The Loyiso Gola show comes to towns
Gola did what he does best, offering a fresh take on what is obvious, in what was his first stand-up performance in Mbombela.
“A nation that dances together, stays together,” offers Loyiso Gola. One that laughs together may be just as lucky, and this was surely achieved by his stand-up performance to an enthusiastic audience at Emnotweni on Saturday March 26.
What is more, it was his first time performing in Mbombela. His two-time Emmy Award-nominated satirical news show, Late Night News with Loyiso Gola (LNN), came to an end in 2015 after five years on air.
Fans in the area, some at a loss about where to turn to get the news, drove from far and wide to be in attendance. Traugott and Silke Fobbe came all the way from Hoedspruit to see Gola perform.
“With LNN, he has carried us through some of the gruesome madness in our politics,” said Traugott.
Up-and-coming young comedian Tshireletso “Mo” Mothebe, who has featured on LNN, warmed the audience up with tales of his state of “unemployment” while trying to make it in the business.
Gola did what he does best, offering a fresh take on what is obvious, but you have just never thought about it in that way. His topics ranging from politics to everyday issues.
“Beetroot and garlic, those are the EFF of food, threatening, ‘We will make this plate ungovernable’.”
He dug in racial stereotypes and interactions, current affairs, and in short, society. “Guys being released from prison for good behaviour – that is not where we want you to behave!”
He took questions from the audience and said it was a question of ownership that led to the decision not to renew LNN on eNCA, but a similar project was being planned and a DVD should drop within a few weeks. “In the meantime, I am fixing my deal with the Guptas. You can’t just get a job without the Guptas.”
But no, he is not overly concerned with politics, he told Lowvelder afterwards. “I don’t care about it more than the average person. Everyone is touched by it living in the world.” The one thing he does care about, he claimed, is soccer.
If he had to choose between the satirical-news format comedy and stand-up, he prefers the latter where you can go wherever the audience takes you. At the end of the day, it is all just acting.
“It is the skill of acting, both require different skills. With all comedy the objective is only to make people laugh.”
- View more pictures of the event: Loyiso Gola performs stand-up at Emnotweni
