David Cow was not criticising Gayton McKenzie personally and the comedian has been consistent in airing his displeasure.
Minister for Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie may have felt personally attacked when comedian David Cow criticised him for a lack of support for the country's comedy industry.
But Mr Khaw has long lamented the lack of formal financial support from the state.
In an interview with the veteran comedian The Citizen He expressed his dissatisfaction about the manga not being published about a year ago.
Would a stand-up comedian have to compete in the Olympics or die to meet you? Gayton Mack ?🤷🏾♂️
I know we are not recognized or there is no category for us even though we have employed hundreds of people without government assistance, but I would love to meet with you for an interview.— David Kau (@davidkau1) August 16, 2024
Through the trenches
Born in Kroonstad, Kau began his career as the first black stand-up comedian at the Smirnoff Comedy Festival in Cape Town in 1998, where he was the only person of colour to take to the stage out of 44 other comedians.
“I moved to Johannesburg in 2003 and my first show was at Gallagher House. There were 3,600 white people there – just white people. Alex Jay was the host of Heavyweight Comedy Jam and I was the only black comedian there,” Kau declares.
The reference to race is very significant and is not meant to be vulgar.
When people like Kau and Kagiso Lediga started out in the 2000s, there were very few venues for black South African comedians, so they only performed in front of white audiences.
“It's good to have artists like Sfiso Nene and Celeste Ntuli who can literally fill venues and perform in Zulu 99 per cent of the time.”
The latter is currently touring the show. Celeste and the Big DudesIt takes place this weekend at Emperor's Palace in Kempton Park.
Kau says comedians like Ndumiso Lindi can fill venues with an all-Xhosa cast, something that would have been unimaginable 25 years ago.
“But I think that's the true picture of South Africa. I've always said the figures have to reflect the population,” Khaw says.
Related article: 'I can't stand the idea of me insinuating I'm not interested in comedians' Gayton McKenzie tells David Cow
Blacks only
Before launching “Black Only,” Kau appeared on the show “Comedy Blackout” for about four years.
“The idea was to get black people to come and do stand-up comedy. I've always tried to get more black comedians on the line-up. At that time it was just me, Kagiso, Ronnie Modimola and Tshepo Mogale.”
Blacks Only was launched in 2004.
“There needed to be a platform where black comedians could perform in whatever language they wanted, but the shows were still primarily in English.”
When he came up with the show's name, he didn't receive any backlash from the media, but he did receive backlash from a few white comedians.
“The idea was always to break the old apartheid laws in Africa – the 'net blanket'. We shot the first poster for 'Black Only' at Zoo Lake, where we found a toilet that still had a sign saying 'No Blacks'.”
The show has grown to become an established platform providing opportunities for many comedians.
Trevor Noah, Eugene Khoza and Skhumba are just a few of the comedians who have appeared on the Blacks Only stage.
Related article: David Kau: I spent over R5 million on cars
Fun with money
Mr Khaw's recent social media comments echo what Mr McKenzie told us long before he became minister.
He spoke with a mixture of gloom and frustration about the scant financial support available from both the government and businesses.
“It's unfortunate that it's so heavily weighted towards sponsorship and corporate money,” the comedian said.
“Obviously in South Africa, a lot of sponsorship money still goes to the white community, whether it's music, dance, football or rugby. So, similarly, there is very little sponsorship for black stand-up comedy, practically none.”
This is despite the fact that Blacks-only shows regularly draw large crowds.
“But I was paying for all these expenses behind the scenes, buying cars, getting leases so I could live somewhere,” he explains, explaining some of the expenses that had to be paid for comedians due to a lack of funding in the industry.
He said the government has also made no effort to ease the pressure and support the development of the art form. “It's not that we aren't having these conversations, we have had them before, but at the end of the day, it costs money to develop talent, whether it's sports or comedy.”
“I don't understand why someone in a position of responsibility for arts and culture can't understand that if it costs money to develop football and rugby, it also costs money to develop comedy and theatre.”
Related article: Celeste: 'Inspired by the late Brenda and the Big Dudes, but still a standard comedy'
Not supported
His point is further emphasised when he talks about the time he launched his comedy TV show. You think you're funny It aired for two seasons on SABC 1.
The reality show was a talent search show that unearthed some of the most famous comedians in the country today.
“Without that [the show] I don’t think there are players like Celeste, Tatzu Nkonzo, Mpho Pops… there are about 10 of them that I can count who are making a career now. You think you're funny.”
The show's final season was over 10 years ago, but it was canceled due to a lack of sponsorship.
If two seasons were enough to produce talent that is still in the industry today, it makes you wonder how much more talent could have been unearthed had the show continued on the air.
Put these together Saturday Night Live Kau's point is spot on, as this program has been running in the United States for many years and has produced many talented people.
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