The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube/Tinomuda Chakanyuka
TWO Fridays ago saw the holding of Intwasa Extra’s comedy night at the Bulawayo theatre. The show lived up to its billing.
In the run-up to the show entertainment and showbiz pages in local newspapers were awash with glitzy previews hyping the event.
Much tête-à-tête in and around town, at least among comedy aficionados, was about the anticipated giggles, chuckles and rib cracking laughter the show would evoke.
The line-up of the comedians was in itself enticing and no one comedy lover would have wanted to miss the show for anything. The attendance confirmed this as the show almost attracted a full house and parking space was a headache.
By the time the show started at about 7.30pm revellers had long taken their seats in gleeful anticipation.
The show got into accelerating mode, as comedians took turns to try to make Bulawayo theatre reverberate with laughter.
Some were successful in this endeavour while others were a huge yawn, some were flawless while others left a lot to be desired, some left the crowds shouting for more while others drew sympathy from the crowds for honest but lame attempts at stand-up comedy.
Below is Sunday Leisure’s rating of each comedian’s performance on the night, out of 10.
We start with who we think was the night’s biggest flop going down to the artiste who stole the night.
Long John
2/10
Just last week the 21-year-old told this paper that he had caused waves in South Africa with his jokes. His performance last week showed very little of a lad whose talent was huge enough to cause waves, worse still in South Africa where there are bigger names.
Maybe Zimbabweans have a poor sense of humour than their South African counterparts, hence the failure by the young man to wow the crowd. Or perhaps it could be a case of a prophet without honour among his own kinsmen.
Well, whatever the case maybe, fact is the young man was a huge yawn on the night and failed to evoke even a smirk on the faces of revellers. His jokes were trite and immature, to say the least.
Most revellers could easily be seen trying to hide their heads under their seats, in apparent shame of the joke the young man was trying to make out of himself on stage.
Even hecklers, who are every stand up comedian’s nightmare, felt pity for the lad and did not bother making his life any harder. No pun intended.
Long John should polish up his act, get more jokes.
We give him 2 out of 10 for braving it and getting on stage and attempting to make people laugh, staying on stage throughout his slot despite very little appreciation from the crowd. Not many of us would attempt it.
Elando the drunk comic
6/10
Maruch!
Just the mere mention of Elando, the joke on owindi pops into one’s mind, that was a killer joke and the fact that people were still talking about it long after the show demonstrates his ingenuity.
It is every comedian’s goal to have people talk about his jokes on the streets and during kombi rides and the fact that he achieved this proves that Elando deserves an above average rating.
He is clearly improving with every show and is one comedian to watch out for in future.
However, it can be of assistance if these comedians realise that stand-up comedy is not about telling funny stories alone, yes they can be part of an act but with the ever evolving comedy scene it is now all about poking fun on current affairs. This thus calls for someone to be well read such that they can crack jokes which the audience can easily identify with.
Ntando Van Moyo
7/10
The brains behind Umahlekisa Comedy, did not disappoint as usual. Spotting his trademark “Ndebele maker” t-shirt, Moyo was seemingly at his best, dishing out jokes centred on everyday activities.
However, as has become the norm with his performances, Moyo made sure to mention his t-shirt and the controversy it has attracted (time to change focus my brother).
One thing that showed the young man’s maturity was that even when hecklers were trying in vain to frustrate his performance, he took them on and seemingly won the exchange in a hilarious manner.
His command on the stage was in itself perfect, moving from one joke to the next, at the same time touching on different life related topics.
He was so composed that even the way he sipped the bottle of water he had with him was very humorous.
His ghetto inspired posture was very hilarious as he continuously poked fun at Western inspired teens (ama-nigger).
Moyo clearly deserved a seven for his well-polished jokes but should improve in terms of originality and avoid repeating jokes, as he evidently has a lot of followers some of whom confirmed to attending each and every show he features.
And whoever told these comedians that vulgarities and sex are comedy made a grave mistake!
