daniel chigunwe
Laura Maposa
Zimpapers Entertainment Hub
COMEDY lovers in Harare had a blast at the weekend as Nigel “Tha Slick Pastor” Maritinyu hosted 2 comedy show at Reps Theatre in Belgravia.
He is witty, smart and slick. Better still, he has a Sleek tongue.
Hate or love him, Nigel Maritinyu is just a marvel to watch. And he turns his art into what it should really be; a captivating experience.
Judging by his last performance, comedian Maritinyu, affectionately known as “Tha Slick Pastor”, is here to stay. His intentions are clear: he has come to conquer the comedy industry.
Munyaradzi Mike Chipere, who was one of the supporting acts told Zimpapers Arts and Entertainment hub that sharing the stage with Nijo was just absolutely electric. I can’t explain that. It just feels surreal.
“A brief background on how I started comedy.
I was asked to preach one day at church, and I didn’t know how to make it interesting, and the only thing that I thought of was making it funny.
“And when I saw people laughing at my sermon, it was like a lightbulb moment, and I just felt like, oh, I could actually do this full time,” said Chipere.
“So, I looked for people that were doing side-up comedy within Zim, and I bumped into Simuka Comedy.
“That is headed by Doc Vikela, and they took me in and nurtured me, and they gave me all the key points, especially Doc Vikela.
“He headed me in the right direction. They were hosting Simuka Week around the time we would have two shows at the end of the month at Rips Theatre.
“So, I performed at Simuka Week, and that’s just how I got into the groove of it. And then as time went on, I met King Kandoro, and I started performing at New School Comedy Club, New School Comedy Week, and at New School Comedy Week, that’s where I met Nigel.”
Chipere added that people are more willing to come and watch shows. It’s just that bridge between, you know, the online presence and having the stand-up comedy shows that needs to be gapped.
“That’s how we got to perform at the show that we had over the weekend. And I think the country is slowly actually warming up to Zimbabwe comedy.
“I’ve been doing comedy for maybe the past six, seven years now, and it hasn’t been as big as it is now.
“It’s just been gradually growing. You know, stand-up comedy is a very niche art form, and it’s very specific for people that want to watch stand-up comedy.
“Where they’re realizing that, oh, we actually have our own stand-up comedians in this country that are pretty good, and now people are more willing to come and watch shows. It’s just that bridge between, you know, the online presence and having the stand-up comedy shows that needs to be gapped.
“But I think the country is actually starting to warm up. And in a couple of years’ time, we’re going to be having a very, very different situation. I can definitely see that.
“After this experience, what should we expect from you? Definitely, I would say I need to be more present online because a lot of people after the show tell me, you’re so funny, you’re so funny, but how come we’ve never heard of you?”
Online Reporter