Crackers kick off first tour
Sep 02, 2011
FIRST, it was the strategy of stage drama groups like The Ebonies, Bakayimbira Dramactors and Diamonds’ Ensemble. About two years into existence, probably Uganda’s first group of stand-up comedians has decided to pick a leaf from the drama seniors.
By Vision Reporter
FIRST, it was the strategy of stage drama groups like The Ebonies, Bakayimbira Dramactors and Diamonds’ Ensemble. About two years into existence, probably Uganda’s first group of stand-up comedians has decided to pick a leaf from the drama seniors.
Starting this weekend through to December, the group will have a tour that will run through several upcountry towns.
Now that the mountain will not come to Mohammad, Mohammad must go to the mountain. And so, the stand-up comedians are going in search of a bigger, albeit different, audience. The group’s first test will be in the east, with shows at Town Hall in Jinja (Friday), Thatch Gardens in Mbale (Saturday) and Queen’s Palace in Malaba (Sunday).
It is a group of 24 comedians, with quite a fair number of them being knowledgeable about culture and lifestyle in the east. But for Prince Emma, perhaps it is as well the group is not covering his Teso homeland. He has had “hard†jokes about the sisters from that region. The interpretation of such jokes often shifts with distance.
Emma Ssebakigye’s presentation is often bleep-filled and it will always come to his rescue whatever distance he intends to cover.
Predictably, what will highlight the show is the sheer comfort of managing to laugh at the rest of the world. With Alex Muhangi, Patrick Idringi, Dolibbondo and the rest of the team hitting the stage as outsiders with foreign stories, this will not be the discomforting ridicule.
“We are using different jokes that will communicate to the sentiments of those people who do not see our weekly shows at Theatre La Bonita,†explains Alex Muhangi. For groups that present plays, up-country shows are often a success despite the logistical demands. For stand-up, success may be deserved but it is not yet certain.
FIRST, it was the strategy of stage drama groups like The Ebonies, Bakayimbira Dramactors and Diamonds’ Ensemble. About two years into existence, probably Uganda’s first group of stand-up comedians has decided to pick a leaf from the drama seniors.
Starting this weekend through to December, the group will have a tour that will run through several upcountry towns.
Now that the mountain will not come to Mohammad, Mohammad must go to the mountain. And so, the stand-up comedians are going in search of a bigger, albeit different, audience. The group’s first test will be in the east, with shows at Town Hall in Jinja (Friday), Thatch Gardens in Mbale (Saturday) and Queen’s Palace in Malaba (Sunday).
It is a group of 24 comedians, with quite a fair number of them being knowledgeable about culture and lifestyle in the east. But for Prince Emma, perhaps it is as well the group is not covering his Teso homeland. He has had “hard†jokes about the sisters from that region. The interpretation of such jokes often shifts with distance.
Emma Ssebakigye’s presentation is often bleep-filled and it will always come to his rescue whatever distance he intends to cover.
Predictably, what will highlight the show is the sheer comfort of managing to laugh at the rest of the world. With Alex Muhangi, Patrick Idringi, Dolibbondo and the rest of the team hitting the stage as outsiders with foreign stories, this will not be the discomforting ridicule.
“We are using different jokes that will communicate to the sentiments of those people who do not see our weekly shows at Theatre La Bonita,†explains Alex Muhangi. For groups that present plays, up-country shows are often a success despite the logistical demands. For stand-up, success may be deserved but it is not yet certain.