EDINBURGH 2023: Thenjiwe Q&A

BWW catches up with Thenjiwe to chat about bringing The Mandela Effect to the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about The Mandela Effect.

The Mandela Effect refers to a phenomenon where a large part of society misremembers a significant part of a history event. In my show I talk about some of the African history that society misremembers. I share what it was like growing up in apartheid South Africa and why there is so much brain drainage with some of the smartest and most educated Africans moving abroad for greener pastures.

Why bring it to the fringe?

Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the biggest arts festival in the world and it has been a dream of mine for many years to take a show there. The best part is that the festival visitors come from all over the world. I am looking forward to sharing my story with people from all corners of the world.

Tell us a bit about your career path.

I come from a society of story tellers and one of the characteristics that make us strong is our ability to laugh at our pain. Being a comedian comes naturally but growing up I didn’t know one could make a career of it so I did it the long way of going to university to study for a “real job”. I am a law graduate and it was my learned friends that encouraged me to start comedy because they just thought I had a way of making serious issues funny.

In my home country South Africa I have created and produced two sitcoms, Judge Thenjiwe l, a court based sitcom where I play the judge and Meet the Khambules and they have both become house hod names.

Where might we have seen you before?

You might have seen me acting on Netflix. I am in a few movies including Ten Days In Sun City, Accidental Spy, 

What would you like audiences to take away from your show?

I would like the audiences to leave the show knowing and understanding why Africans do certain things differently from people who grew up in other countries. History shapes how we behave. 

Thenjiwe debut stand up show The Mandela Effect is at Just The Tonic – Cask Room at 2.25pm from 3rd – 28th August (not 14TH) for tickets go to www.edfringe.com

Tickets are available here: 

Photo credit: Steve Ullathorne

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