Carl Ncube — Not Your Ordinary Comedian

A Writer’s Reflection:

Carl Joshua Ncube is not your ordinary comedian. Though that is an obvious oxymoron, as comedians are not generally perceived as particularly ordinary, the point of the statement is to highlight that Ncube is much more than a comedian: He is a writer, producer and creative genius taking Zimbabwe by storm!

To be candid, I didn’t know much about Ncube until I started writing this article. But I must say that I was pleasantly entertained watching his stand up comedy act, “Big Announcement,” on YouTube. One of his many jokes included his assertion that one can learn a lot about how a person kisses by watching them eat “Freezit,” a frozen sugar popsicle.

As he described the difference between several methods of eating the Freezit, his audience erupted into loud laughter. They deeply enjoyed the show. He then went on to talk about the different Zimbabwean accents, and the crowd erupted into laughter again. Ncube is indeed funny! Watching his clips online, I could certainly relate to his jokes as a person of African heritage. What made his acts even more refreshing was that he remains funny without being obscene. His jokes are reflections of everyday situations, delivered with idioms that can mirror anyone’s life.

Ncube didn’t grow up wishing he would be a comedian: in fact, he grew up with a love for animation. However, he was sent to school in London to study nursing, and later returned to Zimbabwe where comedy would dictate his life. He didn’t realize telling jokes at a friend’s wedding would be the beginning of his career as a stand-up comedian, but it became the beginning of his journey. Because of him, doors were opened for many stand up shows including his very own show,” Big Announcement.” Ncube also produced Zimbabwe’s first animated show titled, “Nyami Nyami.” To add to his creative credit, he was also a producer for the Zimbabwean Music Awards in 2010.

Presently, Ncube is on a mission — one city at a time — to educate the world about Zimbabwean people and culture. He has stated that, although everyone recognizes Zimbabwe because of its politics, he wants the world to know the people and culture of Zimbabwe. His world tour, through which he is using as a platform to reach this goal, began on May 12, and will continue until August 26.  Speaking about the show, he stated, “I want everyone who comes out to see the show to be a Zimbabwean for a day.”

Carl Joshua Ncube is certainly no ordinary comedian. He is a true innovator and creative force in Zimbabwe. It won’t be long before the world sees his vision and agrees.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2011/06/06/ia.zimbabwe.comedy.ncube.bk.c.cnn?iref=allsearch

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