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Arts Reporter
Ugandan comedian Anne Kansiime is expected in the country today ahead of her show at 7Arts Theatre in Harare on Saturday. The hilarious comedian is expected to land at the Harare International Airport around 2pm with her manager and creative assistant.
Tickets to the show have been sold out and organisers said Kansiime’s local fans that did not get tickets to the show can attend her welcome party that will be held tomorrow at Maestro Restaurant.
They are also organising an after-party at the same restaurant on Saturday after the 7Arts Theatre show.
At the comedy show, Kansiime will share the stage with local comedians Carl Joshua Ncube and Doc Vikela.
Tonderai Mwaita of Extratime Entertainment, which is organising the show, said they were overwhelmed with the response from fans.
“We did not expect such a response. The tickets have been sold out four days before the show and people are still enquiring,” said Mwaita.
“We have realised that we chose a small venue but we cannot make any changes now. It is unfortunate that we will not be able to accommodate the multitudes of fans that would want to watch Kansiime in action. She is very popular in Zimbabwe and the response is far beyond our expectations.
“We have arranged a welcome party and an after-party to cater for fans that have not been able to get tickets but real action is at 7Arts Theatre. We thank our sponsors that include Brands Africa, Astro Mobile, Black Opal and Tech Tool among others for working with us to bring this fascinating character to Harare.”
Kansiime stole international limelight through her YouTube skits that have been viewed by millions of followers. According to her official biography, Kansiime acting in 2007, while still an undergraduate at Makerere University.
She participated in drama skits acted by the theatre group Theatre Factory, who played at the Uganda National Theatre.
When Theatre Factory disintegrated, she joined Theatre Fun, that replaced it. She partnered with Brian Mulondo as a Taxi interview conductor in the “MiniBuzz” series and provided comic video dramatisations of topical issues that random passengers discussed.
As the popularity of the show grew, Kansiime began posting some of her sketch comedy skits on YouTube. She received positive feedback and that encouraged her to post more videos. Her screen breakthrough came when Citizen TV offered her a slot to produce, star and present a comedy show once a week.
That is how she came up with the “Don’t Mess With Kansiime” comedy show that is popular with viewers. She began touring after her successful works at home and has performed in packed houses in Blantyre, Gaborone, Kigali, Kuala Lumpur, Lagos, Lilongwe, London and Lusaka.
Online Reporter