NEW MATERIAL follows Cassim Kaif (Riaad Moosa), a young Muslim stand-up comedian living in Fordsburg, Johannesburg. He is balancing the demands of a new marriage, a young child, and caring for his ageing parents. While his father Ebrahim (Vincent Ibrahim) has reluctantly accepted his son’s chosen career, it remains a simmering issue.

Cassim’s career is going reasonably well, but he performs mostly to Johannesburg Muslim audiences and yearns to expand his audience and his range. His best friend and agent, Yusuf (Joey Rasdien), has come to his rescue by planning a national tour for Cassim. Yusuf is totally out of his depth.

One of the many problems they encounter is raising sponsorship. They are forced into an uneasy alliance with their sponsor, notorious Laudium businessman Shabir Sulabie (Rajesh Gopie) who fancies himself as a showman. Yusuf believes it’s worth the risk and so the ill-fated tour begins.