-- --
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Pinterest
SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE:
Written by Hannah Rafkin and Meg Robbins.
-- --
U.S.-based Hannah Rafkin and Meg Robbins directed and produced In Stitches, a documentary on vernacular stand-up comedy in South Africa. The film follows Noko Moswete, Luphelo Kodwa, and Zicco Sithole, up-and-coming comics who are bringing the healing power of laughter to those who need it most in post-apartheid South Africa. It was chosen as an official selection at this year's Encounters South African International Documentary Festival, Jozi Film Festival and Muizenberg Festival.
When we arrived in Johannesburg to begin filming In Stitches, we soon realised just how much variety exists within the genre. You can attend upwards of three shows any given night in Gauteng alone, each with a unique vibe. There are the hip spots in Braamfontein and Maboneng, full of exuberant young people, where comics gather in the back to watch their friends' sets and debrief after the show. There are larger, swankier clubs set within casinos, where people come to celebrate special occasions or enjoy date nights. (Here, audiences are mostly white and racially-charged jokes get the biggest laughs.) There are sold-out shows in big arenas, advertised on billboards along the highway. And, as we were to learn when we arrived, there are vernacular comedy shows, where you can hear performances in four or five languages on any given night. At these shows, the laughter is different-deeper, more real, more urgent.
In the aftermath of apartheid, stand-up comedy boomed in South Africa. The old clich held up: laughter truly was the best medicine. By the turn of the millennium, comedians like David Kau, Loyiso Gola and Kagiso Lediga were in full force. They joined the ranks of a handful of popular white comedians, but soon, black comics outnumbered their white counterparts. Over the years, stand-up has continued to become more inclusive-more women onstage, less reliance on racial stereotypes for punchlines, and more geographically diverse venues. But despite these strides, a major injustice remained: stand-up was only performed in English. Consider that 80 per cent of the population speaks an African language as their mother tongue, while only 9.6 per cent speaks English as their mother tongue. The vast majority of South African citizens have been excluded from this powerful art form.
But vernacular comedians are flipping the script. In Stitches focuses on three up-and-coming comics who unapologetically crack jokes in Pedi, Xhosa and Zulu. Noko Moswete, Luphelo Kodwa, and Zicco Sithole are revolutionising the industry, insisting upon their right to representation, centring stories that have long been relegated to the fringes, and bringing laughter to those that need it most. Audiences can't get enough. Whether in a 5 000-seat theatre or a tiny shebeen, these shows buzz with unparalleled energy somewhere between a rock concert and a sermon. Many audience members are experiencing stand-up comedy for the first time. People roll on the floor laughing, literally.
In discussions with comedians and audience members, one theme kept resurfacing: relating. It's not just that vernacular audiences understand the words being spoken. It's that they can relate to the context, relate to the lived experience, relate to the myriad details that defy translation. They can also relate to the person onstage, the one standing in the spotlight. And that's a powerful thing.
The first time we saw South African stand-up comedy, we were hooked. It was 2015. We were studying abroad at the University of Cape Town, Trevor Noah had just been tapped to host The Daily Show, and the #FeesMustFall movement was taking the country by storm. By day, we watched as demonstrators filled the streets, echoing protests of generations past. By night, we listened as comedians dug into complex national issues onstage, addressing wounds of a colonial legacy. In a way, we learned more about South Africa in comedy clubs than we did in our classrooms.
As the United States became increasingly polarised around the election of Donald Trump in 2016, comedians played an important role in helping people process the inexplicable. We were curious about this role, and kept returning to the topic of South African comedy in our discussions. After graduating from university in 2017, we decided to return-this time to Johannesburg-to make a documentary about stand-up in South Africa. We got our fair share of dumb questions from people in the States as we geared up to begin filming. Many were shocked to hear that stand-up comedy exists in Africa. Many asked us if we'd be seeing lions. (Obviously not. Lions are prohibited from comedy clubs.)
But these dumb questions reveal a depressing truth: Americans remain staggeringly ignorant about Africa. Many are even convinced that Africa is a single country. This lack of awareness is no thanks to our president and his moronic commentary about shithole countries . But it also has a lot to do with the international media's representation of Africa. Beyond animal-centric stories (The Lion King, Planet Earth), African narratives that reach U.S. audiences tend to be tales of struggle that prominently feature the redemption/heroism of a white male (Blood Diamond, Invictus)-though the release of Black Panther made strides toward shifting the dialogue. Documentaries that Americans watch about Africa-more often than not, tear-jerking narratives of poverty and devastation-also contribute to a one-dimensional understanding of the continent. Americans aren't used to seeing African characters who feel joy, who have agency, who lead modern lives. In Stitches aims to evoke laughter rather than tears, following funny, talented, career-oriented individuals as they fight to take to the stage in
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
-- -- 
