Top United Kingdom-based comedian Mukudzei Kandoro-Majoni, better known as King Kandoro is coming home for a two-night comedy show dubbed the “Prodigal Son Tour”.
Kandoro, who relocated in search of greener pastures, has been making waves with his satirical and hard-hitting talk show where he unpacks Zimbabwe’s socio-economic and political issues in a not so conventional way.
Our Senior Reporter Lovejoy Mutongwiza (LM) caught up with Mukudzei Kandoro (MK) to get an insight into the homecoming comedy show scheduled for 22 and 24 December in Harare and Bulawayo respectively.
LM: Nice and interesting choice of your homecoming show, what inspired this? Who’s the prodigal son?
MK: The show is inspired by changes that have happened in my life in the past 2 years. I got married, relocated to a different continent, and became a father. And with each of these things came a lot of joy and its own tribulations.
I called the show ‘The Prodigal Son’ because the stories I am sharing are all about coming back to something, to religion, to family, to home, whatever home means to different people. So I am the prodigal son, but so could be the person in the audience.
LM: We are not seeing any supporting acts, are backing yourself up that you can pull this off alone?
MK: The reason there are no supporting acts on the promotional materials is not that they’re not there, it’s because it’s a one-man show.
You want to have confidence that the people buying tickets to come are doing so because they’re interested in what YOU have to say.
But on the day of the, I will share the stage with my people. I am confident I can pull it off because I have pulled it off before.
LM: You seem to be growing your comedy brand, what’s been the trick to this?
MK: Haha, thank you! I’m not sure there’s a trick to it, it’s a hard and lonely journey of sticking to your guns, trying and failing. If I had to pick one thing I would say it’s probably just the kindness of strangers on the internet, people who leave comments on youtube channels, who like and RT posters and content, people who send PayPal.
It’s that support that gets other people noticing and thinking okay maybe this guy is worth my time if so and so are supporting him this consistently.
LM: How have you settled in the UK? Are you doing any shows abroad!
MK: Things are only starting to open up now, previously venues had been closed due to the pandemic, so there wasn’t any movement show wise, for everybody. But I’ve started booking gigs, linking up with other comedians, and I think 2022 is going to be very exciting. Covid permitting.
LM: Is Zimbabwe ready for political comedy
MK: We’ve always had political satire, if you watch old Paraffin episodes, especially the zino one, you’ll notice that it’s talking about corruption and government ineptitude even though the focus is on the council level.
The only difference is that now with social media, everything is sensationalised. If you do a satirical piece, they will be more focused on the offence you might cause than the issue you’re raising. “Zviri safe here izvi” “uchatadza kupinda paairport..” It’s disguised as a concern but it’s not really a concern, because it assumes the creator of the piece is not aware of the relevance of what they created. Zimbabwe has always BEEN a political comedy.
LM: What role does comedy play in articulating socioeconomic and political issues
MK: I fell in love with comedy because of the power it has in igniting very difficult conversations and making them more palatable. Comedy is such a versatile art form, fits in any and every situation without ever being confrontational.
Doc Vikela’s work as Vakuru is the perfect example of this. He is making us laugh, but at the same time, he is posing very very poignant questions. It’s up to you whether you laugh and answer the question or you just laugh and continue your day. Comedy gives you options.
For those who would want to purchase tickets to the show, visit madhorofiya.com
Follow Kandoro on Twitter @kingkandoro.
