The Soweto Theatre erupted in applause as Nicolas Goliath and 20 other up and coming comedians delivered their best performances for South Africa’s comedy industry at the Savanna Newcomer's Showcase. The exciting new event was launched in the run up to The 3rd Annual South African Comic’s Choice Awards™ (CCA’s).

Being the first event of its kind ever, the audience was surprised at the calibre of raw talent on offer at the Savanna Newcomer’s Showcase. The comedians flaunted fresh material and the theatre echoed with wild applause and standing ovations surprised everyone with its caliber of raw talent and fresh material and the theatre echoed with wild applause and standing ovations.

ZAlebs managed to chat with comedian newcomer Nicholas Goliath who gave us an insight of his comedy material and why he considers himself the best:

In your personal view why do you think Nicholas Goliath is the Next comedian to keep an eye on?

Yoh, straight into the questions and you already start off with the tough one [Laughs] ZAlebs doesn’t play.  To be honest I don’t know hey, I’d have to say I’m a comedian whose cut from a different cloth I mean when people look at me they don’t see a comedian they just see your average Joe, but as soon as I get on that stage people then just fall in love with me.  I know it sounds a bit vain but it’s the truth I offer something different and surprising at the same time…and….I’m the next big thing.

There’s been a lot of buzz on the comedy circuit about a group of comedians who share the same surname as you, are those your siblings?

There’s three of us who do comedy but we’re not siblings, there’s Jason Goliath and Donovan Goliath, Jason and I are cousins and two years ago we decided to do comedy.  Jason was originally an MC for about 10 years and he was just eager to start embarking on a career in comedy and it’s just something that I’ve also always wanted to do.  Our first gig was at The Underground in Melville, Donovan on the other hand is an art director and he and Jason worked together on some few things and coincidentally he’s also a Goliath and from that day on we just clicked.  There’s a great understanding and friendship amongst us three.

How is it like working with a friend and a family member when creating material for shows do you clash?

Well, when coming up with material we don’t really have any ritual that we partake in but we all make sure we come up with our own topics and material that we just dissect to create something new and funny for audiences to enjoy.  In terms of clashing, no that happens unless someone doesn’t bring their material for that week then maybe a train smash could possibly occur, you’ve got to have your topics, what you want to right about and how we can come up with an awesome gag from the topic you’ve presented.

Comedian Nick Goliath Doesn't Think He's Funny? 

Did you ever audition for the ‘Fanta So You Think You’re Funny show’, and what’s your thought on that particular concept for upcoming comedians to take part in.

I did think of auditioning for the show, unfortunately I never made time to go but in terms of it promoting up and coming comedians I definitely thought it was a great initiative however, whilst watching the show there was something about it that did not appeal, the whole structure of the show didn’t seem fair to me.  For example certain comedians that I felt should’ve gone to the next round of the competition didn’t, and in my eyes those were comedians who had great potential and I think competitions like that in general just added too much pressure on the comedians but non-the less it’s a great platform to get comedians onto stage and exposed to greater opportunities yet at the same time there’s just too much pressure which broke a lot of spirits, people need to understand that comedy is a marathon and not a sprint.

I recently saw "Nick Goliath" on a poster for a performance at the Soweto Theatre alongside renowned comedians like Kagiso Lediga, were you intimidated in any manner by such big names in the industry?

I was not intimidated but it was nerve wrecking because you never know what type of audience is waiting for you when you get on stage even when you know what you’re going to be performing it can be really nerve wrecking.  It was my first performance on a big platform like the Soweto Theatre but it was definitely great experience, not an intimidating one

Look out for the The 3rd Annual South African Comic’s Choice Awards™ (CCA’s)nominee announcements on ZAlebs next week.

The award ceremony takes place at The Teatro at Montecasino on 24 August 2013

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