Talking stand up comedy with CJN
Dumisani Ncube | Friday March 31, 2017 16:02
CJN, who regards himself as a global comedian after having performed in a number of countries around the world, believes that the growth of a stand up comedian comes from being well travelled as it makes one to gain more experience and good content.
“The biggest mistake that a stand up comedian can make is being a local favourite. You have to travel around to learn more, meet new people and widen your following. The biggest challenge a stand up comedian can ever face is to connect with the world. Every time I travel around the country I get a following and the power of multiplication has an impact; the fan base grows every time,” said CJN.
He noted that comics should be able to relate with audiences from different backgrounds by doing research.
“In this era of internet it is much easier to get connections and perform in other countries. You can do that by simply searching for different comics and connect with them and create relations that will see you travel to their countries. There is a time I had to leave Zimbabwe and stayed in South Africa for a year so I grow my comedy skills. I did not have enough money but I managed to sail through”.
Talking of the comedy scene in Africa he stated that it is actually growing at a fast rate compared to other places around the world, giving examples of the likes of Trevor Noah, Basket Mouth and Kansiime Anne who fill up arenas around the world.
However despite stating that the comedy circuit is growing in Africa he said a number of elements are yet to be learnt and get the society to adapt giving an example of comedy and politics since some countries have a strict censorship rule when it comes to comedy.
“Comedy is not there to insult our leaders. Comedy addresses issues in a humorous way. We have to perform for the leadership so they understand.
Africa is getting there and not all jokes have to be political. It is not everyone who does political jokes. All jokes should start from a pop angle. In Africa there are different taboos; there are things that you cannot talk about”.
CJN is one of the first Zimbabwean comedians to make a Robert Mugabe joke in a public arena, something which is not a norm in his country.
The Zimbabwean stand up who has also performed on Comedy Central stated that the most vital element missing in the African comedy scene is comedy clubs as there are only four of them in Africa and they are all based in South Africa.
Despite being in the comedy scene for some years now, he believes he has not reached the status of being celebrated, which is the reason he has engaged on a world tour to reach a wide audience. The tour started early this year in Zimbabwe then he went to South Africa and now he is currently in the country where he has performed at BotswanaCraft and Travel Lodge alongside his musician young brother Cedric Ncube.
Last year CJN attempted to break the world record of the most staged stand-up comedy shows in a week. He surpassed the number by one show performing 31 stand up comedy shows but the Guinness Book of Records did not recognise his attempt because he did not meet the required standards.
“I was supposed to stage my shows at comedy clubs and the ticketing were supposed to be purchased from a web ticket format. Despite that I was congratulated by comedians from all over the world which I still think is a good thing.”