FEATURED SHOW
ONE MAN DEBUT SHOW
BEGINNING AGAIN
UPCOMING SHOWS
PHOTOS / VIDEOS
GALLERY
BIO
SUHAYL ESSA
MEET THE DOC
Suhayl Essa is a qualified medical doctor with a sharp sense of humour who began performing stand-up comedy over a decade ago — while still making time to save lives in his spare time.
He made his major breakthrough as the world emerged from lockdown in 2021, embarking on a nationwide comedy tour that reached every province in South Africa, including some of the country’s lesser-travelled regions, with an international stop in Botswana. Spanning over two years, the tour earned him a nomination at the Comics Choice Awards for Breakthrough Act of the Year.
Known for his quick-witted crowd work that leaves audiences wondering, “How did he think of that?!”, Suhayl rapidly built a social media following and established himself as one of South Africa’s leading comedy content creators. In 2023, he received two nominations for Best Comedy Content Creator.
Major brands including KitKat, ENO, Burger King, SPAR, African Bank, Discovery Vitality, CNA and PEP have trusted him to host and entertain at prestigious corporate events as a Master of Ceremonies.
His debut one-man show, Beginning Again, launched on YouTube to widespread acclaim, showcasing his witty humour, authentic range of accents, multilingual versatility, and unexpected perspectives that resonate with South Africans from all backgrounds. The production earned him another nomination, this time for Best Solo Show.
An isiZulu-speaking Indian comedian with global ambitions, Suhayl has already taken his unique brand of comedy internationally to Dubai — with plans to conquer audiences around the world.
BIO
SUHAYL ESSA
MEET THE DOC
Suhayl Essa is a qualified medical doctor with a funny bone. He began stand up comedy 6 years ago performing across South Africa whilst making time to save lives in his spare time.
Featuring on multiple Comedy Central shows including Guy Code(MTV) as well as Kagiso Lediga’s Late Night sketch show with Hugh Masakela: “The Bantu Hour” caught the eyes of many in the industry. Suhayl opened for two time Emmy nominated, London-based and Netflix’s first African comedian Loyiso Gola at the Grahamstown Arts Festival 2017.
<p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p&gt;<p>&lt;p><p><p><p><p>In September 2017; Gola invited Suhayl to travel to London to dazzle audiences at various clubs which included the world renowned Backyard Comedy Club as well as Up the Creek Comedy Club which proved to be a highlight of his career.
This caught the attention of comedy legend David Kau who invited him to join his select crew of South Africa’s finest comedians on the
Bl
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nly nationwide tour in 2019. Notorious radio DJ, DJ Fresh, was in attendance and requested his performance at the Oh Ship festival later that year.
After a run of successful, sold-out, nationwide shows in 2021 through some of the less travelled towns in South Africa including; Zeerust, Mafikeng, Polokwane, Newcastle, Pietermaritzburg and ending off in Capetown, the Johannesburg International Comedy Festival 2022 had no choice but to feature him alongside the continents’ best.
As a newcomer, he finds that comedy is a creative outlet to express himself, his accents are sublime, witty observations are unmatched and speaking in third person is acceptable when writing a biography about oneself. He firmly believes that laughter is mostly the best medicine.
His new show Beginning Again addresses his new life in 2020 after having decided to take a leap of faith into being a class=”il”>>>&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</span>full&lt;/span> time stand-up comedian and leaving his medical career only to be struck by a global pandemic. Amidst the mayhem of going back to assist his fellow frontline workers; he decided to get married. With all these changes you can imagine the comedic gems that arose from it.