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September is turning into a great month for comedians Tsitsi Chiumya and Phil De Lange. Not only did Tsitsi win Best Newcomer and Phil the Next Level prize at this weekend\u2019s Comic Choice Awards, both comedians are featured in Trevor Noah presents NationWild, a 13-part comedy showcase coming to Showmax this Heritage Day, 24 September 2018.<\/p>\n
Trevor handpicked all 13 comedians featured. Each episode features a short introductory set by Trevor as the host, an interview with the featured comedian about their ladder to success, followed by that comedian\u2019s set. \u201cIn each episode, we\u2019re going to meet some of the brightest emerging comedians in Mzansi,\u201d says Trevor.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Comic Choice Awards back up that claim: to win Best Newcomer, Tsitsi beat out three other comedians featured on Trevor Noah presents Nationwild: Bongani Dube, Gilli Apter and Lindy Johnson, while one of Phil\u2019s primary challenges for the Next Level award came from Eric Jansen, who is also featured on the show.<\/p>\n
This is the second major award this year for Tsitsi: he also won a South African Film and Television Award (SAFTA) for Scriptwriting – TV Comedy as part of the Puppet Nation team.<\/p>\n
The comedian hails from Lebowakgomo, a small township in Limpopo. He only \u201cofficially\u201d learned English in 2006 when he came to Johannesburg. \u201cI went to the only English school in Lebowakgomo; we spoke really bad English there,\u201d says Tsitsi. \u201cI thought I knew what English was before I came to Johannesburg, which was really embarrassing, because I had so much confidence. I\u2019m a pretty awkward guy so it was really weird for me to start learning English, especially when you come to the big city and you always thought that you would fit in, and then you can\u2019t speak the language that people are using to communicate… \u00a0From not being able to speak English, to the point that I\u2019m performing with one of the biggest comics in the world, in English, it confirms to me that I\u2019ve conquered this language.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phil was born and bred in Bloemfontein but now lives in Cape Town, where he co-hosts The Smile 90.4FM Comedy Hour between 9 and 10 pm on Saturday evenings with Angel Campey. His dry, self-deprecating comedy set blends stand-up and ukulele.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy first comedy set I ever did was at the Armchair Theatre in Cape Town,\u201d remembers Phil. \u201cI was the first person I think \u00a0in Cape Town to ever perform comedy with a ukulele. People laughed at me, not at my jokes, because my mic kept falling out of the mic stand and I broke my ukulele on stage. I was quite terrible to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting handpicked by Trevor Noah and winning the Next Level award is proof of how much that\u2019s changed. \u201cI don\u2019t actually like attention at all,\u201d says Phil, but he may need to get used to it quickly.<\/p>\n
Considering that Trevor\u2019s already given fellow African comedians like David Kibuuka and Loyiso Madinga regular work on The Daily Show, anything\u2019s possible for Phil, Tsitsi and the other stars of Trevor Noah presents NationWild, who include Gavin Kelly, Keenan Cerff, Kraai Du Toit, Mbu Msongwela, 2017 Best Intermediate Comics Choice Award nominees Noko Moswete and Tshireletso \u2018Mo\u2019 Mothebe, and 2016 Comics Choice Breakthrough Comic Award winner Virgil Prins (aka Prins).<\/p>\n
Trevor is in line for awards himself this month: on 17 September 2018, he could become the first black host to ever win an Emmy for Best Variety Talk Series for The Daily Show.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrevor Noah\u2019s global success proves that \u00a0SA\u2019s comics are among the best in the world,\u201d says Candice Fangueiro, head of content at Showmax. \u201cWe\u2019ve worked hard to make Showmax the home of South African comedy, so we\u2019re delighted to add\u00a0Trevor Noah presents NationWild\u00a0to our lineup of hilarious shows, which includes\u00a0The Roast of Somizi\u00a0and comedy specials with the likes of 2018 Comics Choice Comedy G award winner David Kau and nominees like Marc Lottering and Mpho Popps.\u201d<\/p>\n
Binge all 13 episodes of Trevor Noah presents NationWild only on Showmax from Heritage Day, 24 September 2018.<\/p>\n