“It was a cool interview. Very relaxed, and a real trip down memory lane,” says South African comedian Kagiso Lediga about his Voices from SA interview.
The second episode of the recently launched podcast, Voices from SA, is an interview with modern South African comedy legend Kagiso Lediga, whose directorial debut, the feature film Catching Feelings, will be released across the country on March 9. Kagiso grew up in Soshanguve, a township north of Pretoria. He studied briefly at the University of Cape before leaving to follow his dream of launching a career in stand-up and eventually producing his first TV show, the Pure Monate Show.
In the interview Kagiso reminisces about his crazy varsity years, the ups and downs of launching a career in stand-up, and the current state of comedy in South Africa.
“Stand-up comedy has come a long way … but there is a divide. At the time there used to be these line-ups like multiple comics sharing ideas but sometimes I feel the stuff is very basic, it’s not woke…It’s homophobic and a bit racist and sexist. I suppose it’s a reflection of the people who are laughing at it. But I guess as we move on we are growing as a place. We are only 25 years old.”
Nicholas Claude is a freelance writer based in Johannesburg. He is born in London, raised in Durban and returned to South Africa in 2010 after living in Stockholm for thirteen years.
Nicholas says: “The podcast project is a bit of a leap into the unknown but I feel there is an opportunity to expose listeners to some unfamiliar voices saying something new, and also to familiar voices saying something different. I listen to podcasts and realised that I know a lot of interesting people, and I know people who know people. So, I am starting from there. There are not many stand-alone podcasters in South Africa so it is pretty exciting to see what happens.”
Nicholas says he wants to look at familiar issues such as race, class and gender in a new way.
“This second episode features Kagiso Lediga, a modern legend of South African comedy but my aim is also to speak to people working and living in South Africa who are rising stars in their fields. So, for example, upcoming episodes feature Xhosa author Yamkela Tywakadi, playwright and poet Jefferson Tshabalala and artist Thenjiwe Nkosi. At the same time, I have also interviewed Kumi Naidoo who was recently appointed head of Amnesty International and former government minister Ronnie Kasrils so there is going to be a mix of the famous and the not so famous. I am excited about the possibilities of the podcast and I can promise some fascinating discussions.”
Voices from SA is released weekly. A release will be sent prior to publication.
Podcasting is a global trend. According to podcast hosting service Audioboom 67million Americans listened to a podcast in the last month.
Listen to Voices from SA
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