(Troy
Tesla)
Durban comedian Troy Tesla will debut his
provocative one-man show Whose LAND Is It
Anyway at the Firemans Arms in Cape Town on November 14.
The show, which will be hosted by Rob van
Vuuren, cover issues facing South Africa and the African continent from land reform
and homophobia and to the Cape water crisis through his experiences as a
world-travelling African black male.
“The goal of the show will be to find the
funny in some of the difficult conversations we have to have and come up with
solutions from land reform, homophobia and allegations of racism in rugby,” he
said. “Some of the topics will be controversial - but it will be provocative
but not offensive. It’s comedy with a
point.”
Tesla’s first experience of making people
laugh was in grade three when he took up public speaking as an extra-curriculum
activity at school and would often go off-script by throwing in a joke. He
started doing stand-up comedy about three years ago. “Funny story - I was
walking home and tried flirting with a stranger. She said hahaha you're so
funny maybe you should try stand-up ... one of those relationships went well
and here we are,” he added.
Since those early days on stage he has
performed with Van Vuuren, Carvin H Goldstone, Rob Van Vuuren, John Vlismas,
Thenjiwe Mosele and Nigerian comic, Basketmouth.
Asked what his favourite moment had been on
stage to-date, he said: “May 2017 at the Soweto Theatre. My mom watched me for
the first time and said I was funny. Best endorsement ever!”
His comedy heroine is Thenjiwe Mosele. “She
has a successful comedy career with a background much parallel to mine,” he
explains. “She went to study law abroad and built a strong home following
remotely and she even gave me advice on how to do it so let’s see about that.
“And then there’s that other guy, what’s
his name … Trevor Noah, I think - his meteoric rise to become a global act is
my ultimate goal. What I admire most is the ability to tell a joke that makes
everyone laugh regardless of where they are from.”
So, what advice does he have for aspiring
comics? “Don’t be afraid to start. Google search comedy shows in your area.
Promoters are always open to giving new acts a shot,” he says.
Tickets for Whose LAND Is It Anyway can be booked at www.quicket.co.za
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