Sharing the stage with people he has only ever watched on Netflix, Amazon and YouTube felt surreal, reminding him that he deserves to be on such a platform, that he is doing well, and with patience, hard work, and dedication to the craft, anything is possible, said comedian Aloys ‘Axarob’ Murorua.
Axarob believes such an opportunity validates him, indicating that people are watching and appreciating his work as a comic. The energetic humourist opened The Hoeked All Stars Show, which featured veteran South African comedian Loyiso Gola and Robby Collins.
The two-day event that kicked off on Friday starred Rob van Vuuren, Dillan Oliphant, Waylene Beukes, Kagiso Lediga who cracked attendees’ ribs at the National Theatre of Namibia. The team also hosted some of the best in the game at The Hoeked Comedy Workshop for an afternoon of game-changing insights, real talk, and career-boosting tips.
“I got to share space and a stage with them, and it felt surreal. At the same time, it validated me, it reminded me that I deserve to be here, that I’m doing well. Honestly, I have no words for how amazing it felt to open for these guys,” said Axarob. He added that he has been around for four years, that’s where his Namibian stand-up career got off with a project called Comedy Hour.
“The reason I do comedy is I feel everybody deserves to laugh; everybody deserves some fun time. We are funny as Namibians, our stories need to be told and we should enjoy our stories in a fun manner,” he stated.
Axarob said the biggest thing he learnt from being part of such an event is that if one works on their craft, hone their skill, and just take time to be diligent, one can accomplish anything.
“So this just reinforced the idea that I should be patient and work hard on my craft, hone it and the possibilities would be endless. Namibia is on the map, and we are going to put it on a bigger map, on a global scale. We can do all these with comedy,” said the enthusiastic Axarob.
Sharing the same sentiments is South African comic Robby Collins who said comedy on the continent is relatively small compared to the other places, but it can go far.
“Comedy is new in Africa in general. I think South Africa got a few more years than Namibia, but we›re still fairly new and they just want a comedy show,” he stated.
Collins added that this is his third time coming to Namibia and within 10 years, comedy has grown, and he can feel it.
“It’s growing fast. Dave Chappelle has done shows in Kenya, in South Africa, the big names are coming here. As African people, we need to take pride in our own. We also need to move past saying things like, ‘This is good for Namibia’ or ‘This is great for South Africa’, as if greatness has limits based on where it’s from,” he stated passionately.
Collins said he foresees a significant growth of comedy in Africa. “I think we need to start respecting our things and our art and not looking to the West for our investment in terms of money. I think that’s a big thing.”