Comedy

Ahead of his one-man show tonight at the Warehouse Theatre, Courage the Comedian shared the motives behind this show and the issues he will address. Profits from this concert will be donated to organisations dealing with gender-based violence, LGBTIQ, education and youth empowerment. Having been in the comedy arena for eight years, he maintains that it is time to impact people with his work, hence getting into social activism through comedy. “I can't keep making 'knock-knock jokes' it is time for me to use my platform and influence to greater use.”He expounded that last month was tough for a lot of people with the #MeTooMovement. He was not pleased by how a lot of men were not vocal in supporting this cause thus he has decided to take a stand to address and teach men about consent and condemn the rape culture through comedy. He believes comedy is a good conduit to address serious issues of this calibre without having to hurt people's feelings. Homophobia is another theme that he is going to delve into at the show. He said he comes from Zimbabwe where homosexuality is regarded as a crime and has witnessed homophobia in his community. Courage the Comedian mentioned that there are Zimbabweans who come to Namibia and they are already agitated by homosexuals without even being provoked. “That for me is the same behaviour as xenophobia; we are crying that our fellow Zimbabweans are being mistreated in South Africa just for being different but we are subconsciously doing the same to others based on their sexual orientation.“It it is not only Zimbabweans, even Namibians do it; there are certain tribes whose cultures do not embrace homosexuality and when they see these people they become violent and this is something that should not be happening,” he added.The show will be hosted by Zulu Boy and will feature a musical performance by Blank and brief skits from Cassie Jessica and Zitha. Courage revealed that the organisations which will benefit from this concert include Be Free Movement, Slut Shame Walk, Sister Namibia and Women Speaking Out. “The main aim of this show is to give back to organisations that give people a platform to be heard and a safe space for them to get counselling and at the same time keep the Warehouse Theatre open,” said Courage. He launched his career in comedy in 2010 when he was still a media and drama student at Unam. He has since then represented Namibia at numerous international comedy festivals in countries like South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia and Botswana. He describes his comedy as social commentary with content that is mainly derived from observation. He emphasised that having spent the majority of his adulthood in Namibia he does not take away from the fact that he is still Zimbabwean. He does comedy from an outsider's point of view, further describing it as raising a mirror at the locals and showing them how they behave in a funny way. “Before I make fun of others I make fun of myself first. I speak of issues from an outsider's perspective. It is how you speak and behave; to you it is normal until someone points it out and that is why it is funny,” he shared. Contributing to the growth of comedy in Namibia, Courage the Comedian has started doing stand-up comedy in other towns on a more frequent basis. He now has a monthly show at Rundu's Werah Café and Theatre. He explained that he chose Rundu because it is known for a lot of cases of teenage pregnancies and alcohol abuse. “I believe this is mainly because there aren't a lot of forms of entertainment at the town. My monthly show is doing well and I can't wait to keep spreading outside Windhoek, it is just a matter of finding facilities in other towns to perform at,” he said. Courage the Comedian was voted as the first Last Comic Standing which was a competition for comedians in 2011. “In 2014 I became Male Comedian of the Year, at the first-ever comedy awards held in Namibia. I was also nominated twice in row as at the Simply You Lifestyle and Fashion awards,” he shared. On how comedy has impacted his life, he said he used to be an introvert until he started doing comedy and his confidence was boosted. He shared that he had a rough childhood, and a stepmother whom he never saw eye to eye with and because of that he was a sad and reserved juvenile. “Comedy taught me how to interact with people; I learned that being nice is not a bad thing. I do not want someone to feel sad because I felt sad most of my childhood so I decided to use comedy to uplift people's spirits and make them laugh,” he summed up.MICHAEL KAYUNDE

Comedy

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-15

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Comedy

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-15

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