Older, wiser, still so funny
Loyiso Gola is Unlearning:
Type: Stand-up comedy Age restriction: 16L
Duration: 55 minutes.
REVIEW: Masego Panyane
THE two-time Emmy-nominated stand-up comedian Loyiso Gola, sometimes an actor and other times a producer and a director, has a very relaxed feel about him on stage.
His comedy feels like listening to an old friend regale… with the weird yet quite relatable stories of his life. In this show, you get a wiser and older Gola who talks about his dating mishaps while living in Europe, his experiences as sometimes the only black person at a gig, and shares with you moments of enlightenment like the impact people’s imaginations have had on our everyday lives. Did you know, the engagement ring came out as a marketing ploy by a diamond company some 100 odd years ago?
Neither did I. And Gola shared this piece of knowledge with his audience leaving them heaving after laughing.
But it’s ultimately tales about his childhood antics with his friend Seth that took the trophy.
From blowing up poop in their school playground at lunchtime that eventually gets them kicked out of the school to the antics they get up to on the night of Seth’s bachelor party, getting high on “shrooms”, getting into an argument that gets him a bloody nose and a messed-up T-shirt.
And finding that the misunderstanding of how white privilege works seems to drive a wedge between him and his friend.
Imagined or real (with possibly a few embellishments), it’s one hell of a story and it’s ridiculously funny too.
His themes are his process of unlearning, from how he was conditioned to be a man (challenging his own toxic masculinity), to how the history of the world is presented. He also tackles racism, sex and living a life of constant travel.
It’s truly a mixed bag of witty and quirky anecdotes, all delivered in that dope Gola fashion we’ve come to love.
The majority of comedy shows are produced and directed by other comedians. And with the line-up ranging from Alan Committie to Loyiso Madinga, festival-goers are sure to find something that appeals to their funny bones.
Loyiso Gola runs at the Drill Hall until July 8 at various times.
Visit: www.nationalartsfestival.co.za or catch him on Twitter on @loyisogola