International headliners include the legendary Brian Haner, Finess Mitchell, Tom Segura, Mitch Fatel, Christina Paszitsky, Ian Bagg alongside local heavyweight David Kau.

Best known as Guitar Guy from The Jeff Dunham Show, Brian Haner is that perfect combination of skilled guitar player and stand-up comedian. While many guitar comics simply play chords while they do their comedy act, Haner is a whole different kind of musician. Haner spent 25 years as a guitarist, recording and touring with musicians ranging from Avenged Sevenfold to Frank Zappa. For the last four years he has opened for The Jeff Dunham Tour on more than 500 shows, in just about every city in America, as well as South Africa, Australia, and a tour across Europe. He is now headlining clubs across the country in his own rock ‘n’ roll comedy show. With over 4.2 million views on his YouTube page, he has created a rabid fan base for his live shows.

Comedian, actor, author and ESSENCE magazine columnist Finesse Mitchell got his first big break when he was asked to be a featured player on the hit NBC sketch comedy Saturday Night Live, joining the cast in 2005. Since leaving the cast of SNL, Mitchell has been making audiences laugh out loud with his witty sense of humour, showmanship and smooth Southern charm. He's been seen on the big screen in films such as Who's Your Caddy?, The Comebacks, and Mad Money. Apart from being a regular on E!’s Chelsea Lately, Mitchell is a recurring guest on television on shows including The Today Show, TYRA, The Early Show, The Tom Joyner Morning Show and The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet as an expert on love and relationships.

Tom Segura is a comedian originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, though he was raised in too many places to list. His television credits include Conan, Comedy Central Presents (half-hour special), Showtimes’ Russell Peters Presents, and Live at Gotham! When he’s not on tour Segura continues to perform at the top comedy festivals in the world, including Montreal’s Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, The Melbourne International Comedy Festival, The Comedy Festival - Las Vegas, The South Beach Comedy Festival, and The Global Comedy Festival in Vancouver.

Is that a sparkle in his eye or is he just confused? With his innocence and friendly demeanour Mitch Fatel quickly engages the audience and then catches them off guard with his mixture of mischievous dialogue and off colour comments. The number one requested comedian on Satellite Radio, Fatel has appeared numerous times on both the Late Show with David Letterman and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In 2006 he took home honours as "Best Comedian" at the prestigious HBO Aspen Comedy Festival and in April of 2007 his half hour stand up special debuted on Comedy Central and was ranked number six all time by viewers. He recently appeared on Showtime’s Live From Amsterdam, and Fatel's One Hour Comedy Central Special, Mitch Fatel is Magical is now available on DVD.

Stand-up comedian, writer and LA native, Christina Pazsitzky is a series regular on Tru TV’s World’s Dumbest, a roundtable regular on E!’s Chelsea Lately and she'll be in Showtime’s new Live From Amsterdam series. Headlining comedy clubs around the country, Pazsitzky has also entertained troops in the Middle East, Africa and South Korea. Fearless, empowering, and observational, Pazsitzky has been called the modern day Rosanne Barr - with a dash of truck stop waitress. She has lent her voice and written on various animated television series, like Trolls and Dr Doolittle.

Back by popular demand after killing it as host of the Nando’s Cape Town Festival in 2010, Ian Bagg is no stranger to comedy stages around the world. Within three short years of starting doing stand-up, he had made three appearances on NBC’s The Conan O’Brien Show, rocked HBO’s Aspen Comedy Festival, and destroyed Just For Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival. He has made several appearances in independent movies and sitcoms; has worked as a correspondent for MySpace, hosted Ripe TV’s The Hollywood Burn and even had his own live talk show, The Ian Bagg Show. He’s added credits like NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, CBS’s Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn and CBS’s The Craig Ferguson Show.

One of the most sought-after comedians in South Africa, David Kau's name is synonymous with many firsts. He stormed onto the scene with a performance at the first Nando’s Comedy Festival in 1998 (then called the Smirnoff Comedy Festival), becoming the first black stand-up comedian on this coveted comedy stage. He wrote and performed The Rainbow Nation Tour, his first one-man show in 1998, and never looked back. He continued with politically-savvy comedy with his next play, Introducing The Peoples Comic – he left Cape Town for Johannesburg where he performed in Heavyweight Comedy Jams from 2000 and Comedy Black Out in 2002 until 2004.

Comedy Central is to present another favourite part of the festival: the very popular local stand-up competition 'Graça Comedy Showdown'. See contestants fight it out on-stage during the 'heats' with nothing more than their quick wit, a mic, and a burning desire to become the newest comedy hero of the festival. The winners of the annual-search-for-SA’s-new stand-up-star will get the chance to perform alongside the international comedy heavy weights for the duration of the festival.

Graça Comedy Showdown Dates in Durban:
Heats: 31 July at 20:30
Final: 7 August at 20:30
Venue: Havana Grill, Suncoast
Email: [email protected]

Bookings can be done via Computicket.

More information on the Nando's Durban Comedy Festival can be found on Facebook. Alternatively, follow @durbancomedy on Twitter or email [email protected]
Tickets: R50

For the full line-up, visit www.comedyfestival.co.za.