Chronicle Editor
Millicent Andile Dube, Showbiz Reporter
BULAWAYO residents will get to laugh their lungs out with the New Material and Open Mic Fringe comedy show scheduled for Friday at the Bulawayo Theatre.
The event will feature performances by Munashe Mutema, BrandXnM, Mbongeni, Ignatius, Ntobeko Malaba, Tapiwa Harinangoni, D’ Juni and Brian Sibanda.
According to organisers, this event has been organised for budding comedians to kick-start their careers while boosting their experience of performing live sessions with feedback from the audience.
The event is a collaboration of the Bulawayo Theatre Club and LOL Entertainment Zimbabwe. LOL entertainment founder, comedian Dumisani Ndlovu also known as MaForty said: “The New Material and Open Mic show is a platform for Stand-Up Comedy tryouts, up-and-coming and seasoned comedians to put out their new material and get feedback from the audience in an interactive set up.”
He said stand-up comedy has been growing with this platform set to further boost its growth.
MaForty said there is a need to have more platforms like these to nurture new talent that keeps emerging.
“There’s more talent in the streets that needs one with a vision so as to be able to bring out quality.
Through our platform, we’ll host guys that have never performed and infuse them with experienced guys so that they share notes. We hope that this happens as a regular occurrence in the arts calendar for Stand-Up Comedy,” said MaForty.
As a comedian, MaForty said he was inspired to introduce this initiative after drawing inspiration from live music sessions.
“Musicians have listening sessions for their new creations. Taking notes from them, we’re introducing this platform for comedians to try out their jokes before taking them to bigger stages,” he said.
Online Reporter