Khanyisa gets her big break on comic stage
COMEDY was never the plan for Eastern Cape-born Khanyisa Bunu. But after clinching a deal with leading South African artist and event management company Blu Blood, the teacher-turned-actress-turned-comedian opened for Trevor Noah’s ‘There’s A Gupta On My Stoep’ in Johannesburg and Durban last week.
Bunu, who hails from Whittlesea, has come a long way since trying to impress judges on the reality TV series So You Think You’re Funny.
After that she was the first woman to win the audience choice award at the 2015 Savannah Comics’ Choice Awards, landed a role on e.tv’s Scandal!, and played a stereotypical nosy maid called Nobuhle on SABC1’s Ses’Top La.
“Having been chosen to open for Trevor Noah, is for me, confirmation of the fact that in life you have to be persistent and consistent about your dreams.
“I believe that this really is my gift as I became a comedian by accident with no knowledge whatsoever of where it would take me.
“But I saw the responses that I would get from my audience after each show I would do,” she said.
“People would come to me and tell me that I’m a star, they’d compliment my performance and that would give me that little bit of hope that indeed I am meant to do this,” Bunu added.
Bunu – who says being a female comedian is no easy task – admitted to the fact that every once in a while there tends to be a bit of discouragement.
“Unfortunately our industry is not a very welcoming and supportive industry. A new face is always seen as a threat and it almost sometimes feels as though you’re disturbing people within their territory. “It’s intimidating.”
Bunu has performed on the inter- national circuit too with performances in Botswana, Nigeria, Swaziland and most notably at the Greenwich Village Comedy Club in the capital of comedy, New York City. Ingrid Engelbrecht, publicity manager at M-Net, said Bunu was handpicked by Noah himself.