SA's funniest win awards
2007-09-18 11:32
Cape Town - SA's most beloved entertainers, celebrities and theatre personalities turned out to honour the country's funniest people at the first South African Comedy Awards ceremony held in Cape Town on Monday night.
The SA Comedy Awards are the first national awards that recognise the talents of comedians, playwrights, journalists and others and acknowledge the cultural contribution made by our funniest men and women across the spectrum of performance, print and broadcast media.
The awardees for 2007 included comedians John Vlismas and Loyiso Gola, cartoonist Zapiro, magazine columnist Marianne Thamm, and actor Tshamano Sebe.
Pieter-Dirk Uys
Pieter-Dirk Uys received a standing ovation when he was awarded a life-time achievement award for the most outstanding contribution to South African comedy.
Stand-up comedian Vlismas was awarded best stand-up of the year, while Gola was named best breakthrough act for his one man show, Loyiso Gola for President.
Sebe received the award for best SA television performance for his role as Biza in Stokvel. Stokvel itself received the award for best SA TV comedy.
Comedic excellence in theatre was also acknowledged, with the award for best comedic play going to Shirley, Goodness and Mercy and the award for best one person show going to Mike van Graan's Bafana Republic starring Lindiwe Matshikiza.
Jonathan Shapiro
Humour in print also received a nod from the judging panel.
Jonathan Shapiro received the award for outstanding humorous cartoonist, and veteran journalist Marianne Thamm was named winner in the outstanding humorous columnist category.
International entertainers who made South Africans laugh during the year under review were also honoured and the movie Borat (Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan), took the award for outstanding international comedy.
The contribution made by advertising agencies to the lighter side of SA life was also acknowledged and saw Cape Town-based Jupiter Drawing Room walk off with the award for funniest TV advert for their Little Britain advert for Musica.
First time
Chief Executive of the SA Comedy Awards, Sam Hendrikse said it was the first time in South Africa's history that talented comedic performers and creative artists were acknowledged for their efforts.
"In a very real way, laughter unifies a country and we are delighted to honour those who make their contribution to nation-building through laughter," said Hendrikse.
He added that the awards would become a highlight of the South African cultural calendar.
The 2007 Awards acknowledge creative comedy work that debuted between September 2006 and July 2007.