South Africa’s oldest and largest comedy showcase, Jive Cape Town Funny Festival, takes over the Baxter Theatre for a month-long comedic variety show from June 5 until July 2.

In its 24th season, the festival hosts top local and international acts.

The Funny Festival also held a Funny Championship in search of the next rising star. Twenty-four comedians competed in four heats every Wednesday during May at the Canal Walk Auditorium. Each heat produced a winner and, on occasion, an extra wild card entrant made it through to the finals.

Making it through as the third wild card finalist in the Funny Championships, young screenwriter and director Mzonke Maloney claimed the winning title of this year’s funny man.

Maloney will take centre stage and joins the Funny Festival’s headline acts, such as African mentalist Larry Soffer, musical guru Emo Adams, and a renowned street-performing duo out of San Francisco, Daredevil Chicken, who are making their first Cape Town Funny Festival appearance.

Resident comic and master of ceremonies Alan Committie will also introduce a riot of local comedians such as Dalin Oliver, Schalk Bezuidenhout, Riaad Moosa and the return of Marc Lottering.

“We are delighted to continue our partnership with the Jive Cape Town Funny Festival that sees a talented local line-up of young and veteran comedians taking centre stage once again this year. It is also impressive to see how many aspiring comedians there are in our city and that the Festival presents opportunities to nurture young talent and continues to build a legacy of this premier event,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith.

Cape Town Funny Festival also supports ‘Operation Smile’, an organisation that creates solutions to deliver safe treatment and surgery to children with cleft lip and cleft palates.