Comedy: Alfred & Marc
6 October at 15:00
HMS Bloemhof Centre
It is a rare opportunity to witness two of South Africa’s top comedians share one stage. There is always the question of whether one will be funnier than the other, or whether they will be able to bounce off each other.
Alfred Adriaan and Marc Lottering proved to be the latter by enhancing one another’s humour while catering to a diverse audience. Before the show started the vibe was set with jol numbers klopping over the sound system, indicating that what was to come would be good.
The moment they stepped on stage they had the audience laughing, asking, “Who can’t speak Afrikaans? Gan ’n kak aand vir jou wies.” However, both comedians combined English and Afrikaans to accommodate the English speakers.
Alfred Adriaan and Marc Lottering performed their latest comedy show, Alfred & Marc, at the 2024 Stellenbosch Woordfees on 6 October. They have been touring and performing together for five months. From left: Marc Lottering and Alfred Adriaan. PHOTO: Jeremeo le Cordeur/Woordfees
Same-same but different
The show was divided into six segments, starting and ending with both Alfred and Marc, and each comedian having two individual sets in between.
There could have been more moments with both comedians on stage at the same time, but even in their individual sets they would speak about the same topic, hinting at each other’s jokes.
They told their favourite stories, familiar to most fans, with Marc remarking, “Moetie gan op Facebook en sê ek het kla daai kak gehoorie; ons het kla jou geld”.
Stories of old and new
Marc shared his memories of wanting to be Joseph in his church’s Christmas play, knocking three cars while drunk, the difficulties of foreigners understanding his accent, and newer memories like his trip to Thailand.
Alfred mentioned his childhood and the cultural differences with his white friends, jokingly warning the audience to never go drinking with white Afrikaans men because they “drink till the edge of death”. The younger audience members were also given dating advice and insight into married life.
While Marc engaged the audience with his dry one-liners that have ambiguous meanings, Alfred spoke directly to the audience by relating with them.
They ended their performance with a song, met with a standing ovation. As Marc was ending the song he stated, “If I offended you, jou ma se moer, I think your humour is kak”, and Alfred reminded the audience that he was only joking.
Overall, Alfred and Marc complemented each other well while maintaining their individual humour.