‘I am a comedic nomad’

Born and raised in Malawi, globe-trotting comic Daliso Chaponda offers up a broad range of material from politics and religion to love and romance, all delivered in a confident, theatrical onstage style. Beginning his comedy career in Canada, Daliso’s 2004 show Don’t Let Them Deport Me was a plea to officials to have his Canadian visa extended. The show sold out constantly, and frenzied letters were written to the Canadian government: but Daliso was still forced to leave the country (after one final show, 2005’s They’re Deporting Him Anyway.
Daliso is at the Comedy Box this month, with Valentine’s Day in his sights.

You seem equally comfortable talking politics, romance, religion and… filth. So what can we expect from you this time?
My current show is called Love Sucks and it is very timely! The show at the Hen and Chicken is on Februay 13, the day before Valentines, so the audience should expect jokes about loneliness, divorce, cheating and so on. Anyone not in a relationship, or in a bad one, should show up. The show will be a nice counterpoint to the plethora of chocolate boxes and flowers glutting Bristol that week.

You’re a comedian with a more international viewpoint than most, having lived in various countries and experienced deportation. Do you feel more qualified than most, then, to discuss global politics?
I do. Even before I became a comedian I was a globe trotter. My father worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees when I was growing up, so immigration, identity and belonging often come up in my comedy. UKIP, the BNP, and pretty much any group who says ‘close the borders’ are often my comedic targets. Donald Trump is my current co-writer, as he keeps supplying me with nonsense to satirise.

Having moved around a bit, do you think you’ve found your home now in the UK – and if so, what’s keeping you here?
Not really. I am a comedic nomad. I go where the gigs are. I’ve spent the last few months performing in the UK, Romania, Singapore, South Africa and Kenya. My first stand-up CD was titled Citizen of Nowhere, and that’s how I saw myself. Now, I might amend that to ‘Citizen of Everywhere’. I feel as though I belong everywhere, because humour translates around the world.

How does the UK comedy scene compare to those of Canada and South Africa?
The UK has the world’s most thriving comedy scene, in terms of comedy clubs per capita. In fact, I think we should propose that World Vision measures the contentment of nations not by GNP per capita, but CC per capita. In that case, the UK is doing just great.

You’re also a fiction writer. Tell us more…?
I write a lot of science fiction and murder mysteries. I publish a lot of short stories and I wrote one bad, unsellable novel. I am writing number two now, and it’s a funny science fiction novel in the vein of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Watch this space…

Daliso Chaponda plays the Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken on Saturday, February 13. For more info, visit www.thecomedybox.co.uk