Going to the chapel again Burna Boy burns with talent
Tumi and Ndumiso are doing the marriage thing once more - but not to each other
SHINGAI DARANGWA
A YEAR on from the introduction of the first iteration of their stand-up comedy show, Married…but Not To Each Other, Tumi Morake and Ndumiso Lindi are set to hit the road once again.
The show’s concept came about when, while the two were travelling abroad, a customs official asked: “Are you married?”
Lindi responded, “Yes!”, caught himself, and added, “But not to each other.” That small moment grew into something bigger as they unpacked their friendship and the dynamics of their respective marriages.
“Most of the time we’re not on each other’s side,” says Morake. “You know when you tell your friend what’s going down in your relationship, you expect your friend to be on your side. But because I’m a wife and he’s telling me about his wife I’d be on his wife’s side. And when I tell him about my husband he’d be on his side. So we were like let’s do this show.”
The duo will be opening the 2019 season on Friday at the Soweto Theatre before heading out to the Flamingo Casino in Kimberley on June 1 and PACOFS in Bloemfontein on June 8.
They’ll also be switching things up a bit from their previous run, which saw them play in places like Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Mafikeng and Botswana.
“It’s been fun to see how many single people come, because initially what was happening is that there were a lot of couples coming. And then towards the end I found that groups of chicks would come out for a girl’s night out or whatever. And I like the dynamics because it even changes the kind of questions we get asked at the end,” she adds.
Aside from her regular radio and TV work, Morake has been busy with a theatre production which she co-wrote, and writing films. Although she still harbours a desire to be in front of the camera, she’s planning to be way more involved behind the camera this year. “It feels a little bit like I’m coming full circle,” she explains. “Because before this I was working behind the scenes in the industry, and then I jumped in front of the camera, and then I did both, and then I just stayed in front of it. And then now I think I’m over the fame.
“I studied at Wits, and the cool thing about when I studied at Wits is that you were made a jack of all trades. So I had majored in writing and performance when I was at Wits. And the jobs that were easy to get from the getgo were a lot of the behind-the-scenes things because you know I always feel like the beautiful chicks are so much easier to get in front of the screen that they’ll worry about their talent afterward,” she laughs.
“And the rest of us must jump through hoops. But on the plus side, I enjoyed writing and it’s something I still do.”
So much so that she often writes for people and forgets to invoice them, she says. Morake recalls how she found herself intrigued by comedy a few years after watching it and thinking, “now here’s a thing I don’t really know that I could probably kick ass at”. And she has.
“The special thing about Married... But Not To Each Other is that it is centred on relationships whether you’re dating, broken up with someone, married, divorced – it kind of says let’s look at this thing and laugh for a minute.” Prince Harry settled privacy and data protection claims Thursday against a news agency that hovered over his home in a helicopter and took photos directly into his living room and bedroom. Harry accepted substantial damages and an apology from Splash News and Picture Agency. The figure was not disclosed
SHINGAI DARANGWA
OVER the last 18 months, afro-fusion star Burna Boy has shot up from being a respected Nigerian artist to a globe-trotting African superstar. His music has certainly taken a more commercial route of late, which has helped make it more palatable for the global audience.
The 26-year-old Nigerian, real name Damini Ogulu, has music in his blood. His grandfather famously managed Fela Kuti, and much of his success has been credited to his mother, Bose Ogulu (popularly known as Mama Burna), who’s also his manager.
Earlier in the year, as she collected Burna’s four awards at the Soundcity MVP Awards in Lagos, Mama Burna drew praise on social media for her speeches which praised her son for his talent and gave credit to those who’ve helped him reach the top.
She also said, “Thank you Kanye West for making a mistake and calling your album Ye,” making reference to Burna’s viral hit, Ye, which was propelled onto the global scene when thousands of people who were searching for West’s album inadvertently came across Burna’s Ye and loved it.
Burna Boy’s attitude was wellsummed up when the performers’ list for this year’s Coachella festival was announced earlier in the year. While fans the world over celebrated his being named on the line-up, Burna complained that his name was written smaller than other artists on the bill.
“Coachella, I really appreciate you. But I don’t appreciate the way my name is written so small in your bill,” he wrote on Instagram. “I am an African giant and will not be reduced to whatever that tiny writing means.”
Burna knows his worth.