Laughter in honour of Madiba

An impressive line-up of comedians included Chris Forrest, Kagiso Lediga, Sifiso Nene, The Napsta, Jay Boogie and Loyiso Madinga who entertained and picked on guests, on a night of which gate takings will go towards helping make the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital a reality.

From a spectacular rendition of the national anthem by the audience which exposed some South Africans’ embarrassing lack of knowledge of its lyrics, to the comedians tearing apart hecklers and unfortunate guests seated in the front row, the laugh-a-thon was a departure from Mandela Day’s theme of helping others selflessly, but achieved the same objective.

“For the past few years, South Africans have been accustomed to the annual ritual of dedicating 67 minutes of their personal time on Mandela Day, to giving back and reaching out to the less privileged,” said theatre owner Daphne Kuhn.

“Although we have a wide variety of activities on Mandela Day, we have not yet heard of one that involves the cracking of jokes,” she added.

Napoleon Masinga, co-founder of what will become an annual 67 Minutes Of Laughter said, “Don’t get us wrong, there is nothing funny about a starving or needy child, but we can definitely use comedy to make a difference in children’s lives through initiatives like these.”