‘Weekly Comedy?!’ Is a poster making rounds in Kigali these days? It wasn’t always this way. So when the comedy came live last week, many didn't see it coming.

Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, always had scattered stand-up comedy shows around the city where folks sat to enjoy the evening laugh. The new idea also comes live in English, making it accessible to those who can’t walk in person or audiences who do not normally speak local languages.

Hosted by Stage One, a new spot located at Kigali City centre, a few metres from St Famile Catholic Church in Nyarugenge District, this is a hidden venue, not known by many. The location near a church is perhaps strategic, to tap into churchgoing groups, or have the faithful spread the word around town on the new laugh scene. 

Weekly Thursdays shows kick off at 7.30 pm, and unlike the Comedy shows we were used to, this attracts a smaller audience, possibly the curious ones longing for English stand-up comedy.

Comedians Prince and Babu at one of Kigali Comedy Club's weekly shows. PHOTO | ANDREW I. KAZIBWE

The event features a cocktail of rising and established stand-up comedy acts that take the audience to a unique treat. With Kigali Comedy Club exclusively directed towards the Anglophone audiences which is constituted of a few from Europe, the US, Indians and some West African countries, this is a fully attentive one and each session is fully-awaited with utmost attention to detail.

With many emerging trends about Rwandan unique lifestyle and norms, visit Rwanda and several advancements that ordinary citizens are embracing, presentations aren't those crafted in Finely-Spoken English tones but present a fresher trend of live comical entertainment which hadn't been served to Kigali people.

“We realised how Kigali holds a lot of people visiting, and staying in Rwanda, yet with the ongoing 'Visit Rwanda' campaign, Stand-up Comedy is an ideal relaxation for most people," states John Muyenzi alias Babu, a Stand-up comedian and one of the Event's organisers.

“Our expectations were so low, but I am glad our audience has steadily been growing," he adds.

With it exclusively ushering in English, this platform further presents a unique challenge to local comedians to push themselves beyond the usual by positioning themselves for broader tasks, since with the mastery of presenting in English they can traverse beyond Rwandan borders too.

The platform brings together several stand-up comedians, including Babu, Herve Kimenyi and Prince from Comedy Knights, a prominent Rwandan stand-up comedy platform, alongside other rising Comedians who assemble for rehearsals ahead of each weekly staging.

"I was a bit sceptical about whether comedians would show up for this, but am glad they are,” Babu stated.

Having signed a one-year agreement with Stage One to exclusively host this event, Babu says they will evaluate its performance after three months to decide whether to continue or adjust.

A comedian at the Weekly Comedy show. PHOTO | ANDREW I. KAZIBWE

For the organisers, the platform still needs to gain momentum by proving its worth as a unique event to consistently attract a stable audience, while building a stand-up comedy culture among Kigalians that will attract potential sponsors.

"I was so happy seeing that there was a unique space opening doors for stand-up comedy, and being part of the first performers added a unique experience to my career," stated Bareth, a Burundian Comedian based in Kigali.

For Bareth, who is also the founder of 1000 Hills Comedy Club, another monthly comedy show, this innovation is a great step in discovering and giving more opportunities to emerging stand-up comedians as performance platforms and spaces have shrunk.