This past weekend Award winning Ugandan comedian Anne Kansiime performed at two sold out shows, the new Molapo Piazza on Friday and Thapong Visual Arts Centre on Saturday, something that has never happened in the history of the comedy industry of this country.
“ We had two sold out shows, at the new Molapo Piazza we sold over 2400 tickets and at the Thapong Visual Arts Centre we sold over 600 tickets. So these shows have broken the record because there isn’t any show, more especially comedy that has attracted this many people before in Botswana. Kansiime is also amazed at the turnout because these were the biggest shows she has ever done in the world. Her highest record was the 2000 attendance she pulled in Malawi. Our audience was a mix of people from Zimbabwe, South Africa and across Botswana,” the co-founder of Soul Food Comedy, Bendella Rwelengera told Time Out.
Kansiime is currently the biggest entertainer in Africa and she expressed her gratitude to the masses that showed up at her two shows. “Another great sold out show. Botswana truly is the land of diamonds and Batswana have truly made me feel like one,” she said.
The two shows were a great platform for local up and coming artists to introduce their craft to Batswana as they were the supporting acts for Kansiime. “These shows started as a humble idea, we struggled to get an audience at our comedy shows. We sat down looked at our local artists and decided they deserved better, a big stage and that is when we decided to bring Kansiime. Things turned out great as more opportunities opened up for our local acts to also gain recognition, Rwelengara said.
Rwelengera extended their gratitude to Batswana for the huge support and shared with Time Out that they have plans of bringing Kansiime again next year. “We want Kansiime to come back again next year not to perform but to host workshops with our local comedians. We would like the number of lady comedians to grow in this country and Kansiime can convince them to take that path and earn a living through their craft,” he added.