Conrad Koch is a well-known South African comic ventriloquist who has received two Emmy nominations worldwide.
Conrad studied comedy and puppetry at the College of Magic in Cape Town. He has won multiple awards, such as Entertainer of the Year, a Standard Bank Ovation Award from the National Arts Festival, The Times Comic’s Pen Award, and nominations for Comedy G, Flying Solo, and Comic’s Choice Comedian of the Year.
His most well-known persona, Mr. Chester Missing, the puppet political analyst, has been a staple of South African television for many years, appearing on both his own immensely popular weekly satirical news show, Almost News with Chester Missing, and the popular late-night news programme Late Night News with Loyiso Gola. It was praised as utterly original that a puppet could be used to persuade political figures to lower their guard. Actually, a number of media outlets, including City Press, National Witness, Reuters, the BBC, the Mail, and the Guardian, have asked Chester Missing to speak on political matters. Chester, who appeared in court beside a well-known racist from South Africa, became the first puppet in history to win a case. He also wrote a book, was recognised as one of the Most Influential Africans by New African Magazine, and, along with Conrad, was the inaugural winner of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation’s Anti-Racism Award.
Standing ovations have been given to Conrad’s popular one-man shows both internationally and in South Africa. He has appeared at the esteemed Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland as well as the renowned Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He has sold out nearly his whole run in Canada and received consistent five-star reviews from critics in both Australia and Canada. Working all over the world, he has been on comedy networks, Comedy Central, and other local and international television shows. He also frequently makes appearances at some of the major comic festivals in South Africa.
Conrad has a master’s degree in social anthropology from WITS University (Cum Laude), where he focused on corporate and African culture. He has studied psychology. He has a great deal of expertise putting cultural change initiatives into action for companies like FNB, Goldfields, Sun International, SAA, and others.
By chatting to himself through a range of incredibly odd personalities, Conrad keeps audiences laughing. Never has self-satisfaction been so much joy. Introducing Mr. Chester Missing, a sarcastic political analyst; Hilton, an ostrich constructed from two feather dusters and a slipper; DJ Hoodie, a hoodie-based puppet that performs dance music; and Mosquito, a nervous mosquito. The audience members comically take over the role of the puppets in this very interactive presentation.
“My face hurt from laughing so hard,” the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) said, praising Conrad’s work as “absolutely delightful and technically brilliant,” and noting that “Koch throws away more laugh lines than many shows have in the first place.”
“The finest ventriloquism—intelligent, insane” The Star “Draws the ceiling down.” London’s The Independent
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