Babongile Sikhonjwa
8/10
Sikhonjwa was the director of ceremonies on the night and did not really perform, but managed to keep the show flowing and interesting even after some boring acts, with his intermittent jokes and witty remarks.
Sikhonjwa has a rich sense of humour and a natural ability to easily make a joke out of nothing.
His own renditions of popular songs spiced with some elements of dirty mischief sent the crowd into a delirium.
It was really difficult to gauge Sikhonjwa’s show. It would have been much easier to rate him against the other comedians if he had put up a full performance.
He, however, managed to cover up for some youngsters who struggled to keep the crowd entertained.
Being one of the veteran comedians in the country, Sikhonjwa managed to show why he has become the MC of choice in the country.
He also had advice for the guys out there facing “girlfriend problems” with the rendition of his song Stametta, which is available “via whatsapp or Bluetooth”.
On the other hand, the veteran comedian seems to have all his jokes centred on sex and sexuality — something which may trivialise his comedic content especially for an unrated audience. Most of his jokes had sexual connotations and such things dampen his act. A balance is therefore very necessary.
The crowd
8/10
The crowd was fantastic, turning up in their numbers to offer their support to the comedians and supporting the arts industry in the city.
It is no secret that comedy has taken the city by storm and the comedians have somehow managed to resuscitate the city’s dwindling lustre as the country’s arts and culture hub.
The only spoilers were the hecklers, who jeered some comedians and threatened to spoil the show but this did not dampen the mood in the auditorium. But as the comedy scene grows, probably measures should be taken to both educate and thwart such behaviour to buffer the artistic expression of comedians.
Q The Boss
9/10
No wonder he calls himself The Boss. The guy is proving to be the don of stand-up comedy in the country. He aced through his performance and wowed just everyone who was in the house. Even the hecklers would laugh first at his jokes before attempting to throw spanners.
Q’s unique gift of proficiency and fluency in the three main languages used in Zimbabwe, Ndebele, Shona and English makes his deliveries flawless. He doesn’t struggle for words and expressions in all the languages, which makes it easy for him to sell through his jokes.
The manner he engages the crowd is fantastic and his ability to crack impromptu jokes on some members of the crowd, shows his quick mind and huge sense of humour.
He seems a wide reader and an avid traveller as well, something Sunday Leisure assumes has helped him broaden his horizons and nourish his imagination allowing him to crack jokes on wide ranging subjects. This is something that aspiring comedians like Long John might learn.
Q’s dressing on the night was however uninspiring. He could have done better to look more like a celebrated comedian, not the junkie he portrayed with his wrinkled shirt hanging from his trousers. For that we remove one point from his performance.
Clive Chigubu
9/10
Yeye!
This was Chigubu’s first performance after a long lay-off due to illness and what a way to return to the stage.
Dressed in a suit and showing all and sundry his nimble footedness with dance moves punctuating his performance — Chigubu was clearly at his best.
Ladies could be heard screaming with laughter right through his performance leaving one wondering whether he is already taken or not.
Chigubu, who was the main act of the night and the clear crowd favourite, judging from the response he got from the auditorium, manoeuvred from one joke to the next like any professional comedian but his was with a touch of flair as with each and every joke the audience were laughing continuously.
Even the hecklers who initially sought to spoil the show could not resist but laugh the night away.
Welcome back Clive and thank God for your speedy recovery.
Intwasa organisers
10/10
When the Intwasa festival came to a close on 27 September very few people would have thought that they would have a second bite of the cherry.
However, arts lovers in the city were in for an early Christmas treat when the festival’s director, Raisedon Baya announced the holding of the three-day extravaganza — Intwasa Extra- from 20 to 22 November.
People had a chance to watch their favourite comedians and the theatre production UMbiko kaMadlenya.
Thank you Baya and your team for lifting the arts industry koBulawayo and evoking the festive spirits early enough.
On the down-side, the organisers should consider rating the show as the level of sexual explicitness at the show put many patrons who had brought their families and younger patrons off. Rating the shows will allow people to know what to expect.
