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HE has been described by some as South Africa's top comedian and spent most of last year giving sex education lessons to the nation.

Now Cape Town's David Newton is back with a different hairstyle and a whole new set of issues in his latest show, titled Politically Incorrect, at the Obz Café Theatre.

The show is based around the concept that far too often, and in this country in particular, we try so hard to be politically correct that we end up insulting the people we think we are protecting. From start to finish the audience is taken on a hilarious trip around David's brain, a far more complicated place than one might think.

From asking a one armed man how he claps hands to comparing "sizes" between the races after gym-class, David dares to say out loud what many of us think anyway, only with his own hilarious twists.

In doing so he sends the message that the best way to deal with our differences is to learn to laugh at ourselves. He even dares to go as far as trying to figure out what the heck Kurt Darren is singing about.

His show relates relentlessly. With one scan of the audience, heads are seen nodding and cheeks blushing as one thinks to oneself, "Yup, that's happened to me." So where did the path of this funnyman begin? Apparently with his first school production, as the spider in Little Miss Muffit.

Chatting to People's Post, David says that, although he had always been in school plays, it was only at about age 16 that he learned the power in making people laugh.

"I was a skinny, awkward kid but I always had a great memory for jokes and I started to realise the power in words. People were more accepting of you when you were the funny kid," says David.

Years later, while working for a magazine, David found that this ability to remember jokes and entertain a crowd opened up a whole new world.

"The magazine I worked for was invited to a press launch," he explains. "In the bus on the way to the launch I got up and started telling jokes.

"For the launch they had hired a couple of comedians and by the end of the night, all my colleagues came to me and told me that I could have a done a better job."

It was around then that David decided to join the Cape Comedy Collective alongside a number of other well known local comedians.

"I already had 10 years in public speaking so half the battle, which is feeling comfortable on stage, was already over."

With his natural ability to stand up on stage and tell a story rather than just spout a couple of cheesy jokes, David soon gained the respect of South African audiences.

"One of the first comedians I looked up to was Billy Connolly," he says. "He tells great stories about situations that we can all relate to. I would say he was my first influence."

"It's easy to stand up on stage and use vulgarity to gain cheap laughs, but reaching your audiences through wit and getting them to relate to you by telling them a story takes a lot more effort and is more gratifying."

Apart from performing stand-up at venues around the Cape, David has made a number of film and television appearances including hosting the SABC 3 reality show, Couch Trip. He was one of six SA comics to feature at the Cape Town International Comedy Festival in September last year and, more recently, his one-man hit show Defending the Laid Man was nominated for two prestigious Fleur Du Cap awards.

With his latest show already gaining popularity, it seems that David is headed for greater things.

After its run at Obz Café, David says he wants to take his show national and then, if all goes well, it's off to the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal before he tries his hand at becoming an actor in Los Angeles.

If you haven't seen David Newton perform yet, make sure you don?t miss this opportunity. And one day when you see him on the big screen you can say, "I knew him way back when..."

. Politically Incorrect is on at Obz Café Theatre in Observatory until 14 April, Wednesday to Saturday at 20:30. Halaal-friendly three-course dinner is served at 19:00. Book by phoning (021) 448-0649 or 082 041 4465.

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