Non discounted comedy night
The Comedy Black Friday series; Okello Okello, have been on for a while. These shows bring together established and up and coming comedians to get their five minutes with the audience. For the years he has hosted the shows , some people who have graced his shows have managed to get that big break.
On Friday, at the National Theatre, Okello Okello hosted yet another edition of the Black Friday Comedy.
The shows, to add to the experience, are held as silent shows, where the audience listens to the performers through headsets. The show had a wide selection of performers, carefully selected to include both newer comedians and experienced ones.
And their topics and genres were wide as well; one, for instance, is a street preacher and a teacher, thus he tries to keep his material clean, yet others, such as Don Andrea, Akite, who was making her return to the stage after an assault incident, Kalela, and McVex, among others, tackled issues ranging from life to politics and love.
Like all other art forms, comedy mirrors the times, thus, this show was not different. There was a lot of commentary about the Kenyan protests and comparisons with Uganda.
There were also jokes about Uganda’s police and how they react to situations, but some of the best material was from McVex, sharing the experience of becoming a father for the first time.
The show recently celebrated 10 years and also launched a version of Black Friday Comedy in Jinja. Unlike Ugandan music where new artistes find it hard to get mentorship from their seniors, comedy does it for new talent. Through shows such as New Material Night, where comedians test out new jokes, they have managed to breed talent that has crossed to foreign markets.