The show is set to be staged at the University of Johannesburg, Soweto campus on Saturday, 28 November and at the State Theatre in Pretoria on Saturday, 12 December.

The idea behind the show is to crown the vernacular comedians on the line-up as kings within their tribes comically. Sketches of comedians will be used for this show to portray the comedians as Kings leading tribesman. Tol A$$ Mo will headline the show, but this time he will be dishing his gags purely in his mother tongue; Xhosa. The line-up will also include Roni Modimola and Salesman representing Sepedi; Kedibone Mulaudzi representing TshiVenda; Trevor Gumbi (who will only grace the State Theatre stage show), Simphiwe Shembe and Jay Boogie representing Zulu; Elton Mduduzi representing Ndebele; Themba Nhlapo representing Swati; Franco Rihlampfu representing XiTsonga; Chris Mapane representing SeSotho; and Brra Thabiso representing Tshwana.

The show is confirmation that vernacular comedy has grown and is finally mainstream entertainment. The genre is ready to compete with all other comedy formats within Mzansi and abroad. In the past, similar shows with the same pattern have been hosted but they have excluded TshiVenda, XiTsonga and Siswati comedians because of the scarcity of leading comedians in that language.

Premium Comedy’s creative director, Kedibone Mulaudzi, says that comedy in South Africa has grown extremely and this show was done to make people feel proud about the country’s achievements and history.

“Our comedians now feel comfortable to entertain crowds in their home languages because of the attendance. The business has grown, and comedians can now make an honest living with gags in their own language. The amazing thing about this show is that it’s being done and produced by comedians that played a major role is developing doing comedy in one’s mother-tongue” says Mulaudzi.

Premium Comedy has also partnered with Gauteng Tourism to enable comedy lovers from other cities in the country to experience Soweto and Pretoria through set activities, meals and accommodation. Gauteng Tourism will be promoting the show in an effort to boost tourism in the city and encourage other people from different cities to visit Gauteng. Simphiwe Shembe will be playing a crucial role in getting fans from Durban to attend the show in Gauteng with the assistance of Gauteng Tourism.

As a build up to the show, Mulaudzi says that they will be offering free comedy workshops for art students with UJ as part of their youth empowerment plan in partnership with UJ Students Council. Some of the students on the line-up will be given an opportunity to open up for the line up on the day of the show.

You can email Malaudzi for tickets (which cost R150) at [email protected].

For more information, visit premiumcomedysa.com. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook, on Twitter or on Instagram using the #KingsOfVernac hashtag.