Baba Tencen Flatters To Deceive
By Showbiz Writer
When it was announced that Baba Tencen was going to be staging his debut show in the country a few weeks back, many followers of his online skits got excited which was expected, but will those fans still be loving him after his dismal showcase last night? Only time will tell.
With the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) almost packed to capacity, the stage was now set for the South African based comedian to prove that he is also a force to reckon with when it comes to stand-up comedy but unfortunately for the ‘Hapana Zvanugandiite’ man, he flattered to deceive.
Clad in his red tee labeled ‘ungandidi’, Baba Tencen got on stage and the crowd went ecstatic but his act was mere mediocrity.
He spent the first minutes of his set dancing and pacing up and down on the stage. It was evident he was trying to shake off the nerves.
When it was finally time to speak with the bumper crowd he was panting so hard he couldn’t pronounce words properly.
At one point he was was interrupted by the audience in the upper right wing that was shouting, hatisikunzwa (we can’t hear you).
Something that could have been influenced by his in ability to hold the microphone properly and speaking very fast, his deep shona did not help the situation.
After the painful performance the comedian left the crowd dumbfounded as he unceremoniously ran off the stage leaving his trademark 2 liter coca cola and a loaf of bread.
Building up to the event the comedian had encouraged people to come and have fun not judge while speaking at the press conference and a radio interview.
It was clear that he hadn’t not taken time to grasp some of the basic aspects of stand-up comedy as he never managed to create rapport with the audience – hence when a punch line misfired (which was the order of the day for him), instead of quickly adjusting he would go on and on literally talking to himself.
He also appeared to have no script as he was just firing blanks from one angle to the other without any coherence in his presentation.
Baba Tencen learnt the hard way, stand-up comedy is no joke at all – it is a craft that needs to be mastered well like any other art form.
Ugandan star, Anne Kansiime who was the headline act, came out all guns blazing and was in no play mode but meant business as she was quick to silence audience members who were just wanting to be difficult on the night.
She also told some videographers to shut down their cameras as they were not cleared with her management to film her.
During her set that was slightly under an hour long, she took a swipe at ladies who are into bleaching, those that wear fake buttocks and also took time to reveal her naughty days as a high school student and clubber.
Overall the entire show was a resounding success and this show will go down in the history books as the biggest comedy show in Zimbabwe after Carl Joshua Ncube’s Big Announcement held at the 7 Arts Theatre.
Other performers on the night who all dazzled included the likes of Q The Boss, Mudiwa, Silent Nqo, Probeatz, Gonyeti and Long John.
