Ugandan Comedians to blame for shrinking numbers- Salvador

Uganda’s comedy industry once had audiences laughing all the way to the ticket booth. Today, some comedians appear to be struggling to get those same audiences through the door, raising questions about what went wrong.

Comedian Patrick Salvado believes musicians may have had a hand in the industry's troubles, arguing that allowing singers to share comedy stages gradually turned comedy shows into musical concerts with jokes squeezed somewhere in between.

Speaking during an interview on Kasuku Live, Salvado admitted that comedians were partly responsible for the change, which he said disrupted the original format of their shows.

“We messed up. From the genesis, it was purely comedians, and musicians came to us for features. We would let them have the stage first, and events got full,” Salvado recalled.

Initially, musicians approached comedians for opportunities to perform at their shows. However, as the events grew, organisers began looking for ways to attract even bigger audiences.

Salvado recalled that the comedians eventually moved their shows to La Bonita, a venue with a capacity of about 1,300 people. Suddenly, filling the venue became another joke, only this time, nobody was laughing.

According to Salvado, one manager suggested bringing musicians on board to attract larger crowds.

The idea may have looked like a masterstroke at the time, but Salvado now believes the decision contributed to the comedy industry's current predicament.

Perhaps the musicians came to add a little musical spice, only for the comedians to find themselves sharing the spotlight with the very people who were initially coming to them for stage time.

And when the music starts, it is often the singer who gets the crowd singing along, while the comedian waits for the audience to stop singing long enough to hear the next joke.

Where did the laughter and the money go?

Salvado is not the only comedian wondering what happened to an industry that once appeared to be on a roll.

Comedian Kapere Lufotose has also questioned the state of Uganda's comedy scene, expressing frustration that several performers are struggling financially despite the industry's apparent growth in previous years.

Kapere said some of his colleagues have recently gone public about their financial struggles, leaving him wondering whether the business of making people laugh has stopped being funny for those doing the actual work.

“We don’t know who’s bewitching us because now my colleagues have started coming out to reveal they are struggling like MC Fish. That’s why I ask, what happened to comedy?” he asked.

For Kapere, the situation raises questions about why comedians are no longer attracting the audiences and earning the money they once hoped for.

After all, making people laugh is one thing; making enough money from it to pay rent, fuel a car and keep food on the table is quite another.

Kapere also pointed to comedian Kapale’s return to Uganda and the poor turnout at one of his shows as another worrying sign.

Comedian Kapale registered a very poor turn up at Theatre Labonita recently. File photo

For an industry built on getting people to turn up for a good laugh, empty seats are no laughing matter.

Just when you thought Uganda’s comedians need to revisit the basics: give the jokes centre stage, let the musicians have their own concerts, Tanzanian music star Diamond Platnumz and Rwanda’s The Ben will fly in to headline the upcoming 10th anniversary for Comedy Store to cement the fact that comedians keep playing second fiddle to musicians.