We sent our writer, Nqobile Kubheka, to the Lyric Theatre last week to grab a front row seat for one of the funniest events of the year so far- Comedy Central's Kenny Kunene roast. Let's see what went down.

"Kenny Kunene Roast" can now officially replace the term "African time".

Needless to say having arrived on time – which is something I rarely do – I was extremely irritable by the time the show actually started- a full 90 minutes after I was seated. Unfortunately, the event was off to a not-so-funny start with Deep Fried Man doing his annoyingly overdone skit with the guitar. I think he was meant to welcome the guests, or maybe it was a cameo? I don’t really know – but his presence was unnecessary and not as funny as it should have been.

But then came Jimmy Carr.

That was all that was needed to kickstart things and from there The Roast really began. First up to the podium was PJ Powers. When I saw the line-up I was not really convinced she was the right fit for this – I was right. She spoke in a drunken slur (I thought she had quit alcohol?) and her punchlines were neither punchy nor funny. In fact, I am not sure what to call them- They were just lines! That is really all I was able to take home from her 3 minutes on stage- that should say a lot about her performance. Unless Comedy Central has a solid explanation as to why she was there, they shouldn’t put us through that again.

However, the rest of the show was genuinely hilarious. At times I questioned whether we were watching a roasting of Kenny Kunene or Khanyi Mbau – whose “punani” came under some serious flame grilling from all the roasters. My favourite Roasters of the night were (in no particular order,) the ever funny and phat Tumi Morake, the glamorously ghetto Somizi Mhlongo, John Vlismas whose vulgarity was only surpassed by that of Jimmy Carr, Rian van Heerden who wore a dapper, navy-blue suit that made him look quite boring, and Khanyi Mbau who closed off the Roasters and their facetious commentary by thoroughly roasting Kenny.

Khanyi also threw a well-deserved jab at the unstable Dineo Ranaka and her supposedly previous drug problem – but Dinny was not impressed. The former presenter stopped laughing at Khanyi’s jokes immediately and threw her a nasty stare. Dineo was then seen reprimanding Khanyi on stage immediately after the latter’s skit. Needless to say, the tension on that side of the panel was intense. We wonder what words followed backstage between these two…

Former English teacher and ex-convict, Sushi King and ZAR franchise owner – yes I had to mention all of that- Kenny Kunene, then took to the stage and my word- he brought the house down. I must add that on several occasions during his response, I wondered which school would have let him teach English- but I digress.

The show ended well after midnight– which wasn’t great news for the early birds. The exhaustion alone is a shameful reminder that, with each laugh and giggle, I am not getting any younger. So although laughter is the best medicine, it is not the fountain of youth. I would kindly request that the show start a little earlier next time!

The show airs on Comedy Central on 28 April 2014 at 9PM and is DEFINITELY not suitable for anyone with any sensitivities.