From Mahikeng to the nation

Multi-lingual and award-winning comedian draws on life in post-apartheid South Africa to deliver his most personal material yet

- Rolland Simpi Motaung

Life re-engineered: Comedian Vafa Naraghi, who hails from Mahikeng in North West, is about to embark on his first solo national tour, titled Becoming South African. Photo: Man Magazine South Africa

(Man Magazine South Africa)

Multi-award-winning comedian Vafa Naraghi continues to build on what started as a hobby in late 2017, performing to a group of friends, with his inaugural national stand-up comedy tour, Becoming South African.

The first show took place in Mahikeng, North West, last month; kick-starting the 11-city tour that culminates at Johannesburg's Lyric Theatre in December.

Born to Persian parents and brought up in Mahikeng, Naraghi speaks six languages, including Setswana, isiXhosa, Afrikaans and Farsi, making his comedic style both deeply relatable and refreshingly original.

Becoming South African is his most personal and powerful work to date, drawing mostly from his experience growing up at the tail end of apartheid in Mahikeng and living and working in almost all nine provinces.

In this one-man show, Naraghi takes audiences through a journey about language, race, masculinity and national identity, all delivered with his trademark authenticity.

With two South African Comics Choice Awards, numerous nominations and over 570000 social media followers, Naraghi continues to expand his reach while staying grounded in the art of cross-cultural storytelling.

I caught up with him to find out about his preparations for the tour and how his engineering background has assisted his comedic career.

When was the first time you hit the stage and became convinced comedy was what you wanted to do?

The first time I jumped on stage was about late 2017.

Initially, it was like eight of my friends in an apartment. They had no idea what I was doing, so I did a 40-minute set.