
South African Satirist, Performer, Author and Social Activist
Entertainment | Keynote | Celebrity
I have been unemployed since 1975, when the government of the day banned my writings and made me a liability. Since then I have become my job and am self-employed with the government of the day remaining my best scriptwriters. They put the words into my mouth. That is why I don’t pay taxes; I pay royalties. I have performed arguably over 7000 one man performances throughout the world, mainly focusing on unfunny and worrying subjects like inhumanity, racism, corruption and fear and making them entertaining through humour which is my weapon of mass distraction. My passion is fairness and respect, also once regarded as the basis for democracy. I will always side with the underdog and ridicule the fat cat, and being a gay Jewish Afrikaner with Congolese DNA, I belong to some of the best chosen peoples in the universe. I can make you laugh till you cry and then dry your tears with a smile.
I stand firmly in the present with an eye on the future and an echo of the past. My year does not have 365 days; it has two days – today and tomorrow. Where we are now is the most essential focus of all my energy, with a respectful nod at tomorrow which can only be a better future with total commitment to excellence today. Laughing at fear also helps make that fear less fearful – and so my balance of 49% anger / 51% entertainment has always been the magic potion of optimism. I can’t solve any problems but can try to reflect them in a cracked mirror of satire which often allows the viewer to laugh at themselves. I’m in Darling on the West Coast which is an hour from the airport. I travel light and alone. I’m on time. I speak two of the eleven official languages with a smattering of needed phrases to help me at petrol stations and through customs. I’m nearly 70 and still feel 16, so I must be doing or eating something right.