From TV to comedy

Kgomotso Molelekeng | Wednesday February 5, 2014 15:00

 

Indeed Macheng is making waves in the comedic circles and he does not intend to stop any time soon. Being in the limelight is not something new for the youngster.

'My big TV break came in 2008 when I was one of the lucky people to be the presenter of MAD, but before that I had auditioned for Mantlwaneng and didn't make the cut. This did not bring me down.  Rather I worked on myself,' he said. He said that he practiced before he went for the next auditions. 'Everything I do I take it seriously,' he said.  

It is no surprise that lately the young man has been trending all over town as the new hope for comedy. With his catchy name 'Daddy Cheng' one cannot miss him while on stage performing. He told Showbiz that it was back in 2003 when he realised how amazing it is that comedians have the ability to shake audiences across the world through nothing but humour. He pointed out that comedy appeared to him as a beautiful craft that has the power to heal broken souls, but mostly to put a smile on someone's face.

'It was one time when I was visiting a friend, I caught him watching a comedy channel.  Then suddenly by some miracle I stumbled across the Kings of Comedy and listened to Bernie Mac, I instantly fell in love with his work,' he said.

Macheng said that Steve Harvey also influenced him. He added that the fact that comedians are given freedom of speech is the icing on the cake.  He said, 'stand up comedy is very interesting because you can speak about issues that most people find too sensitive and add humour to it to cushion the blow.  It is amazing how one can use it to correct the imbalance of politics, war, famine and other pressing issues that affect us'. 

With so many comedians around, one may wonder what change Daddy Cheng is planning to bring and how he will create his fan base.  He was quick to point out that he is determined to bring a different feel of comedy as opposed to what people are used to.

'What is the point of seeing a bunch of Ribcrackers performing one after the other?  I like changing up the style because I do not want to have the Dignash syndrome or a 'monotony' whereby 50 percent of your crowd already knows the line up of your accents before u even speak,' he said. 

He added that although many people feel that being a comedian is an easy task, it is however a challenging career as coming up with new and original material is hard.

'I am an observational comic so for me inspiration comes easily.  I can easily sit in a combi, at a bus stop, be in a queue and be inspired by the politics or maybe past family experiences.  I also use music so all my materials are based on real life issues,' he said.

Already he has performed at the Alexander Forbes Christmas party, Number One Lady's Opera House, and at Khwest during open mics.  He is at United Cafe 3 every last Tuesday of the month and also made a huge impact at George's Pub recently.  Macheng hopes to win the Soul Food Comedy competition he entered. 'Already people are loving my material so I have confidence in making it big,' he said.