Comedy around the globe

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on October 28th, 2008

On the South African entertainment website Tonight, Helen Herimbi writes about the South African comedy scene, ending in a short interview with comic David Newton, on his one-man show, “Politically Incorrect”:

…I explore themes that provoke our political correctness. For me, it all started when a disabled guy was in my audience for one of my other comedy shows. The experience that we had with him made me realise that political correctness to an extreme is often patronising.

In my experience, the black comics I’ve worked with have greater freedom to explore so-called politically incorrect subjects. After 14 years of democracy there is still this underlying current of “white guilt”, in which case a white comic like me comes across as more politically incorrect when I explore the same subjects. Make no mistake, political correctness is alive and well, even more so today than it was a few years ago.

Sounds like America in the mid-nineties. We must be vigilant that it does not make a comeback here.

From the Jordanian website 7iber.com comes a call for performers for the Amman Stand-Up Comedy Festival. The fest will be held in the capital city December 2 through 5 and the Closing Night Headliner Show will feature Russell Peters, Ahmed Ahmed, Aron Kader and fest organizer Dean Obeidallah.

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