Cape Town - Kurt Schoonraad is one of South Africa’s best loved stand-up comedians.
He is also an actor, television presenter, and co-owner of the Cape Town Comedy Club. He says hailing from Mitchells Plain was influential in developing his sense of humour.
Kurt and his wife Katrin Bohlender bought their house in Observatory, where they live with their son Jack, about eight years ago. They didn’t find it, it found them, says Kurt.
“We were looking for it a long time. When we walked in, it just felt like we were meant to live here. I’ve been in Obz for years – I love that Victorian vibe and it’s close to the city and just about everything else.”
The grand old dame was easy to fall in love with and the off-street parking in this area was a clincher. When they moved in, she was a little tired and hadn’t been fixed up for years.
“My missus and I spent years renovating and improving it,” says Kurt. “We got rid of every single wall inside that was not load-bearing. We wanted the most open space we could get away with.”
With some advice from an architect friend who came up with some great ideas, the home took shape.
“I love vintage and retro, especially if it has a killer story to go with it, so you’ll find a lot of 1940s and 1950s design in our house. It’s a shared vision but Katrin – my better half – makes all the decisions. She’ll disagree if you ask her, but trust me,” smiles Kurt.
“After a good couple of years of fixing, renovating, and painstakingly painting every surface, it finally feels like mine. Our son Jack was born here, so it’s always going to be home for our family.”
Kurt says the hardest part about his career is the travelling, so there is nothing better than getting home after time on the road and having a cup of coffee on the stoep.
Having friends around for a braai and other entertaining is balanced with quality family time in this household.
“It’s important to dream and always improve, but if I only lived here, I’d be okay with that,” says Kurt. “If I had to choose anywhere else, it would maybe be Berlin. My missus is German and they dig English comedy over there.”
Kurt’s professional comedy career took off nearly two decades ago and he has since gone on to produce and perform his hugely successful one-man shows all over the country.
He appears regularly on stage at his own club – the only one in Cape Town dedicated to stand-up comedy. It’s open five nights a week, and every night from December 1 until mid-January. With a full bar – the drinks are very affordable comments fellow comedian Marc Lottering – and menu, plus a line-up of four comics, from local newcomers to headliners from here and overseas, it’s a guaranteed laugh fest.
The brand was first created in 2005, part of the Cape Town Festival, as a tongue-in-cheek “pop-up comedy club”. In 2007, the club moved to the Albert Hall, Woodstock, where Kurt’s idea of providing a regular, reputable stand-up club was welcomed with open arms.
Word soon spread and Jou Ma Se Comedy Club became known as the mother of all Cape Town comedy clubs and home to some of the country’s greatest talent.
It moved to The River Club in Observatory from 2010 to 2013. In November 2013, it found a home at the V&A Waterfront and, earlier this year, changed its name to Cape Town Comedy Club. Shortly thereafter, international channel Comedy Central, which is available in South Africa on DStv, aired Cape Town Comedy Club Presents…, a first of its kind for Cape Town, shot live at the club.
“On reflection, the name change seemed like a natural thing to do,” says Kurt. “It feels like the brand is all grown up now and the new name reflects that. It also makes it available to a much wider audience.”
Bianca Coleman, Weekend Argus
DETAILS
Cape Town Comedy Club, The Pumphouse, Dock Road, V&A Waterfront. More info: 021 418 8880
079-495-3989
www.capetowncomedy.com