Jake Mace
Following Netflix success with his special Only Jokes Allowed, Comedian Schalk Bezuidenhout is landing at EdFringe 2023 next month to take a nosedive look into getting older, wiser and more mature (but only maybe). The Afrikaans Comedian is offering up his unique perspective on staying hip in an hour of comedy storytelling. Arriving at EdFringe freshly married, Schalk says he’s coming with “love in his heart and jokes in his pocket”, so we sat down for a pixelated pint to talk all things being newly-wed and newly-wise – swapping the nightclubs of Edinburgh for early nights.
Catch Keeping Up at Gilded Balloon Teviot (Sportsmans) Aug 2-14 and 16-28 (17:00). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Box Office.
Jake: Hey Schalk! Your new comedy hour takes on the conundrum of ‘staying hip’ as you’re getting older. Tell us about what prompted you to bring this topic to light in a Fringe show.
Schalk: Well, I think every comedian who started at the age of 18 like me reaches a point where you are no longer “the young guy” in comedy. And I think that transition point is normally more or less when you turn 30. It’s nothing major, but you do realise the difference in what you’re talking about on stage vs a comic who is 21. You also realise a difference in how kids in their late teens are reacting to your comedy vs how they did when you were almost their age. So that’s where my life and career is at the moment and I thought to centre my show around it. It also just makes for some good material!
Jake: You’re arriving at the Fringe, as you say, with “love in your heart and jokes in your pocket” – you’re freshly married (congratulations!), so how does it feel to be bringing a show to Edinburgh in this new stage in your life?
Schalk: Older, wiser and funnier. Haha, but seriously… without sounding too old, I am doing Fringe different to how I used to. No more going out until 5am. I honestly can’t stay up that late anymore. And this year I am bringing my parents over for them to come experience Edinburgh and the festival and my wife will be joining at some stage as well. So the whole family will be there and you’ll probably find us somewhere at 9pm having coffee for dessert and getting ready to go home instead of doing tequila shots off a dirty counter using just our mouths.
Jake: You’re bringing a unique contemporary Afrikaans prospective to the British comedy circuit – can you tell us a little about how that ties in with the themes of the show?
Schalk: Generally Afrikaans people do have more of a conservative upbringing and I think we need to do more adapting when it comes to the rapid pace at which the world is changing. I find that a very interesting juxtaposition, but once again, I go where the funny leads me!
Jake: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Schalk: I think my comedy would be a cheap red wine. It is something that people order at a restaurant to look a bit more fancy than those ordering a pint, but at the end of the day it probably gives you a bigger headache the next day than the pint would have given you!
Eilidh McKenzie
