A comedian who can resuscitate you if you die from laughter, Riaad Moosa gets curious, questioning life’s philosophical mysteries in the upcoming show What’s The Point at Hemingways Casino, East London, on Saturday.
Moosa, 47, from Cape Town, is an award-winning comedian, presenter, writer, actor — and medical doctor.
Since his comedic start in the 1990s, his career has sped ahead with sold-out shows, films and awards. This latest gig opened in Cape Town on January 19.
Moosa said he was excited to be returning to Buffalo City, and chuckled at confusing his international fans with online announcements.
“I’m very excited. It was a bit confusing for my fans in the UK.
“I recently went to the UK and actually performed in East London in the UK and now I’m coming to my favourite East London in SA.
“Hopefully, this is an opportunity for people in the UK to actually learn about East London in South Africa.
“I think I’ll probably do some material about that in the show!” Moosa said.
“I’m very, very excited to be performing in East London. The show is very honest.
“This is also me using my art to try to gain a deeper understanding of the world.
“I’m getting a bit personal, sharing a lot, and am looking for the audience to help me solve one or several of life’s most complicated philosophical questions.”
Moosa was a part of the Netflix comedy special, Comedians Of The World, in 2019, and Life Begins, released on the platform in 2020.
He played the lead in Material, a film which earned him a South African Film and Television (SAFTA) Award for Best Actor and also received SAFTAs for Best Film, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor in 2013.
He also played the role of Ahmed Kathrada in Anant Singh’s Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated movie, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, in 2013.
His previous one-man shows, Strictly Halaal, For The Baracka’, Doctor’s Orders and Life Begins, were instant hits, both live and on DVD.
He also featured in comedy-collective feature film Outrageous in 2009 and was the regular presenter on the e.tv. news segment, Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola, for The Second Opinion — with Dr Riaad Moosa.
In a ticket giveaway post for What’s the Point on social media, Moosa highlighted the increase in ticket scams and to “not follow links” and only trust official platforms.
“There’s been a lot of scams. I’ve had many people ask me about when the tickets will be available, they followed links by dummy accounts on my social media.
“So I always tell people to avoid that, make sure they only buy tickets through the official websites and only listen to information that I share on all my blue tick official social media pages.
“Most of my shows are snapshots of my life at a particular point in time and I use my personal experiences as a framework to build a comedy.
“This comedy show is much more philosophical. It’s got me getting a bit deep and existential. It’s a funnysophical show, if you will.
“I try to tackle very challenging topics.
“It’s me grappling with very difficult questions but using humour as a tool to soften the blows and I think that’s a benefit of humour.
“They say tragedy plus time equals comedy. So humour is actually a way in which we can deal with a lot of the challenging and difficult things in life.”
Moosa said a typical day on tour was much quieter than his life in Cape Town with four children.
“I’ve got a lot more time on my hands when I’m outside Cape Town.
“I almost don’t know what to do, I’ve got four kids, we’ve been overpopulating the earth and, you know, they keep my wife Farzanah and I very, very busy.
“So a typical day on tour is boredom while a typical day at home is like a thousand kilometres per hour from morning till night and sometimes during the night as well.
“My comedy has got more introspective as I have got older.
“Aside from me talking and commenting on what is specifically happening in the world, I talk about beliefs, how we see the world and my personal understanding.
“When you get older you start to question things a little bit more and try to gain a deeper understanding of life.
“You’re supposed to get wise. I don’t know if I’m wise. Maybe I understand things less.
“Maybe I’m more confused, which is why, you know, I actually need therapy, but that’s why I’m doing the show.
“I don’t necessarily have to pay someone to listen to me talk.
“I can talk and I can get audiences to pay me, so it’s a bit more lucrative form of therapy.”
- Riaad Moosa comedy show at Hemingways Casino from 8pm on Saturday January 25. Tickets cost R150; available on Webtickets.
Daily Dispatch
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