What was supposed to a night of laughter turned to huge disappointment for attendees at the sixth Mpumalanga Cultural Xperience as they had to chase some not so funny comedians from the stage.
The event which was marred by drama over the past few weeks with local artists, comedians and creative industry members starting a social media campaign which forced the provincial government to intervene and have some big names being removed from the line-up and replaced with locals.
Award-winning comedian Celeste Ntuli was among comedians who were removed from the line-up for Thursday night's comedy night.
In the initial poster, the comedy night was supposed to take place on December 2. On the poster, it showed that of the 12 comedians booked were 10 local.
The event was postponed to December 9 following the campaign to boycott the event.
Tickets were sold for R150 per person.
One of the attendees, Sipho Maseko, said he was unhappy.
“I wasted my money It's sad that our local people who have been running this campaign to block national acts are the ones that end up disappointing us. How can comedians come to stage and get lost for words. It's like we are at preschool here. As much as we want to boost locals, we must get people who will not disappoint so that we get value for our money,” said Maseko.
A disappointed co-program director Mduduzi Ntuli condemned the campaign in favour of 100% local acts.
“You see when you toyi-toyi, saying you want to only Mpumalanga people, this is what happens and its disappointing. When you fought (for local artists) my guys, is this what you wanted?” Ntuli, who is also a comedian, said.
Department of arts & culture provincial spokesperson Sibongile Nkosi said the department is trying to unearth local talent.
“The department notes the dissatisfaction of attendees last night at the Comedy Xperience. One of the department’s mandates is the development of the creative industry and this includes comedians. The Cultural Xperience is one platform whereby local artists are afforded an opportunity to showcase their craft,” said Nkosi.
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