Dylan Bettencourt
South African comedian Loyiso Gola has become the first standup comedian to do a special from Africa on Netflix.
The special, titled Loyiso Gola: Unlearning was filmed in Cape Town and debuted on Netflix on 23 March, unpacking issues around race and identity from a unique perspective.
“Unlearning explores all of the perceptions and behaviours we take on as children which inform our lives as adults,” said Gola.
“I use my own experiences of maturity and masculinity in apartheid South Africa to make people laugh about their realities.”
Gola, a two-time Emmy nominee, for Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola made his first television appearance 19 years ago in the SABC1 show, The Phat Joe Live talk show.
Since going overseas he has developed in leaps and bounds to become the successful comedian he is today.
He said becoming the subject of the first standup special from Africa feels like a breakthrough and he dreams about expanding his audience in places like Norway, Chicago or Nairobi, depending on the success of his special.
“I like the idea of always being in new cities, I don’t like the actual mechanics of it. The checking in, the getting searched, the not knowing the language. Covid has me going. Do I really want to do that?”
He added that he was not keen on doing comedy shows on Zoom.
“I did one, and I stopped. It’s definitely not for me.”
Loyiso Gola: Unlearning is an hour-long standup special that made history and is definitely a must-watch.
