Riaad reflects on the funny side of growing older in new show
DISCOVERING your first grey hair can be a traumatic experience for anyone.
Just ask local funnyman Riaad Moosa.
“When I found the grey hair that wasn’t growing out of my head, the grey hair that was growing out of a part of my body that shouldn’t have grey hairs… that was a horrific experience,” he said.
“They say age is nothing but a number; it’s just how you feel at heart. I don’t agree. When you have a grey hair growing out of that part of your body you are old no matter how you feel inside.” To celebrate his landmark birthday, the Joburg comedian has embarked on a national tour to showcase his new one-man comedy, Life Begins.
He spoke to the Independent on saturday this week about turning 40, his most embarrassing moment and his ultimate guests.
What can we expect from your new show?
I’m turning 40 soon and I’m trying to psychologically prepare myself for this. That’s why I’ve called the show Life Begins. I guess it’s a declaration that I’m just getting started.
I’m not saying that I’m in a mid-life crisis or anything but this is quite an existential show in which I ruminate about how I, as a relatively conservative Muslim man on a trajectory to becoming a medical doctor, ended up being a comedian.
“I also talk about the fact that even though I’m turning 40, in many ways I feel like I’m still crawling and I don’t understand the world.
Now that you’re older, have you reached a point where things stop being funny and become pretty real instead?
Comedy is very real. Every basis of a joke is based on pain. Comedy is just a way of looking at the world to survive pain.
At 40 you’re an old hand in the comedy game. What’s the one joke you wish was yours?
I don’t envy other jokes. I try to incorporate my own life into my humour. I’m finding the more personal and real I get, the funnier it becomes.
Complete the sentence: “If I had continued being a doctor I would be…”
Asked about rashes when I go to a wedding.
What is one of your more embarrassing memories?
I used to do magic when I was in high school. I took part in this competition where I made a ball float across the stage. I don’t mean to let the cat out of the bag, but there are strings involved… We had to set out perfect lighting so that the string would not be visible.
We did that at rehearsal, but at the time of the show no one told me that there was someone doing flash photography. With each flash, the string and my embarrassment were clearly visible.
People laughed at me and I didn’t enjoy it. So I thought I’d do something where people laugh at me and I’ll enjoy it.
Julius Malema takes on President Jacob Zuma in a boxing match. Who wins and why?
Zuma would knock Malema out for the count. But Zuma could get knocked out by counting.
Name three guests (dead or alive) you’d invite to your show. Why them?
Richard Pryor, Tupac Shakur and Nelson Mandela. It would be interesting to have three famous corpses decomposing in the front row.