When a show has an age restriction of over 18, you know it’s going to be a riot.
Raunchy and full of wit, the comedy show Trash Mouth, performed by award-winning comedian Kate Pinchuck, 30, from Cape Town, will be making a pit stop in East London, before its run at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda later this week.
“I’ve never done a show in East London before, but I know a lot of comedian friends who talk about how nice it is to perform there and how great the crowds are. This is very exciting for me,” Pinchuck said.
Trash Mouth debuted at the 2022NAF, and had a sold-out run in Johannesburg and Cape Town in 2023.
“Trash Mouth explores the taboos around what women are allowed to talk about,” Pinchuck said.
“[The term] ‘trashy’ is often used to shut women up, and to describe something as low art.”
The show’s poster has a photo of Pinchuck sitting naked in a dustbin with a large black bar covering her chest, but she does not perform in the nude, much to her grandmother’s relief.
“In the show, I am fully clothed and standing upright! All the shows have an age restriction of 18, so I am not liable for being sued,” she teased.
The solo comedy pulls from Pinchuck’s experiences of her twenties, some from her time as a drama student at Rhodes University in Makhanda.
“I’m quite open about sexuality and dating, a lot of what I talk about is autobiographical, exposing and shame-free — it’s a retrospective of my twenties, stories of misadventures and sexual exploits, but it’s fun and silly!
“People have told me so many secrets after the show, which is amazing.
“I’ve also had mothers and daughters come and they’ve loved the show together.
“Stand-up comedy is quite a male-dominated industry.
“Being someone who makes people laugh is a powerful thing, you’re like the alpha in the room — you have the microphone — which is often seen as a masculine trait.
“As a woman, you’re not encouraged to be the funny one. Now I’m seeing a lot more funny women and it’s so important.”
Having studied at Rhodes, she said it felt nostalgic returning to Makhanda.
“I loved the arts fest as a teenager, it started my love for the arts and got me invested in theatre.
“When you’ve been doing [NAF] for the last eight years, you see a lot of people you started out making art with.
“A lot of people have struggled to stay in the industry — everyone has done a million part-time jobs, but someone managed to stay in the arts.”
While the town battles to survive amid a water crisis, load-shedding and pockmarked roads, Pinchuck said the jam-packed programme made the experience worthwhile.
“The Festival keeps the town alive in a lot of ways, and to keep supporting that is really important.
“It also supports a lot of independent artists and theatremakers, plus you get to see so much art for relatively cheap, and you don’t get that often.
“There is a magical thing that happens, for this tiny amount of time, in this small place in the world, it’s very special.”
Sharing some tips for picking shows, Pinchuck urged festivalgoers to be open to anything, as well as prepare for the Makhanda cold.
“Trust word-of-mouth when trying to find out what shows to watch, and act quickly because some are only on twice, so if you hear people talking about it — go and see it.
“Take risks on shows you normally wouldn’t go watch, embrace the good and the bad.
“And bring the warmest socks you can find, take as many layers as you can possibly pack!”
See Trash Mouth at the Back Yard in Berea on Wednesday. Book through Quicket.
DispatchLIVE
Comedy queen Kate Pinchuck brings NAF show ‘Trash Mouth’ to EL
Image: SUPPLIED/ ESTI JOORST
When a show has an age restriction of over 18, you know it’s going to be a riot.
Raunchy and full of wit, the comedy show Trash Mouth, performed by award-winning comedian Kate Pinchuck, 30, from Cape Town, will be making a pit stop in East London, before its run at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda later this week.
“I’ve never done a show in East London before, but I know a lot of comedian friends who talk about how nice it is to perform there and how great the crowds are. This is very exciting for me,” Pinchuck said.
Trash Mouth debuted at the 2022NAF, and had a sold-out run in Johannesburg and Cape Town in 2023.
“Trash Mouth explores the taboos around what women are allowed to talk about,” Pinchuck said.
“[The term] ‘trashy’ is often used to shut women up, and to describe something as low art.”
The show’s poster has a photo of Pinchuck sitting naked in a dustbin with a large black bar covering her chest, but she does not perform in the nude, much to her grandmother’s relief.
“In the show, I am fully clothed and standing upright! All the shows have an age restriction of 18, so I am not liable for being sued,” she teased.
The solo comedy pulls from Pinchuck’s experiences of her twenties, some from her time as a drama student at Rhodes University in Makhanda.
“I’m quite open about sexuality and dating, a lot of what I talk about is autobiographical, exposing and shame-free — it’s a retrospective of my twenties, stories of misadventures and sexual exploits, but it’s fun and silly!
“People have told me so many secrets after the show, which is amazing.
“I’ve also had mothers and daughters come and they’ve loved the show together.
“Stand-up comedy is quite a male-dominated industry.
“Being someone who makes people laugh is a powerful thing, you’re like the alpha in the room — you have the microphone — which is often seen as a masculine trait.
“As a woman, you’re not encouraged to be the funny one. Now I’m seeing a lot more funny women and it’s so important.”
Having studied at Rhodes, she said it felt nostalgic returning to Makhanda.
“I loved the arts fest as a teenager, it started my love for the arts and got me invested in theatre.
“When you’ve been doing [NAF] for the last eight years, you see a lot of people you started out making art with.
“A lot of people have struggled to stay in the industry — everyone has done a million part-time jobs, but someone managed to stay in the arts.”
While the town battles to survive amid a water crisis, load-shedding and pockmarked roads, Pinchuck said the jam-packed programme made the experience worthwhile.
“The Festival keeps the town alive in a lot of ways, and to keep supporting that is really important.
“It also supports a lot of independent artists and theatremakers, plus you get to see so much art for relatively cheap, and you don’t get that often.
“There is a magical thing that happens, for this tiny amount of time, in this small place in the world, it’s very special.”
Sharing some tips for picking shows, Pinchuck urged festivalgoers to be open to anything, as well as prepare for the Makhanda cold.
“Trust word-of-mouth when trying to find out what shows to watch, and act quickly because some are only on twice, so if you hear people talking about it — go and see it.
“Take risks on shows you normally wouldn’t go watch, embrace the good and the bad.
“And bring the warmest socks you can find, take as many layers as you can possibly pack!”
See Trash Mouth at the Back Yard in Berea on Wednesday. Book through Quicket.
DispatchLIVE
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