Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?
I am Daliso Chaponda. An African comedian and writer who talks in long sentences and never minds his own business. In the UK, I am known for discussing race on Radio 4, coming third in a TV competition, and making delicious Tom Kha soup.
How would you describe your show?
The show is called Blah Blah Blacklist and it’s a show about idols who have done criminal acts, made social media gaffes, or otherwise found their way onto the blacklist. Bill Cosby, Liam Neeson, Martin Luther King, Angela Smith, R. Kelly… The most difficult thing is, every few weeks when I think I’ve decided who to discuss, somebody else pops up… I’m looking at you Danny Baker. Not to mention family members, ex-girlfriends, friends who’ve disappointed me, religion. The show is about that moment you lose faith in an idol or a parent or an institution. Sound philosophical eh. I still find a way to throw in a few knob gags and a joke about penguins.
Why do you want to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe?
The fringe is a comedy exploding wedding cake. My metaphor may be confusing, but suffice it to say, it’s got hundreds of shows – some good, some atrocious – around every corner. People debate whether a show was good in late night bars with the intensity of MPs discussing Brexit. Random strangers who love your show randomly hug you. People who don’t glare at you with disdain. That person in the second row with a clipboard could help take your career to the next level or destroy it. Did I mention, STREET PERFORMERS! Last year somebody made a balloon art representation of one of my jokes. And…. And… Honestly, comedy exploding wedding cake said it best.
What differentiates it from other festivals?
It’s total lunacy. In a good way. I’ve done the Montreal comedy festival, which is full of industry and suits and adrenaline. I’ve done the Johannesburg festival, and Melbourne Festival, and Malaysian festivals and so many more. None of them has the insanity of Edinburgh, where anyone can put on a show (even some people who probably shouldn’t). Also, such desperation in comedian’s eyes. Mine too. Come to my show, talk to me, love me, love me, love me. Nowhere is remotely like it.
What first motivated you to enter the industry? Who were your inspirations?
I wanted to be a literary giant and write big fat tomes. African Tolstoy, Malawian Jane Austen… These are the kind of epitaphs I aspired to. But God, or random atoms crashing depend on your beliefs, had other plans. My gift seemed not to make people weep or realise some poignant truth about the human condition, but rather to make them laugh. What an outrage!
While I was trying to sublimate my humorous gifts and write deep fiction I discovered Joan Rivers, Redd Foxx, Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, and so many more. I replaced my African Tolstoy dreams with African Richard Pryor pretensions. Now, in most interviews nowadays I don’t mention that I loved Cosby, but this show is about fallen idols so I mention him now. I loved him and was so horrified and disgusted by the role he had in shaping my humor. But another influence was George Carlin, and he always felt you should find humor in the things that anger and frustrate you. Result: Blah Blah Blacklist.
If you didn’t have your current job, what would you probably be doing?
I would be writing. It might be journalism, or copy on bland websites, or those big Tolstoyesque tomes. Hell, it might be pamphlets or sermons before I preached in a pulpit. I love writing more than I love my girlfriend. Don’t tell her that. If you do, I’ll probably write her an apology rather than say it to her. She’ll read it and laugh.
If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
I’d host a weekly stand-up comedy show, but wouldn’t be about the news. It would be about…. Wait, I can’t tell you. It might happen. I’m building that mountain. In fact, this show, and the tour which follows it are steps on my path to that weekly stand up show. Any job in the world and I’d pick a variation of my own job. No wonder I am happy.
What is your earliest childhood art memory?
I wrote a funny story and my English Teacher Mrs. Hall made me read it out aloud in class. Some other kids laughed and I was hooked.
Do you ever feel any pressure to be a social commentator, or constantly update material to respond to events?
Not really. I write about what’s on my mind. A few years ago, I was lonely and going through horrendous romantic ups and downs so I primarily wrote about love and ignored politicians and pomposity. Now that my personal life is less chaotic (still has a soupcon!), and the world is more chaotic, of course it’s what preoccupies me. It’s no pressure though, it’s a delight. What will I joke about tomorrow. Every day I wake up and find out.
Equally, do you think there has been a shift in public sentiment that has affected your work?
There’s been a shift, to a degree. People overstate how much things have changed. The Book of Mormon is still a hit show, offensive comedians still have audiences, so we’ve not gone as far into the ‘you can’t say anything’ rabbit hole as people claim. What I think has definitely changed, is more often are you challenged to defend what you said. And I think that’s fine. I still do the same kind of jokes I always did, and I now tell people at the end of my show, if anything I said bothered them don’t rage on twitter, talk to me.
Recently a woman approached me and said she loved my whole show, but the bits I did about slavery really bothered her. I said ‘Art is meant to do that’. If I make you feel, it’s working. So, in some communities jokes of mine make people laugh, elsewhere it might make them angry. Both are valid responses.
Describe the last year in 5 words or less?
Comedy. Comedy. Food. Sleep. Comedy.
If you could work with anybody, from any point in history, who would you pick and why?
I’d write for John Oliver’s Last week Tonight because it’s the best comedy currently being produced anywhere. Every week it blows my mind because it is simultaneously comedy and social outrage journalism. I didn’t even know that was possible. With a Ouija board handy though, I’d probably pick Joan Rivers because she’s so brilliant. Though, to be honest, she’d probably find me frightfully boring.
Why would a performer opt to do either a ticketed event or participate in the free fringe? What are the benefits and limitations of both?
I should probably be more hands-on for such decisions but I’m not. I have two agents, a manager and an assistant and between them such decisions are made. I had to write four hours of comedy this year (Edinburgh show, radio show, show for the world museum) … My every waking hour is spoken for so I haven’t even thought of pros and cons of tickets vs buckets.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to take a show up to the fringe?
Write a beautiful magnificent show and pour your soul into it. That’s all you control. If you worry about audience sizes, schmoozing with the right head honcho, reviews, or so many other fringe preoccupations you may end up depressed and ill. All you can control is the show, so pour your soul in.
When and where can people see your show?
Gilded Balloon, Wine Bar, 1830. All August
And where can people find, follow and like you online?
Dalisochaponda.com for everything. @dalisochaponda.com for occasional updates and very carefully chosen jokes (I don’t want to be blacklisted). And for a taste of the kind of jokes I’ll be telling, just put ‘daliso’ in youtube’s search engine and laugh like a maniac.
Daliso Chaponda premieres his new stand up show ‘Blah Blah Blacklist’ at the Edinburgh Festival’s Gilded Balloon in August for tickets go towww.edfringe.comand then tours the UK for dates please go towww.dalisochaponda.com
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