Theatre
Trevor Noah: Have your saffa laugh
Trevor Noah is a new breed of South African comedian, sophisticated and funny, poignant with a constant finger on the pulse of current affairs. His happy-go-lucky, nonchalant words just flow and continue to entertain audiences across the globe. Noah, 28, is one of South Africa’s biggest names in its newly formed stand-up scene, and he sure is one comic to break all race barriers and stereotypes. Born to a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss-German father during the Apartheid regime, Noah jokes he was born “a crime”, hence the so-called proactive theme of his upcoming tour, The Racist.
In 2011, the legendary Eddie Izzard took Noah under his wing after spotting him performing at London’s Comedy Store. Izzard went onto producing Noah’s subsequent comedy stints at the Edinburgh Festival and London’s Soho Theatre last year, which saw all box office records broken. Quickly becoming a worldwide phenomenon, Noah is the first home-grown South African comic to debut on Jay Leno’s The Tonight Show, where his humour infiltrated viewers and rippled into a wave of global buzz.
Noah’s material is all devised by just “living life”. He believes that growing up with a mixed race heritage defines all of his content where he draws on his particular life experiences, from race and ethnicity, to the widespread divide and echoes of growing up in what was South Africa’s culturally oppressed township. His accents and impersonations are a fundamental part of his repertoire and are always hilariously spot-on.
Get a taste of Noah’s magic this evening as Eddie Izzard introduces him on Live at The Apollo. If not, check him out below:
Fresh from a sell-out season, Trevor Noah presents his critically acclaimed show, The Racist, on a groundbreaking tour of the UK, which begins at Warwick Arts Centre on 26 November. Get your tickets here.
