I recently had the privilege of attending the 5th Annual Savanna Comic’s Choice Awards which were held at the Soweto Theatre. The event is a platform for young comedians to showcase their talent and hopefully make a name out of themselves. Although the event happens annually, I feel this was their best ones yet.

As I walked up the “yellow” carpet, I was greeted with a polite smile by one of the Savanna staff members who gave me a brief on the evening’s line-up.I was then pointed towards the bar where Savanna drinks were on tap for those of us waiting for the night’s festivities to begin.

“5 minutes left till the show begins” said one of the Dj’s as he was slowly turning the volume down. As we proceeded to the doors we were given a ballot sheet to cast our votes on who should be moving to the main awards ceremony which will be held in August.

The show began with our MC for the evening, comedian Kagiso Lediga, getting people laughing before he was followed by 19 newcomers who were performing for their very first time. Deep Fried Man later blessed the crowd with his brand of musical comedy.

As with most things in life, you’re either both with it or not and this was also evident at as the budding comedians performed throughout the evening.I felt that some will have to go back to the drawing-board and reevaluate their approach to comedy. The one thing I liked the most about the performances was that they were engaging and sometimes the comedians even teased the crowd, which just made the evening a bit more entertaining.

Some of the comedians managed to steal the crowds’ heart to the point where people were screaming for an encore. During the interval, people refilled their drinks and talked about who has been their highlight before making their way back for the second session.

As the second session resumed people rushed back into the theatre in the hope of getting the same seats that they had in the first session.

In conclusion, Savanna did a great job in organizing this event, I know that there are a few comedians who we will be seeing more of soon. Going to events like these is a good remedy for stress as you might end up laughing all the stress away.

To keep up with the nominees for the Event in August visit www.savannacider.com

Photography by @PrettiPiktures