Turning comedy into sport is nothing new. The chaps behind ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ have been doing it since 1988 and many local theatres have capitalised on this on-the-spot, audience-suggestion-improv with a style called ‘theatre sports’. But now, comedy has been turned into a whole new ball game!

Replicating a soccer match in the spirit of all things World Cup 2010, Hunta Live has conceptualised and created an epic eight comedian spectacular of South Africa’s finest, fittest and most active. On the SA comedy circuit that is!

Aint no regular show

Not stopping at a show with a sports theme, the organisers who brought Chris Rock and Wayne Brady to SA, are now getting eight of SA’s best to polish their boots and flex their muscles. And in an act of true national pride, they are parading them all the way to England – for an extended show for all those South Africans living in the UK homeland!

Playing off the World Cup hype where even the name is a pun, the show is called Bafunny Bafunny after the SA national soccer team Bafana Bafana. And much like South Africa is the first African nation to ever host a Soccer World Cup, so too will London be the first city to host the opening night of Bafunny Bafunny. Entitled the ‘away game’, this event is being staged at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall on 20 May.

“With so many South Africans in London unable to travel to the World Cup, we wanted to bring a bit of the magic that has been generated in South Africa, to London, to unify all supporters and fans by celebrating comedy that highlights the diversity of SA and embraces the patriotism that the 2010 soccer fever has generated,” says Sam Hendrikse, proucer of Bafunny Bafunny and CEO of Hunta Live.

But who are the chosen few

In true game spirit, every team needs both a coach and a captain. And a coach and a captain Bafunny Bafunny shall have. SA’s favourite cousin, Barry Hilton steps in as the team captain, a job he is well up for on the motivational metre! Along with the coach, Mark Banks, the rest of the team includes Marc Lottering, Trevor Noah, Nik Rabinowitz, Loyiso Gola, Kagiso Ladiga and John Vlismas.

Says Banks, “As a team we have a common goal - to bring joy and happiness to all South Africans and comedy fans living in London and of course World Peace, eventually. What the world needs now is laugh, sweet laugh.”

But wait, there’s more

- Academy Award winning filmmaker David Valdes (The Green Mile, Unforgiven), will capture this historic moment in time by filming the show at the Royal Albert Hall for DVD release later in the year

- There will be big screens with live commentators keeping the fans entertained during ‘half time’