Kagiso Lediga ventured into comedy while studying at the University of Cape Town 10 years ago and over the ensuing years set about establishing himself as one of South Africa's top comedians. Not only is he now lauded amongst the best comedians in the country with an impressive body of work behind him but is also now celebrated as one of South Africa's pioneering and most recognizable black comedians. His talent and ability can easily be confirmed by an exhaustive trail of achievements and accolades.
He has performed at all the major comedy events on the local calendar; has won the People's Choice Award at the biggest comedy festival in South Africa -- the Cape Town International Comedy Festival, performed at the biggest comedy festival in the world -- the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, performed in New York, Toronto, London and Mauritius; was the creator of the local hit sketch comedy tv series the Pure Monate Show that went on to be nominated for 8 South African Film and Television Awards; was a writer and co lead in MTV partnered local cult movie Bunny Chow; this movie went on to win awards at the Toronto, Los Angeles, Sydney and Melbourne Film Festivals; won the Best Actor Award at the Cape Town Film Festival; has been chosen as an international judge for the Emmy Awards to name a few of his achievements.
He was referred to as a national asset at a recent performance by the Mayor of Durban. His record speaks for itself. Kagiso Lediga is definitely one of the country's headlining comedy and screen acts.
Kagiso has graced the stages of all the biggest comedy events in South Africa including the most prestigious one in the Cape Town International Comedy Festival where he won the People's Choice Award in the company of acclaimed comedians from all over the world. Other comedy events he has performed at are Laugh Out Loud, Comedy Blackout, Kingsize Heavyweight Comedy Jams, Blacks Only, Freshest Comedy Festival, Pure Monate Comedy Jam, Let Durban Laugh Festival....the list is endless.
He has also entertained corporate crowds all over the country with his refreshingly intelligent and thought provoking brand of comedy, a list boasting a wide spectrum of companies from various sectors of the economy. His talents can be further confirmed by the fact that he has performed successfully overseas as well, performing at the internationally renowned Edinburgh Comedy Festival as well as in the famous comedy clubs of New York and Toronto. His ability to adapt his material according to his audiences but leave them in raptures has always been a strong feature of his repertoire wherever he performs.
He also has a flair for writing brave and entertaining content and he has also been working towards producing content that is shaking up the South African film industry. It is testament to his creative ability, that he is now recognized as one of the young, up and coming television and film producers in the country. This was first evident when the sketch comedy series, the Pure Monate Show which he produced, wrote and performed in was voted in the top 5 most entertaining local programmes on SABC 1 for 2004 and was nominated in 8 categories of the South African Film and Television Awards. As the anchor of the show, he fast became a household TV personality nationwide and is now recognized wherever he performs. He went on to play roles on various other tv shows such as Sorted and Hard Copy.
His successful foray in TV led to Kagiso's involvement in films. He has already acted in two but it is with a movie called Bunny Chow which he produced and also was the lead actor that he once again finds himself in the headlines. This movie which was opened at box offices both locally and internationally and became a cult hit with its with its honest depiction of the new South Africa. It went on to win awards the Toronto Film Festival, American Film Institute Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Melbourne Film Festival and was also invited to the Rotterdam Film Festival. It was also the opening film at our very own Cape Town International Film Festival ( Sithengi ) where Kagiso's inspired performance saw him being awarded with the "Best Actor Award" beating off competition from some accomplished and revered actors from all over the world. Such was the impact of the film that MTV Films Europe put pen to paper to be the global marketing partner of the film. He was also cast in various roles in local movies Crazy Monkey, Footskating and Good Fellas.
Another huge feather in Kagiso's cap was his selection as one of the international judges for the Emmy Awards, a massive accomplishment and endorsement of his growing stature as a talented producer worldwide.
Loading...
5:14
David Kau - Blacks Only DVDby MrDavidKau1,738 views
Link to this comment:
All Comments (0)