Pharanoid

Pharanoid

A Stand Up Comedy Show

By Ntobeko Ximba

Directed by Andi Colombo

Are you ready for a pharadigm shift? Let’s pharambulate on the pharameters of pharanormal South Africans together!

What is iPhara? And why are South Africans so Pharanoid?

Cape Town comedian, Ntobeko Ximba answers these questions in his debut one man show, aptly named Pharanoid. The show “Pharanoid” debuted at Baxter Theatre in 2025, then travelled to the National Arts Fest in Makhanda and has just returned from a run at Toyota Woordfees 2025, in Stellenbosch.

Ntobeko won a Standard Bank Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival 2024, as part of the creative team behind 32 Lavender Close. In 2023 and 2024, he also performed as part of the trio stand up show Proudly Problematic. He has performed at the Cape Town Comedy Club (RIP), Cape Town Funny Festival, and as far afield as the famous Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, California.

Directed by the visionary theatre-maker Andi Colombo, Pharanoid is a culmination of Ntobeko’s six years of stand-up comedy, and a hilarious and tightly-orchestrated reflection on being South African, from a silly yet thoughtful comedian. Frankly, his work, as Cue Online put it, is “sure to make you fall in love with dark humour”.

Audience feedback:

“Commentary about social class in SA was spot on, and your ability to improvise super impressive.”

“Sharp, quirky, tender, gorgeous”

@phuphemini / Instagram

@ntobekoxoxo / tiktok

Ntobeko Ximba / facebook

R100 online

R120 at the door

Ntobeko Ximba is a stand up comedian based in South Africa. He finds it thrilling to write about himself in the third person. Originally from Durban, he moved to Cape Town to study Art Direction at the AAA school of advertising and spends most of his days coming up with funny ideas at an international ad agency. From 2018, he starred spending his nights doing stand up comedy. Within 6 months of starting stand-up at the iconic Armchair Theatre in 2018, Ntobeko was performing at the Cape Town Comedy Club (RIP) and the Jive Cape Town Funny festival. He even graced the famous Los Angeles Laugh Factory stage that same year. Since then he has starred in the Savanna Newscomers showcase on DSTV and toured SA with The Proudly Problematic Tour including National Arts Festival for the past two years. He’s been called “such a funny dude” by close friends.

2024

National Arts Festival - Proudly Problematic Comedy Show

The Problematic Tour - Gqeberha

Cape Town TV - Performance and interview

2023

Woordfees Festival - Savanna Stage

Savanna Newcomer Showcase

Me Channel 115 showcase

Rising Stars of Stand Up - Protea Hotel

National Arts Festival - Proudly Problematic Comedy Show

National Arts Festival - Sundown concert host

2020

Cactus Comedy Club (webseries)

2018 - 2019

Armchair Theatre and various open mics

Cape Town Comedy Club Jive competition (Second Place winner)

Jive Cape Town Funny Festival (2 weeks, nightly)

LA Laugh Factory

ntobeko.co.za/comedy