing - Mark Palmer and Rob van Vuuren. Rob, as my more regular readers will know, I find hilarious. Almost so much, that he might out shine the other acts. Mark Palmer is my other favourite.

He is a professional through and through. He will get on stage and immediately point out the ‘targets’ as I like to call them. Targets are people who the rest of the comedians will interact with. They are usually the people closest to the stage or whoever is sitting at the back, shouting answers to questions they weren’t asked. The latter actually fall into their own little group, which I have no name for. They are like zits, they happen. Mark goes through his routine, while picking up names and interacting with the crowd. His job is to set the mood for the rest of the evening and he does it wonderfully. He had some new jokes which was refreshing. Alex, an audience member who basically sat on stage, was the main target of his ad lib jokes. Alex, is bald so of course he was picked on for that.

Left to Right: Me, Angel, Kurt, Mark and Werner

Just a side note, when a comic picks on you, it isn’t like when you were in high school and the jock, who played first team rugby, picked on you. They know, or at the very least assume, you are there for the comedy. Therefore you have a sense of humour and you should be able to take a joke. So when a comic picks on you, it's all in good fun and should never be taken seriously.

Mark called the opening act on stage. A female comic named Angel. As he said her name, and reassured the crowd that Angel was, in fact, her real name, I could already hear someone scream “STRIPPER” from the back. What a gentleman.

Angel Blythe has only been doing stand up for two months now. So, performing with names like Mark Palmer and Kurt Schoonraad should be a real honour for her, but at the same time, nerve racking. She started with her routine and while nervous, she had a certain amount of confidence in her voice. That being said, she talked way too fast and if she slowed down a bit, she would be easier to understand and would probably get more laughs. All comedians start somewhere though and she is definitely a go getter.

After Angel, Martin introduced the last act of the first half. A man who in 18 months of doing stand up, is already organising events (he organised this gig) and has a one man show coming up soon. Werner Weber has a ‘take no prisoners’ attitude. He tells things as they are. He isn’t scared to bring up topics others might find offensive or gross. You can see he enjoys being on stage and he has progressed more, in a year and a half of doing stand up, than some have done in five years. His show is at On Broadway, from 26 – 28 September, but I will give you more info about that later.

Interval came around and I really should have gone to the loo by now. I ordered another beer instead and 15 minutes later it was time for the main act - Kurt Schoonraad, all the way from Mitchells Plain, Cape Town.

Kurt has been doing stand up for 12 years now so he is no stranger to a crowd or the mic. You can see the difference experience makes. I had never seen Kurt up until now so I had no idea what to expect. Needless to say he impressed with his jokes about living in Mitchells Plain and being pulled over by traffic officers around the country. Time just flew by as he had the crowd hanging onto every word. Not even the loud hippy chick in the back could break his stride. It was pure art in motion. Who needs the loo?

Crazy faces, and me with my default pose

The night drew to a close and I finally remembered that I still needed the loo, and did something about it. I got my photo opportunity with the comics and had a quick chat with the organiser, Werner. These shows will be happening at News Cafe in Table View once a month and people are booking fast. At R50 a ticket, which includes a free Savannah, this is a great way to be exposed to all degrees of comedy. I have already booked my seats for next month. See you there.