As one third of the legendary South African comedic brand, Goliath and Goliath, Jason Goliath has been a mainstay in the country’s comedy scene for over 10 years.
Sara-Jayne Makwala King speaks to South African comedian Jason Goliath about his 11-year comedic career, what’s changed in the industry and his 10-year anniversary tour with Goliath and Goliath.
Likening his 10-year journey with the brand and 11-year experience in the game to a good dessert that’s flown by, Goliath describes how the comedy industry has evolved over the years.
He says that one of the biggest changes has been the global competitive scene where at first there was only competition with live events and now has competition across multiple digital platforms largely through social media.
This has forced the industry to adapt to smaller bite-sized comedic routines with one-man stand-up shows being consumed slower and line-up shows that have many changes that keep audiences engaged becoming more prevalent.
Though he says that this has made the industry change for the better, there is some kickback to the digitisation of comedy.
One of the kickbacks seems to be the ways in which shows have had to adapt from a ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ format where contextualised routines would stay within the crowds performed to, to gags being travelled outside shows by being filmed and uploaded online.
This potentially removes context from the routine which can be misconstrued online resulting in the comedian being ‘cancelled’.
Comedy’s had to evolve. It’s always been kind of a social commentary and we have to respect what’s happening in terms of what’s acceptable, what’s not, and what does [politically correct] mean today… It’s forced to change and, I think, the consequences are so harsh that if you don’t change, you’ll get left behind.
Jaon Goliath, iconic South African comedian
However, being adaptable seems to be one of Goliath’s strongpoints where he describes only beginning his professional comedic career giving him the advantage of experience which has strengthened the relatability of his comedic styles.
Because comedy is about relatability and the ability to make your thoughts, not only funny, but relatable to everybody, understanding different cultures, etcetera… I feel like I can kind of cross the board… I’m able to switch it up, change it up and relate to [different audiences] because of the experience I garnered in the 12 years of working before I jumped on stage.
Jaon Goliath, iconic South African comedian
Goliath will be celebrating the t10-year anniversary of the Goliath and Goliath megabrand through a nation-wide tour which he says is a celebration not only of the brand, but also of the support audiences have given them and the industry at large.
Nicholas, Goliath and myself will be on tour around the country and we’ll be inviting our favourite local acts to join us… it’s going to be a party. I think that’s the only way that I can describe this.
Jaon Goliath, iconic South African comedian
The tour hits the Premium Sports bar on 25 August, Walala Wasala on 26 August, and Canal Walk Auditorium on 27 August and will cost you a cool R150 per person.
Get your tickets while you still can here.
Scroll up for the full interview above.
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