Helen Zille is swimming in potholes. The ANC’s new campaign strategy seems to be insulting voters. And the MK party is still sulking about being “robbed” at the 2024 elections. The local government elections are just around the corner and there’s only one way to cope with the chaos: laughing through the tears. And that’s where Politically Aweh’s biggest live show yet comes in.
On Wednesday, 21 October, South Africa’s wittiest news show takes the stage at the Homecoming Centre in Cape Town for Politically Aweh: Poll Dancing, a one-night-only live special filmed two weeks before the country votes.
Audiences can expect a night packed with stand-up comedy, satirical commentary and razor-sharp elections analysis from some of the country’s best comedians and journalists. The show will feature fresh interview content with leading figures from all the major political parties and unpack hot-button issues such as Cape Town’s housing crisis, disinformation, xenophobia, coalition politics and the hotly contested race for Joburg.
And for those of us struggling to remember the difference between a district municipality and a metro, there will also be the ABCs of LGEs – a quick explainer to dust up your civic ed before you make your “X”.
Nine years of mocking the government, and getting away with it
Politically Aweh is the Safta-winning team that has spent nine years satirising whoever happens to be in power, and whoever wants to be. Poll Dancing brings that newsroom to a live stage: a fast-moving production that mixes stand-up, sketches, field reporting and interviews, and is filmed by a full broadcast crew.
The line-up
Host KG Mokgadi, co-host Zoë Human and the show’s creative director, Stephen Horn, lead a cast that includes some of the sharpest comedic minds in the country:
Dillan Oliphant, Comedian of the Year at the 2026 Savanna Comics’ Choice Comedy Awards;
Dan Corder, whose show has built one of the country’s largest and most loyal audiences for political commentary;
Lindy Johnson, fresh off the road touring with Trevor Noah; and
Cape Town favourite Yaaseen Barnes will bring the best of his signature witty one-liners.
Alongside the comedians is Naledi Mashishi, the Daily Maverick journalist who has been reporting from the campaign trail. She’ll give the audience the analysis you won’t get from a party pamphlet: what’s actually happening on the ground, and what it means when you’re standing in the voting booth.
We take our jokes seriously
Every segment is built with research partners who know where the bodies are buried. My Vote Counts tracks who funds our political parties. The Centre for Information Integrity in Africa at Stellenbosch University tracks disinformation. Their work helps keep the show’s punchlines accurate.
“We’re not going to tell anyone how to vote,” says Politically Aweh creative director Stephen Horn. “We’re just going to make sure nobody on the ballot gets to talk nonsense unchallenged. That includes everyone.”
One stage, nine provinces
The show plays to a live audience in Cape Town, but it doesn’t stop there. The filmed special will be screened at community pop-up events in all nine provinces in partnership with Sunshine Cinema, and broadcast on Politically Aweh’s YouTube channel and Cape Town TV ahead of election day.
Politically Aweh: Poll Dancing is produced in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Daily Maverick, My Vote Counts and the Centre for Information Integrity in Africa at Stellenbosch University. Sunshine Cinema is an impact screening partner.
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The details
Show: Politically Aweh: Poll Dancing
Date: Wednesday, 21 October 2026
Time: 7pm
Venue: Homecoming Centre, Cape Town
Cast: KG Mokgadi, Zoë Human, Dillan Oliphant, Dan Corder, Lindy Johnson, Naledi Mashishi & more
Tickets: R250 via Quicket – buy here
Info: www.politicallyaweh.co.za
Laugh first. Vote second. Preferably on 4 November. DM
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