The first ever local female comic, Celeste Ntuli, is known as the queen of Zulu humour. She recorded a one-woman show DVD titled Seriously Celeste, which is a compilation of her appearances around the nation.
Celeste, who has been a full-time stand-up comic for the past few years, has come a long way since her discovery almost nine years ago while she was playing under a marquee in Durban. Originally from Empangeni, she moved to Durban to attend Durban University of Technology to study entertainment technology after completing her high school education.
Celeste credits her success to the fact that she doesn’t have any sacred cows whether it comes to relationships, stereotypes, or societal issues; in her opinion, no topic is off-limits.
Celeste had always been a joker, even in school, so her decision to become a comedian wasn’t shocking. She stated, “Since I was always the class joker, I called the organisers of the comedy show and asked them to give me an opportunity to show what I could do.”
Celeste claims that musicians like Monique, who is thought to as the funniest lady in America, are her sources of inspiration. “In the world, there aren’t many female stand-up comedians. However, Monique is distinct and really humorous. My goal is to achieve her level of achievement.
Celeste had an extremely successful year in 2015. Her one-woman show “Home Affairs 2” at the Lyric Theatre was so successful that it ran there again two months later after selling out the first time. She was asked to perform at the Jacob Zuma Birthday Celebration and received a nomination for the SA Comics Choice Awards in the “Flying Solo” category.
