Politically Aweh’s Poll Dancing takes centre stage in Cape Town before local elections

Water, electricity, waste collection and affordable housing: these are among the services residents expect from their local government. And yet, as South Africans prepare to vote on 4 November, these basic needs remain at the centre of political campaigns. For the team behind Politically Aweh, the gap between what politicians promise and what residents experience is fertile ground for satire.

On Wednesday, 21 October, the Safta-winning team will bring Poll Dancing to Cape Town’s Homecoming Centre for a live special combining stand-up comedy, sketches, interviews and journalism. The show aims to entertain audiences while giving them more to think about as they consider their choices at the ballot box.

Politically Aweh has been making sense of South African politics since launching its YouTube channel in 2017. Its first elections special, staged in front of a live studio audience in 2019, featured journalist and broadcaster Lester Kiewit, who has since become the team’s editorial producer.

For creative director Stephen Horn, the production draws on the different perspectives of the journalists and comedians who make up the team.

“Our strength is the diversity of voices in our writing room and the combined experience of our crew,” he says. “Making sense of the chaos together, and cry-laughing our way through it, is how we all stay sane. It’s a challenge we relish.”

The material for Poll Dancing will combine stories specific to the 2026 elections with wider questions about the health of South Africa’s democracy, including voter disengagement, trust in institutions and online disinformation.

“We’re a nonprofit media company, so our choices are guided by our editorial pillars of civic education, social and environmental justice, and accountability,” Horn says.

When politics becomes comedy

For KG Mokgadi, who will host the show, one of the defining features of this election cycle is the disconnect between what residents need and what political parties are promising.

“So, people are looking for the basics: they’re looking for affordable housing, they’re looking for water – water in Joburg, can you imagine? Water and electricity in Joburg, cleaner streets, garbage collection, easy transport and moving around – and yet politicians are campaigning like they’re discovering these problems for the first time,” he says.

Social media has added another dimension to the campaign trail, Mokgadi says, with viral videos and politicians’ behaviour online raising questions about how voters assess the people seeking their support.

For those who do not identify with a particular party, the choices can feel particularly difficult.

“The rest of us who are not card-carrying members of any political party are stranded! We really don’t know who to vote for,” he says. “It’s like we’re presented with bad options, and we have to choose the best of the bad.”

The show aims to give audiences room to laugh at the political landscape without losing sight of the decisions facing voters.

“We want people to come in and have a laugh, but we also want them to think,” Mokgadi says. “We want people leaving with ideas of what to look for when they go vote, and how to hold their elected politicians accountable.”

The production will include an interactive element, giving audience members an opportunity to ask questions and contribute to the discussion.

Keeping the jokes grounded in facts

Political satire can expose contradictions and absurdities, but the team also wants its material to be informed by research.

Poll Dancing is being developed with My Vote Counts, which tracks political party funding, and the Centre for Information Integrity in Africa at Stellenbosch University, which researches disinformation and online influence campaigns.

Horn says My Vote Counts has supported Politically Aweh’s voter education videos, which the team will revisit during the live show. The Centre for Information Integrity in Africa has also provided research on accounts spreading disinformation on social media and signs of paid online influence campaigns around political parties.

“Their research lets us take this crucial information to a much broader public, so voters can make informed decisions,” Horn says.

He says the team’s approach to its material is straightforward: “The rule in our writing room is simple: the jokes have to be funny, and the facts have to be checked.”

The show will also feature Daily Maverick’s Naledi Mashishi, who has been reporting from the campaign trail, bringing a journalistic perspective to the evening’s political commentary.

Horn says the team has expanded its output over the years while trying to maintain the quality and rigour of its work. Its productions now include on-location reporting, sketch comedy and studio conversations. He has also recently stepped in front of the camera as a contributor alongside co-hosts Zoë Human and Mokgadi.

The wider cast for Poll Dancing includes comedians Dan Corder, Lindy Johnson and Dillan Oliphant, who was named Comedian of the Year at the 2026 Savanna Comics’ Choice Comedy Awards.

Horn says the live show will bring together these different formats and perspectives, with stand-up comedy complementing the journalism and political satire.

Making politics more accessible

For Human, who has a theatre degree and is making her comedy debut on stage, one of the challenges is finding humour that is both politically incisive and accessible to people with different backgrounds, beliefs and interests.

“The best rule of thumb that I’ve learned from the Politically Aweh team is to always punch up and never down,” she says. “The best jokes come taking on the people who have the power, not the little man.”

Human also sees comedy as a way to make political conversations less intimidating. Discussions about politics can come with an expectation that people already understand the issues, know the terminology and feel confident expressing an opinion. Humour, she argues, can offer a more accessible starting point.

“When we enter a conversation of politics through a door of comedy, we get to make mistakes, we get to learn but most of all we get to laugh,” she says. “Comedy is a vital coping mechanism, I suppose why they call it comedic relief – and it’s a coping mechanism we get to share with others. Through laughter a bridge is built.”

Horn says the production will not tell audiences how to vote or favour a particular party.

“We’re not going to tell anyone how to vote,” he says. “We’re just going to make sure nobody on the ballot gets to talk nonsense unchallenged. That includes everyone.”

Helping voters navigate the elections

Daily Maverick will also showcase its Local Government Elections 2026 dashboard at the event.

The dashboard brings together practical voter information and Daily Maverick’s election reporting. Readers can check their municipality, find out how to prepare to vote, learn how their ballot works and understand the responsibilities of their local council.

It also features manifesto breakdowns and reporting on the issues shaping the campaign, helping readers look beyond political promises to examine what parties are proposing.

The dashboard includes a newsletter sign-up and an election question-and-answer tool for readers seeking further information.

Together, the dashboard and Poll Dancing offer different ways to engage with the elections: through reporting and practical voter information, and through satire that challenges political claims and invites audiences to look at them more critically.

From Cape Town to all nine provinces

The Cape Town performance is the starting point for a wider screening programme. In partnership with Sunshine Cinema, the filmed special will be screened at community pop-up events in all nine provinces. It will also be broadcast on Politically Aweh’s YouTube channel and Cape Town TV before election day.

For Human, the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience offers a different kind of connection from the team’s established video format.

“The video format is great because of how many people we can reach, the stage is great for the depths we can reach a person,” she says. “The in-person experience is deeply underrated, in my opinion.”

With local government decisions affecting residents’ daily lives, the elections will determine who is responsible for services and infrastructure in their communities. The challenge for voters is to assess competing promises, make informed choices and hold elected representatives accountable after the ballots have been counted. DM

Politically Aweh: Poll Dancing takes place on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, at 7pm at the Homecoming Centre in Cape Town. Tickets cost R250 and are available via Quicket.

For more information, visit politicallyaweh.co.za

Explore Daily Maverick’s Local Government Elections 2026 dashboard and sign up to the Democracy 2026 newsletter for election coverage and practical voter information.