TAKEAWAYS

• Amooti Omubalanguzi believes some comedians lack natural talent and have turned to comedy mainly as a means of survival.
• He said many comedians rely on telling the truth and recycling stories, eventually running out of fresh material.
• He also blamed free comedy shows at bars, saying audiences watch performances without paying, making them less willing to attend ticketed shows featuring the same content.

Veteran Ugandan comedian Amooti Omubalanguzi has weighed in on the current state of comedy in the country, sharing what he believes are some of the major factors behind the industry’s decline.

Speaking in a recent interview, Amooti suggested that one of the biggest challenges is that some comedians have moved away from traditional comedy and instead focus on telling the truth in ways that don’t always resonate with audiences.

According to him, there are also individuals who have ventured into comedy not because it is their natural talent, but simply as a way to earn a living.

“In Uganda, people have to survive because they’ve not stolen or done something wrong,” he said, acknowledging that many people turn to comedy as an honest means of making a living.

He noted that while some of these performers are skilled at packaging their stories in an entertaining way that gets people laughing, not all of them possess the creativity needed to sustain long-term careers in comedy.

Amooti further argued that the increasing number of free comedy shows hosted at bars has also contributed to the industry’s challenges. He explained that bars often organize free-entry comedy nights to attract customers, allowing audiences to watch the same comedians perform without purchasing tickets.

As a result, comedians eventually run out of fresh material because the same audiences have already seen their performances elsewhere.

“Comedians find themselves with no new ideas because the same audience has watched them do the same thing in other places for free,” he said.