Image courtesy of South African comedian Riaad Moosa

Moosa has been in the industry for over 20 years. His Moosa career, which began in 1999, first took an intriguing magical twist before finding the signature satire we know and love today.

We spoke with him to find out more about his start, but also how the comedian lived during Covid-19 and the tragic impact it had on performers .

Performance bugs have always existed

Although his first route was through medical studies, Moosa has always tended to favor performance. He studied at the Magic College in Cape Town during his teenage years. His magic has always leaned toward comedy, he says.

His first exposure to stand-up comedy at the University of Cape Town was when he decided to take a gap year from his medical studies.

“I was fascinated by the art form,” says Moosa.

After this, he began spending time with The Cape Comedy Collective, a comedy group started by Mark Sampson and Sam Piercer. He has also worked with other comedians such as Mark Lottering and David Cow.

“I’m a magician, and I started out as a comedy magician. But soon, I got rid of my bag of tricks and started doing stand-up comedy,” he says.

After returning to complete his medical degree, Musa continued to stand up.After completing his degree, internship and everything else, he decided to join Premnati Showand this knocked him off balance, making him one of South Africa’s most popular comedians.

Then there was Covid

“Most of us couldn’t cope. I certainly couldn’t,” Musa says, looking back on the lockdown. “From a psychological point of view, I didn’t realize how much I needed comedy and how much it affected my mood. Just an acting opportunity. I missed it greatly.”

But there was some light at the end of his tunnel with his virtual comedy club. And this has created a new way of viewing comedy. (including guests).”

But for the most part, virtual clubs were born out of necessity. “We had to pivot, we had to experiment, we had to see if there were new opportunities,” he says.

Moosa said it was a new medium that brought its own challenges, but there is still potential in the virtual comedy space. “In the future, virtual comedy will allow people to do more as the technology improves.”

comedy is a kind of festival

When we think of entertainment, comedy isn’t about taking seriously the issues we face in our personal lives or the world.

But comedy has a unique place in the world of entertainment, and so is the way we deal with problems.

“Comedy is important because it allows us to see a stressful event and interpret it in terms of having survived it,” says Musa. “Some people say that tragedy and time equal comedy, and it’s true because people can laugh at their scariest things as a way to relieve stress and deal with trauma.”

However, the key to being able to take this out of the comedy is to have a sense of having survived the event. You can laugh at things when you feel optimistic about the fact that

In a way, comedy can be viewed as a celebration of the strength people have to endure through events that may at first seem impossible.

about his upcoming show

Musa says you can expect his usual satire and family-inspired performances from his upcoming shows. It’s how I’ve changed over time, and it’s something that people have found so relatable so far, and I can’t wait for people to see it.”

Virtual and live performances are available.

Musa’s remaining show dates are as follows:

October 7th at the Rio Casino in Klerksdorp
On October 8, at the Unfologi Kación in Empangeni
28th October, Silver Star Casino, Krugersdorp
October 29th at Gandhi Hall in Lenasia
November 11th at Blackrock Casino in Newcastle
12 November, Golden Horse Casino, Pietermaritzburg
December 9th and 10th at the Marsellus Theater in Johannesburg

Tickets can be purchased here.