Bruce Ndlovu
Despite the fact that most of the citya��s stand-up comedians hail from the western suburbs, few rarely perform there with most taking their craft to areas close to the CBD or the more affluent eastern parts of the city.
This is the view of Umahlekisa founder Ntando Van Moyo.
a�?I think ekasi (western suburbs) have been shunned and comedians concentrate too much in the CBD yet most comics come from ekasi. With this in mind, there is a desperate need to explore this as a new avenue,a�? he said.
With this in mind, Moyo has founded and established Umahlekisaa��s Ekasi Free Comedy Sundays, which sees the group of comedians move from suburb to suburb, bringing smiles to the faces of those that care to give them a listen.
The shows, which entered their fourth week with another showing at New Magwegwe Terminus last Sunday, take place every Sunday and have so far managed to draw impressive crowds.
Moyo said that it was high time that the city and countrya��s comedians realised that it was important to build their brands and names with communities that were sometimes ignored. Free shows, would also go a long way in building relationships between the comedians and the communities.
a�?The Free Comedy Sundays are an audience building initiative by Umahlekisa. We want people all around Zimbabwe to understand our brand of comedy as well as tap into the hidden talent in the communities. Ita��s also a way to get our brand visible and entice partners.
a�?We aim to exhaust Bulawayo and move to other towns in the Matabeleland region before going national,a�? he said.
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