To
men, Kinyozi (Barbershop) is what a Salon is to women. Kinyozi’s are the next
gossip centres for men away from the bar. For a long time, gossip has been
known as women affair. However, what many don’t know is that men do engage in
acts of gossip from time to time.
Unlike,
women who engross in vitriol and malicious chatter about their friends & neighbours,
men’s gossip is largely limited to women, alcohol and politics. There is no
badmouthing and backstabbing whatsoever more so against other men. Otherwise,
there is honour in the league of men.
That
said, a fortnight ago, I was at my preferred barbershop in hood. You see, every
Kinyozi in any neighbourhood will always have those boys from the neck of the
hood hanging around, wishing away time.
On
this fateful day, one of the boys shared a rather shocking allegations
regarding Churchill Show. The lad claimed that there is a lot of corruption
going on during auditioning of the stand-up comedians seeking to perform in the
show. Those auditioning were required to pay up to 60% of the pay they receive
after performance. He went ahead to say that some who don’t know the practice
have been trying to audition but with little success. If these allegations are
true then it is very unfortunate.
While
at it, I would say that stand-up comedy in Kenya has overplayed tribal jokes
and stretched it too far. To this end, shows like Churchil Live have lost
mature audience. Tribal jokes were once rib cracking but not anymore as we have
come to be used to it. Everyday, I meet people from different tribes with their
typical behaviours. So, it won’t be logical for me to pay exaggerated ticket
costs to watch something that I can get to experience everyday.
That
said, producers of stand-up comedy should take a step back and reinvent comedy
if they are still interested in making money out of it. Otherwise, from where I
sit, it’s heading to oblivion.
