An MBA is no joke. Or is it?

Do you consider yourself a comedian or an entrepreneur?

When I started doing comedy there was no industry as such. I had to build one before I could succeed in it. We did that through the booking company, which we started to organise my schedule. Then we began to manage other comedians. Next step was a production capability because I needed it for my own shows.

Then we realised we needed an awards programme, so we launched the SA Comics’ Choice Awards. I did all this business stuff to create a career for myself, then it spun off for others.

As I get older, I’m more interested in constructing deals than in performing. I’ve seen the career trajectory for local comics. As they get older, they’re less relevant and financially viable. That’s why I see myself no longer being a comedian here after I turn 50. I’m 45 now.

I recently started having success in Australia, so I’m going to spend about five weeks a year there for at least five years. It would be good to have a relevant voice as a 50-plus comedian on the Australian circuit and I’d like to achieve the same on the Montreal festival circuit in Canada.

How did you become a comedian?

After school I became a drama student at Natal Technikon. But as soon as I finished I realised there was no work in Durban for an actor.

So I started hustling. I did kids’ theatre during the day and improv [improvisational theatre] in Durban bars at night.

I also wrote scripts for corporate theatre. I spent four months in London, including an after-hours course in stand-up comedy. When I was back in SA, the manager at one of the clubs suggested I do a stand-up evening and my career morphed from there.

Why did you decide to do an MBA?

I come from a family of entrepreneurs who were never trained in business. They relied on instinct. I think it’s time to add some science.

My parents launched their first business, a restaurant, in the local black township outside Marondera, in Zimbabwe. Then they opened one in Harare. They had more restaurants in Durban after moving to SA, and ultimately a fruit juice factory. They always worked crushing hours.

When I left school the only thing I was certain of was that I didn’t want to be involved in the food business.

To do an MBA in SA, as with any master’s, you’re supposed to have an honours degree or equivalent. Do you?

Not even close. I have a national diploma in drama from Natal Technikon. But it’s possible to get round this if a business school believes you have the business and management experience to benefit from the degree. I retrieved records and data from my company that persuaded Henley I could do it.

Have your studies affected the way the company is run?

The first year of the programme was very profound. As entrepreneurs, my partner and I have done pretty well, but imagine what we could have done if I’d read the books I’m seeing now. We made so many errors. The finance module was a real fight but also an eye-opener. The same with systems and processes. What I’ve learnt has enabled us to make some profound changes to the business.

When do you expect to graduate?

I’ve applied for a break because of my dad’s health. My mother, my sister and I have a family plan to accelerate his recovery so I’m back and forth between Johannesburg and Durban a lot.

I now hope to graduate early 2020 instead of mid-2019, as originally planned.

And after you graduate?

I’d like to go on to a doctorate and explore some concepts, like the idea that dissonance is a better teacher than resonance. I’ve been involved with other comedians like Pieter-Dirk Uys in the proposed rewording of hate speech legislation. It’s vital that we protect the constitutional right of artists to shock, offend and disturb.

But it’s not just about artists. I believe we should encourage different views and honest debate around them.

I hate this idea that you solve dissonance with diplomacy. It stifles debate and causes so much damage. Diplomacy should be the last resort, not the first. Let people say what they feel and try to defend it. We’ve got to get beyond this very shallow level of engagement that goes on today.