The good racist

REVELATIONS II: JOHN VLISMAS IS ON AT MONTECASINO

From rearing some of the best in the biz, to creating his own brand of comedy, he remains a legend.

For a loudmouth, roast-master of note, John Vlismas is pretty reserved in person. He is polite, on-time and I’d be inclined to say he is actually quite kind. The comedian, often referred to as the Godfather of the South African comedy scene, is back on stage this weekend at MonteCasino in Revelations II The Good Racist.

It is hard to write without gushing. Most of my youth was spent – nay, wasted – at The Underground at Cool Runnings in Melville, where his career began and when the headliners at the venue earned R300 per performance. Funnily, while the measly amount, a pittance, would have had most people saying “screw this”, there was a waiting list of up to six weeks for comedians who wanted to perform at the venue. The wait was matched rather appropriately by the long queues that met my friends and I on Sunday nights, still moaning about the R20 cover charge. Then, of course, factor in the calibre of comedians performing at the Underground: David Kau, Loyiso Gola and Kagiso Lediga, and its easy to see why Vlismas is often referred to as the Godfather of Comedy. It is somewhat ironic that we meet at Melville’s de la Creme, just down the road from the erstwhile Cool Runnings. And when asked about the Godfather of Comedy he seems humbled by the title. “I don’t know what that means … I know Joe Parker was once called that. All I know is that I want to make comedy. I actually would like that on my gravestone” ‘comedy maker’.” Revelations II The Good Racist, says Vlismas, is “about what is relevant to me, regarding the issue of race and its anthropological and sociological roots. I have a racist in me and it just depends on whether or not I act it. “I look at the #RhodesMustFall and think ‘those kids are amazing’, and it really put things into perspective about what is wrong with this country and the world in general … we are getting to a place of disruption, which is great. It makes me so uncomfortable, which is what I need to be and what people need to be.” While comedians such as the David Goliath and international star Trevor Noah have become forces in their own right, other comedians have evolved using online platforms, such as Suzelle DIY or Nina Hastie, who is excellent with social media. With so many years of experience under his belt, Vlismas faces the mammoth task of creating comedy for an audience who create businesses out of social media. “I’m just a curious person, and I read, not for my show, but because I like it. So it’s not you who makes a show relevant; your show is what makes it relevant.” Vlismas has never shied away from the realities of life in South Africa: the racists, bigots and misogynists. “I am hoping the audience will think ‘oh, I didn’t realise that’. I kept thinking that this show was just about everyone else but, really, it was about me and my own experiences. I am aware of my flaws, of my generation, but that my daughter isn’t like that. “Things are going to change but it will take time.”