Carl Joshua Ncube hangs mic

SHOCKING!

What is Zimbabwean stand-up comedy without arguably one of the pioneers of the trade in the precinct, Carl Joshua Ncube?

This is a question that will come to boggle the minds of many local arts after renowned  funny man Carl Joshua Ncube   announced his decision to stop his stand-up comedy career in pursuit of other passions.

Ncube feels as if cooking and stand-up comedy remind him of his late parents. He feels he did not make them proud in the process forgetting himself.

“Stand up comedy has always been more emotional for me. It has always been attached to my father and his death at the start of my career was a driving force behind celebrating him and his memory. I just feel like I lost celebrating myself in the process. When my mum died this year this was the same feeling around my cooking,” he said.

He asserted he was  morphing into something more than just a cook and a comic.

“Next time you see me will be around a fire in a village somewhere. I was lying to myself by still saying I was actively a stand up comedian or chef but in the context of Zimbabwe or Africa I have become much much more than that.

“I am on the brink of one of the most important innovations of this continent and it is loaded with purpose and I get to be the servant to this cause. Rural BnB is beyond the comedy, the cooking or even design,” he said.

An emotional Ncube hinted on staging one last show as his comic career swansong.

“Soon, I will officially announce my evolution from stand-up comedy to a different story-teller through one last tour. I owe this last tour though to my fans who have been a great support to me. I have spent a great part of my life making people happy, making them laugh but I couldn’t do the same for myself. I think it’s important for people to know my transition,” he shared.

So, with stand-up comedy seemingly diminishing in his portfolio, what will he be doing next?

This is another question that may haunt one’s mind when the award-winning comic hints at hanging the microphone that has made him an internationally-acclaimed Zimbabwean funny man.

He will have his work cut out with his innovative Rural BnB, an online platform for people to register and offer their homesteads for use where visitors can use the platform to book and experience the rural side of the country.

Ncube’s life has always been a balancing act between comedy, cookery, nursing, authorship, consultancy, design, and lately, his Rural BnB and clothing brand.

Ncube has juggled many balls , a development that has proved to be cumbersome  for him now or the comedy circle isn’t a viable business entity anymore?

“I started comedy as a commercially-viable industry and it is still growing. I should be proud of that. My job in this sector is done,” shared Ncube.

He might not be standing up anymore but one thing is for sure, Ncube will remain funny and has helped Zimbabweans warm up to the idea of the nascent stand-up comedy genre.

The prolific comic has performed in diverse countries including South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, the US, Cote D’Ivoire  Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Nigeria and Australia and in 2016, attempted to break a Guinness World Record for holding the most comedy shows within a week.

At the time, the standing record was 30 and he went on to do 31 but wasn’t recognised as it didn’t meet certain criteria but all the same, he eclipsed the record.

His retirement from what he is best known-for feels like robbery without violence as he leaves a trail of innumerable success in his wake.

From being labelled the new face of comedy in Zimbabwe by CNN, living in a makeshift home made from a converted bus to hosting shows on television, Carl has done it all.

His impressive track record includes performing at the Johannesburg International Comedy Festival, Harare International Comedy Festival, Africa Laugh Festival, President of Laughrica and also the Nite of a Thousand Laughs.

In an interview back in 2020, Carl said that his worst experiences as a comic was being told to randomly tell jokes.

“I hate it when reporters ask me to randomly tell jokes and after that questions me how come I’m not in popular comic shows of which I ask the very same question back at him since I don’t see his story in the Mirror,” he jokingly said.

It remains to be seen where he will perform his last rites, bidding farewell to stand-up comedy and evolving as he always has in his illustrious career where, everything he touched turned to pure gold. He is quitting and it’s not funny but his fans will appreciate his exploits in the game.