Inspiration, disasters and life on the road
The cheers I got when my name was announced were amazing. I got on that stage and everything I said was met with raucous laughter. The comedy gods smiled down on me.
Lets go back in time. What do you remember about your first show?
It was an open mic show at varsity and I swore way too much. I basically put jokes in between the curses. It was terrible. Back then I thought that was what comedy was about. I guess I watched too much Richard Pryor.
What has 10 years in the biz taught you about live comedy, audiences and Durban?
You learn to read your audience, to adapt quickly, to change things when they aren’t working. You look at the faces in the room and try and figure out really quickly what matters to these people.
Durban loves to laugh, we don’t necessarily laugh the loudest, but I think it has the best comedy support in terms of numbers. They are a little more reserved than elsewhere, but overall its a city that is fast becoming the comedy capital of Africa.
Do you believe that there are some no-go areas in comedy, or do you believe anything is fair game, the more controversial the better?
I’d like to say anything is fair game, but I wouldn’t joke about rape, for instance. There are topics that are no go. Some comics get away with controversial stuff, but I guess you have to have a sense of place. Some audiences want the comic to be as dark as possible, but others don’t dig it at all. It depends where you are.
How much adaptation goes into a show based on changing locations? For example, how do you prepare for an Australian audience? Is there much of a shift from one Durban suburb to another?
If you have a generic show you can go anywhere with it. Ideally comics should be writing for a global audience, but it does help knowing a little about the place you’re performing in to get the audience on your side and make the show a little more personal.
Tell me more about the Australia performance? How did that happen?
Going to be in Oz in May. A promoter down there heard about me and said it would be cool to have me perform for the expats. It’s exciting and scary at the time, but more exciting. Going to perform in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne
Is
there an evolution in the way you tell a joke, in your style of comedy over the years, or is it better to remain consistent? How do you incorporate new styles or formulas into what you do while keeping a core audience?
Joke writing can be quite technical, but there’s also a lot of freestyling. There are different types of comics. One-liner comedians, deadpan, story tellers. I like doing a bit of everything. Lately I’ve been writing a lot of one-liners. They’re fun and easy to absorb. Inspiration comes from everywhere, sometimes when you least expect it.
Joker starts at 8pm at izulu Sibaya, March 25 and 26. Tickets are R100 from Computicket and Checkers.