Comedy Club Interview

What's the first funny thing you remember saying?
(panics). I don't know. but I remember making my parents laugh quite a bit What drove you to choose comedy, when you could have been a mechanic or a doctor or something decent like that? Well, coming from Mitchell's Plain, there's tonnes of mechanics out there. But it all started as the class idiot thing, and worked its way from there.

What's your favourite fashion accessory?
My sideburns.

How has the way you look affected your identity as a comic?
After I grew the sideburns the whole Seventies Game Show Host kicked in and I've been trying to play around with it ever since. I've also got a very elastic face, and I think that helps.

Are there things you wouldn't say on stage? Eg, any words you'd never use or subjects you'd never tackle?
How much time do you have? I don't do politics. That's taboo as far as my comedy goes. It's way too sensitive, even though it's funny, especially if it's pointed in a certain direction, which a lot of comics do these days, but it's not my kind of comedy.

Who is your major influence? And your major South African influence?
My comic heroes are all South African, Mel Miller, Barry Hilton. a whole host of them but Riaad Moosa rates very highly on my scale.

Is there any figure from your past that you'd like to see in your audience? What would you do to them or for them?
I really wish my old principal from high school would be in the audience - I could fuck with him a bit (laughs)

What's lacking from South African comedy, or audiences, that it remains such a small scene?
Well, I think that's what makes it so special. It's not lacking anything at the moment. Yes, it's small, but it's growing all the time, because until a couple of years ago comedy was practically non-existent.

Do you think all South Africans can all laugh at the same joke at the same time. What kind of joke would it be?
Every day life occurrences work the best. Getting a hiding and doilies always work. I do this thing on doilies, have you seen it? OK, I'll do it later this evening.

Do you ever steal jokes?
As much as I'd like to say no there are times when I've used an unoriginal joke onstage... I'm trying to phase that out, but I always say that.

Would you sell your material?
If I were exclusively a writer, yes I would, but being a comic, no, I don't think I'd ever sell.

Would you promise never to use them on stage again after the sale?
Chances are I'd say I wouldn't, then do it anyway.

Which internationally renowned comic would you most like to work with? What would you do to him/her?
That would have to be Robin Williams. I'd probably try to rip him off.

What's the most embarrassing death you've ever seen another comic die on stage? (names not necessary) Describe the incident, and how you felt.
There was a guy doing open mic here [armchair] a couple of months ago, his name was Victor. He came on wearing a full military outfit (laughs). At the end the audience was laughing at him, not with him. That was the biggest death I've ever seen. It was embarrassing, really. But my first gig wasn't that good either.

Where would you like to live when you retire - if ever?
I live in Obs at the moment and I don't think I'd live anywhere else.

How funny do you Really think you are?
I think I'm fucking hilarious.

Will you matter 50 years after you're dead? Will it matter to you?
I reckon it would. I'd like to be immortalized. I think everybody would.

What's the interview question you'd most like to be asked, and what is the answer?
Q: Are those sideburns cool? A: Damn right they are

Article sourced from: Spier Arts