Comedians use the same material over
and over. Does it ever get monotonous
saying the same things every night?
I do my best to always bring new material
when I perform, especially if it's at a spot I
have performed before. People don't laugh
at a joke they heard before. They already
know the punchline. The quickest way to die
on stage is by telling people same stories
over and over again.
South Africa‛s entertainment landscape
is broadly in English. South Africans are
more receptive towards anything done in
English and look down on anything that
is vernac. What is your view on this as a
vernac comedian?
Honestly speaking, vernac comedy is
becoming more and more popular. Most
black people prefer it over 'English' comedy
because in vernac we talk about issues that
they can easily relate to. Vernac comedy is
also promoting black culture and making
people feel proud of who they are.
Do you think there are jokes that are
more meaningful in a vernac context
than in English or can a joke be
translating into a different language and
still carry the same sense of humour?
A good joke can be funny in any language,
but we have words that are funny in vernac
and if your try to translate them it kills the
punchline. Imagine if I had to translate the
Sepedi word; 'lekaku' to English, what is it?
Is it porridge balls? Round pap? So the word
can only be funny and make sense in
vernac.
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It is said that music as a universal
language, do you think vernac comedy
can ever break international boundaries
or market?
LOL.I have performed in Botswana before.
So, neighbouring countries like Botswana,
Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and others,
vernac can work there. But Imagine going to
America or Europe and telling people
kaSebokuboku,mochaina or matlametlo,
they won't relate.
With so many comedians out there,
when you write new jokes, do you do any
research to see if they've been done
before?
Yes I research by attending comedy
shows even when I am not
performing, I watch stand-up
comedy DVDs as well. Most jokes
have been told, everything has
been done BEFORE. As a
comedian I look for new ways of
doing things, differently. More than
10 comedians will have a joke
about Oscar Pistorious
but deliver it
differently. Same
topic but different
executions. The
arrangement
and punchline
won't be the
s a m e .
Otherwise one
of them did a
copy and
paste.
Mar - Apr 2016
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