Eureka Nkese (pictured) wishes he had a more awe-inspiring story to tell about why his parents gave him that name. But, he shakes his head and puts his hands on it, “My dad wanted a boy as a first-born,” he shares, “but they had my sister first so when I was born they were like ‘eureka’!”
Because of his name, Nkese must have been the butt of a few jokes when he was younger. Now, however, he’s the one telling all the jokes.
Next week, Nkese will perform his stand-up comedy set alongside Hannes Brummer and Darren Maule at the taping of Comedy Central Presents Tats Nkonzo Live At Parker’s show.
Nkonzo, who some may recognise as the comedian with the guitar whose name isn’t Deep Friedman or as the SA’s Got Talent presenter, will play host. Nkese on the other hand, is a relatively new funnyman with just more than two years under his belt.
He even remembers the first time he died on stage.
“I remember Trevor Gumbi was hosting that day,” says the 21-year-old about his first appearance at a comedy club in Centurion. “I died. Horribly.
“All I’d ever seen was Chris Rock and a little bit of David Kau so I was moving around on a stage this big,” he widens the space between his hands, “acting like Chris Rock.”
In his defence, this young gun’s first real encounter with stand-up comedy was when he watched an Eddie Murphy clip in Grade 9. So naturally, he would mimic the little he’d seen.
But as Donovan Goliath once said, to kill on stage, one has to die on stage.
“After I died, I spent six weeks just watching comedy and not performing.
“Then when I got on stage again, I got a standing ovation.
“That’s when comedy felt like it was a drug and I always want to get that high.”
Crediting Roni Modimola and Kedibone Mulaudzi as two of the people who constantly pushed him to do his best, Nkese, who is a marketing student at the University of Johannesburg, says he wants to be a big brand in the industry, just like Trevor Noah.
To achieve that, Nkese is already striving to become a famous face on TV after landing a role as “the guy who does the newsrap on Bona Retsang on Soweto TV. Here I wrap up the week’s news and try to make it funny. And it’s just my way of bringing something new to my arsenal.”
To see what else he’s got up his sleeve, check him out live at Parker’s Comedy and Jive on November 28 or on DStv’s Comedy Central on January 18.
• Catch Eureka Nkese and others in Comedy Central Presents Tats Nkonzo Live At Parker’s (DStv Channel 122) which will air on January 18.
• WIN! WIN! WIN!
Five lucky Tonight readers stand a chance of winning a double ticket to |the Comedy Central Presents Tats Nkonzo (and others) Live At Parker’s show that takes place at Parker’s Comedy and Jive at Montecasino, Fourways, on November 28.
To enter, answer this simple question: What television channel will this comedy show be aired on?
E-mail your name and answer to [email protected] by 5pm on November 27.