Cape Town - Kagiso ‘KG’ Mokgadi, Dalin Oliver and Yaaseen Barnes are no strangers to the comedy scene.
The trio of comedians recently took their talents to Makhanda for the National Arts Festival, and each walked away with a Standard Bank Ovation Award for their comedy shows.
The awards were given because the productions stood out from the rest, and were rated favourably by the judges and public.
Mogkadi was awarded a Silver Standard Bank Ovation Award for his show NSFW: Not Safe For Woke, which was accompanied by a cash prize of R7000.
Mokgadi said he had to hold back the tears when he found out that he had won the award.
“I found out just before going on stage. To finally pick up the silver award was the cherry on top,” he said.
He added: “We don't perform for awards, we don't even think about them, but we welcome them when they show up.”
The Day Zero comedian said the significance of this award was twofold.
“It affirms that stand-up is a real art and it can hang out in serious artistic spaces. It’s an art that can be taken seriously.
“Secondly, it solidifies what I’ve said for a long time. I did not stop being a stand-up comedian because of the pandemic, I wrote a show despite it and won an award for it,” he said.
Oliver who was awarded a Blue Standard Bank Ovation Award for his show Stay at home Comedian, said at first he thought it was fake news.
“I messaged the festival manager to ask if it’s fake news and she confirmed that it’s not. We laughed about it but it was the perfect way to wrap up the final day of the arts festival,” he said.
The Face for Radio comedian said that the award meant “the world” to him
“I’m not in this for awards but it’s always humbling when your work is recognised,” he said.
Oliver added: “The magic is the growth on and off stage, and being able to pursue my passion. Anything else is a bonus.”
Barnes who was also awarded a Blue Standard Bank Ovation Award for his show Can’t-Centrate, said he couldn’t believe that he’d won the award.
“The standard of the festival was so high. I cried the entire day that I won the award,” he said.
“It’s overwhelming to know that the show I created was being recognised.”
The Cape comedian said it felt like all the work he’d done to cope with the Coviod-19 pandemic had culminated in this glorious moment.
“Everything came together for this award. This award is nationally recognised for all forms of art so it means a lot. It makes me feel like I did something worthy,” he added.