THE hilarious Ugandan
comedian Dickson
Zzizinga has observed that although the genre has room for
further development it’s being hampered by unscrupulous artists who are vulgar, copycats and recycle skits.
“Some comedians in
Uganda are vulgar and when sections of the audiences laugh they think they are
popular. These artists are going to kill comedy because this form of drama
attracts all age groups. So, if one has come with his children vulgarism will
leave his family disgusted and will not return,” Zzizinga says.
“When you abuse
somebody on stage or expose your private parts - that is not comedy. Instead
you are annoying some of your fans who will not return for your subsequent
shows. According to our cultures here you cannot mention your private parts in
public. Artists have copied this form of style from Y-Tube and cheap DVDs and
CDs by Black American comedians,” he adds.
According to Zzizinga there is a lot of copying in the industry especially by the up-coming
comedians. “Some keep telling the same jokes or recycle through the year. This
kills your audience in the long run. Your fans expect to watch new jokes in
every other show that you put up. In other words, these types of comedians are
not creative.”
He held a comedy show
“The Best of Zzizinga” at the National Theatre in Kampala from January 30 to
February 1, 2015. The show covered the best of his skits over the years that
included among others Air Johannesburg,
Diarrhoea, London Trip, Embarrassing Dad, Haji’s Wives and Fajata from Mecca.
Zzizinga was accompanied by fellow
comedians from Fun Factory plus Salvado (Patrick Idringi), Pablo (Kenneth
Kimuli), Edwin Mukalazi and musicians.
He says he got
encouragement from his fans that wanted him to showcase his own skits. “Some
of my fans prefer to watch me as a sole performer.”
Zzizinga also observes that comedy is
currently the leading form of entertainment because even theatre companies that
mainly staged plays have resorted to comedy. “I think because jokes make people
laugh. Comedy kills stress and adds value to your health. When you laugh you
feel relieved and your mood is brought to normal.”
The 40-year-old Zzizinga is an actor and performs both stand-up and sketch comedy. “I am good in
both but I love sketch comedy more because it does not stress me in terms of
building up new jokes. Even then it is not very easy,” he says.
In his description of Zzizinga, fellow comedian Kenneth Kimuli says: “Zzizinga's
comedy is refreshing. His routine is clean, polished and extremely hilarious.
He will keep a straight face even when the joke is capable of making him laugh.”
The comedian Herbert
Ssegujja aka Mendo describes Zzizinga as: “He is a gifted and talented
actor and comedian. He is an inspiration to many. He inspired me to join the
comedy world when he was still with Theatre Factory. I feel in love with comedy
because of him.”
Commenting on Zzizinga’s creativity, Kimuli observes:
“New
research shows that the best humour is both a little bit wrong and a little bit
right and that's what Zzizinga is good at. He has both a good and
weird sense of imagination which brings out the comic in him.”
“Zzizinga’s jokes are
home baked and hilarious sketches. He focuses on home based humour which in a
way makes him different from others. He is a natural comedian. He does not
force his acting it comes from within himself,” Segujja says.
Zzizinga, who is married with five children started acting in 1997 with
Christopher Mukiibi’s group The Theatricals. He later joined Theater Factory in
2002. In 2009, he together with Richard Tuwagye, Frobisher Lwanga, Veronica
Tindichebwa, Veronica Namanda and Hannington Bugingo,
among others, left Theatre Factory to form Fun Factory. Fun
Factory performs every Thursday at the National Theatre.
While with Theatre
Factory he appeared in the television series: Child of a Delegate, They Stopped Eating Fruits and Waiting for My Tractor, among others. He
was a presenter on KFM radio from 2012 to 2014.
He appears in the
running Fun Factory’s U-Turn series on NTV. He was
part of the cast for the popular Hostel television series where he took
on the role of Uncle Almer.
Zzizinga
is the main act in the running silent television comedy
show dubbed Zizu Sketch on NTV directed
by Richard Tuwangye. It is about Zizu, who has left his village to live in
the capital city and how he adopts modern foods or how to cross the busy
streets.
Zzizinga is currently a co-host of the television programme Minibuzz Uganda on Bukedde TV1. Minibuzz Uganda that is owned by Made In
Africa Television (South Africa) was previously aired on
NTV.
Minibuzz Uganda is an educational and entertaining current
affairs programme that prompts national debate by giving spontaneously selected
Ugandan commuters, a free ride every morning in a
mobile TV station in a minibus to their destination. During their ride, they
discuss the topics of the day (Kyogereko). It transports
people to their destinations around Kampala and rural regions to share their
views with Ugandans nationwide.
Zzizinga attended Kangulumira
Nursery School in Kayunga District, Kangulumira Church of Uganda Primary School, St.
Ponsiano Primary School, Kampala Secondary School and Pioneer
Adult Education Centre for his O Level. He also studied at
the Adult
Literacy and Basic Education Centre at Makerere University. He sat for his A Level certificate at Nsambya Sharing School.
Ends.
