Local comedians have been putting in a lot of work in the year 2019. Majority of them have featured in various gigs on the global stage with some even scooping accolades on the same platforms.
Back home, a youngster who we first encountered in 2015, who at that time was really struggling to piece together any palatable punchlines has blossomed to be the face of the next generation of comedians in Zimbabwe.
This lad is King Kandoro.
Many will say he blew up from nowhere, but like we said he has been putting in the work away from the limelight and now the fruit is beginning to manifest.
Having wowed many in both local and foreign platforms this year, the Madhorofiya Republik frontman will stage his debut one man comedy show at Reps Theatre on 27 December.
The show is dubbed ‘Conspiracy Theories’ and the funny guy revealed to Zimbo Jam why he chose that title.
“I wanted a title that would immediately convey what the show is about without me having to explain much,” said the King.
“I am a result of my environment and I grew up around some of the best conspiracy theorists. The show is about my own conspiracy theories on relationships, the importance of having an accent, Nelson Mandela and The Miz, amongst many others.”
What’s the main objective of this gig one would wonder?
“I want to use the show to introduce myself and my comedy to Zimbabwe and beyond as a solo act. I have been performing stand up since August 2015 and up until now my story has been shared in bits and pieces. This show will be the “full story”, of the people that made me, where I come from and the things I think about in the middle of the night.”
Recently, the comedian took to social media to thank fans for buying close to half the tickets as he targets a full house on the night.
“Ticket sales have been going well, the response from people has been so positive and I’m grateful. My my main focus now is fine tuning the day’s programmer such that everything flows on the evening from start to finish.
“I have also started tightening the material which has been a challenge because coming up with conspiracy theories is almost a reflex action for me. I have to physically calm myself down. The final product will be a seamless experience, everything will be connected,” he shared.
Nowadays it is difficult to talk about African comedy especially the young budding ones in the calibre of Kandoro without interrogating how the success of Trevor Noah has impacted their passion for the game.
We asked the King to what extent the success of Trevor Noah had impacted him and he responded, “Greatly! For me ‘The Daywalker’ was a great introduction to what African comedy sounded like when done correctly. To see what he has achieved since then is not only a great inspiration to me as a comedian but as an African child. It’s evidence that our dreams are valid, all that is needed is hard work and focus.”
He also revealed that he has ambitions to be on Netflix just like Noah.
“In five years I want to have toured most of the world doing stand up comedy, have at least one Netflix special and happily married with two kids.”
