Heard the one about the funny bishop?

INLSA

Reverend Mpho Tutu, Mark Lottering and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu

Natasha Prince

Staff Reporter

WHAT did the bald archbishop say to the comedian with the Afro?

“I’ve got a hairdresser here if you’re looking for one.”

This was how comedian Marc Lottering was welcomed at Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s offices yesterday.

Tutu and Lottering shared hearty laughs before the Vodacom Funny Festival where, for one night, Tutu is set to make a special appearance (in a non-comedic capacity) for charity.

The Funny Festival, which runs from June 11 to July 8, showcases local and international comics and performers, and on June 21 Tutu will attend as a special guest.

The event’s publicist, Eddie Cassar, said when he approached the archbishop about attending the show he was more than willing.

“He said he’d love to do it,” Cassar said, but Tutu asked to also have Lottering in attendance.

A quick phone call from Cassar and Lottering humbly obliged.

Lottering will be performing on June 21 and July 4, 5 and 8.

Tickets for the special show on June 21 will be sold at the normal price of R140 a seat.

Proceeds from that show will go to the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.

Cassar said the first three weeks of the show were almost sold out.

Tutu was a huge hit when he attended as a special guest at the show last year and had the audience in stitches when he briefly addressed them.

Yesterday when Lottering met Tutu, the archbishop told the comedian: “Thank you for agreeing to do this,” and bowed.

Asked whether he was thinking about a career in comedy, Tutu said: “Well, they’ve kicked me out of the church so I’ve got to find something else to do… the things they (comedians) do, I always think, why didn’t I think of that.”

He said to Cassar: “Eddie you’ve been so very good to us… I enjoyed last year, it was a lovely audience.”

Tutu said comedy was an important antidote to controversy.

“It teaches us how to laugh at ourselves and it’s one of the best ways of resolving many of our problems.

“If we had the capacity to laugh at ourselves we wouldn’t have some of the controversies,” he said.

His daughter, Reverend Mpho Tutu, who heads the Legacy Foundation, said its aim was to uphold the Tutu legacy, as well as peace-building and transparency.

This year’s festival line-up also includes Alan Committie, Imran Yusuf, Kev Orkian, Kurt Schoonraad, Piet Potgieter, Carl Wastie, The Boy with Tape on his Face, Jon Hicks, Gamarjobat and KG.

natasha.prince@inl.co.za