Take Hart and lighten the gloom

The last time US comedian Kevin Hart was in South Africa in 2016, things were a tad different. For one, we were not load-shedding on a daily basis.

Hart — who was given the name Mpho, or "gift", on his first visit — told the Sunday Times he had returned  to gift South Africa with laughter and some escapism.

“I love to provide laughter; I love to provide an escape. Ultimately, it is necessary and laughter heals wounds. We are going through a lot as a world today... Sometimes the escape from a simple laugh works wonders.” 

Hart landed in South Africa earlier this week. He is here to promote  his latest film, Die Hart, and to stage his stand-up show Reality Check in Johannesburg and Cape Town. 

He said South Africans made a big impression on him on his first trip. 

“You know, you have people that genuinely support what you do and give you the reward of presence. They [South Africans] show up. I don’t think there’s a bigger compliment, there is no bigger humbling gesture.” 

Hart said he’s been looking forward to his return for a while but he needed a good reason, which came in the form of Die Hart and  Reality Check.

Die Hart is a satirical action-comedy with a star-studded cast, including John Travolta, Nathalie Emmanuel, Josh Hartnett and Jean Reno. The film, which condenses the original 10-episode TV series,  launches worldwide on February 22. It is set for a theatre release in South Africa  via distributor Empire Entertainment.  

The comedian performed Reality Check in Cape Town and Pretoria this week.

Hart said he had great respect for the growth he has seen in the comedy space in South Africa and wants to partner with local talent.

“I’m just actually getting highly educated on the plethora of [comedians]," said Hart, who in 2017 founded the comedy network Laugh Out Loud Productions, based in California.

"What we found in doing our Laugh Out Loud comedy festivals, is that the expansion and the extension of comedy is wide and what we were doing was giving a platform for all comedians to come be a part of and hopefully highlight," he said.

"We saw a plethora of comics from South Africa, from the UK, from Australia and from the US... What that made us realise is that comedy is so broad and there’s room for all. What is missing is the platform and foundation that can help us bring more on board or elevate the talent.

"As we do more, I think I’ve gained more knowledge on some of the names that are extremely valuable here, but … what I do love is the growth in content."