MARK BANKS
Gauteng
Mark is no stranger at performing to packed comedy houses and is often throwing digs at the rich, politics and all round general ridiculous things, no matter if you are famous. His no filter, and lack of PC makes him a force in the comedic world. His love for the stage started when he was just 11 years old and was able to “balance an entire Zulu rondavel and its contents on his chin while singing ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing’ by the then New Seekers.”
Critics have both applauded and slated him for his content through the years, but Mark’s feeling of indifference to such frivolousness has simply pushed and influenced his collection to convincingly being described as ‘the Grand Dowager uncle of the South African comedy underground’, Mark Banks’ glittering livelihood as the only IMAX-size joke fabricator in the country has served as an inspiration for comedy in the 21st Century…”.
At the 1996 Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, he took the genre to the next level, giving a truly authentic South African experience. In 2010, he was cast in Bafunny-Bafunny which was a sold-out tour, even including a show at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London.
Mark is no stranger at performing to packed comedy houses and is often throwing digs at the rich, politics and all round general ridiculous things, no matter if you are famous. His no filter, and lack of PC makes him a force in the comedic world. His love for the stage started when he was just 11 years old and was able to “balance an entire Zulu rondavel and its contents on his chin while singing ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing’ by the then New Seekers.”
Critics have both applauded and slated him for his content through the years, but Mark’s feeling of indifference to such frivolousness has simply pushed and influenced his collection to convincingly being described as ‘the Grand Dowager uncle of the South African comedy underground’, Mark Banks’ glittering livelihood as the only IMAX-size joke fabricator in the country has served as an inspiration for comedy in the 21st Century…”.
At the 1996 Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, he took the genre to the next level, giving a truly authentic South African experience. In 2010, he was cast in Bafunny-Bafunny which was a sold-out tour, even including a show at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London.
Mark Banks has entertained audiences in the comedy industry for over twenty-five years. He writes and performs his own comedy spectacles and material and is always fervent about his work in comedy.
In his spare time he manages an organic, hydroponic cocktail cucumber farm in Swellendam. He quotes “It’s grown only on a prayer”.
He is also a Master of Ceremonies (MC) for awards ceremonies, corporate functions, banquets, and symposiums. Mark claims to have won the esteemed Epol Late Entry Award at Gilooly’s Farm Dog Show for his “We’re Not On Top…. We’re inside”. But he is also a regular on the TV screens with having spent time being a TV presenter. He has also been interviewed and featured in numerous advertisements.
Mark has also done a one-man comedy show that incorporated a smart and brilliant title, “Ek’s ‘n Doos van Suid-Afrika” which shoots at the locals living abroad. Other enjoyments of the incredibly funny Mark Banks include writing about the strangest of subjects, like his A-Z compilation book of the lemurs in Madagascar, for visitors to Cape Town, training a coelacanth to leap through a hoop of crusty bread rolls and completing a volume works on Chinchilla Respiratory Tract Infections.
