There is a particularly strong line up of comedy this year at KZN’s premier arts festival: the 26th annual Hilton Arts Festival which will once again be hosted on the campus of Hilton College from 14 – 16 September 2018.Some of the country’s most respected comedians will be on festival stages in an array of scripted, sketch-based, improv and stand up shows over the weekend.
SA comedy icon, John Vlismas, hosts Crazy Funny, a laugh-a-minute ensemble stand-up comedy show. He shares the stage with Rob van Vuuren (Cape Town), comedian, writer and actor making his debut at Hilton Arts Fest. They are joined by top local comic - Kelvin Stoffels - for a well-rounded 80 minutes of comedy entertainment.(Sat 15 @ 14h45).
James Cairns Against Humanity is Improvisation Theatre “a form of live theatre in which the plot, characters and dialogue of a game, scene or story are made up” as you go along. Every show is different, funny and sometimes quite outrageous. No-one knows where the story will go. (Fri 14 @ 18h30 and Sat 15 @ 20h00)
Outspoken reader, pepper-sprayer of the stupid and award-winning comic, John Vlismas takes us on a hilarious journey back to the recorded start of our nation's turbulent history in his new, clean one-man show: The Good Racist. As the curtain rises, he traces an intelligent, brilliantly funny and brutally honest line from the cradle of mankind to the present stupidity of Sparrows. (Fri 14 @20h30; SAT 15 @17h30)
Get ready for a side-splitting comedy feast just like the popular US TV show! "Whose Line?" is the hilarious improv comedy show where four top comedians make everything up on stage! The show features John Vlismas, Rob van Vuuren, Jem Atkins and Masood Boomgaard. (Sun 16 @ 12h00)
Join Aaron McIlroy as he embarks on a wild journey into the fantastical world of learning disorders. This hilarious take on the ‘problems’ of ADHD and other ‘disturbing behavioural patterns’ is charmingly portrayed by this master of character comedy. He has lived with this ‘gift’ for the last half-century. ADHD is a comedic steamroller without GPS. (Fri14 @ 8h30; SAT 15 @ 20h30)
Reloaded, Rebooted and Re-invented. It’s over and out after this!!! Ash and Brad Searle are back, directed by Vanessa Harris with their multi-award winning SA Comedy sensation and appear in two shows: Big Boys the Third and Caliente. Big Boys: Sun 16 @10h00; Caliente: Fri 14 @ 20h30; at 15 @ 18h15
The festival will take place on the beautiful grounds of the Hilton College from Hilton College: 14 – 16 September 2018. The festival would not be possible without the generous support of Hilton College, Tiso Black Star, Grindrod Bank, Black Coffee Design, DWR Distribution, Extreme Events, Bidvest Car Rental, KZN Dept of Arts & Culture, Redlands Hotel, Assitej South Africa, Loud Crowd, Sappi, BASA, Corona and Capital Media.
For more info visit http://www.hiltonfestival.co.za/ or like the Facebook page, Hilton Arts Festival. Follow us on Twitter @HiltonFest. All enquiries on 033 383 0126 / 7 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The full programme is on www.hiltonfestival.co.za . Online bookings are open and programmes are available from various outlets in Pmb and Durban.
Pictured here are the Searle brothers, photo by Harry Lock.