FUNNY man Riaad Moosa is taking his stand-up comedy to another level with his newest one man show Doctor’s Orders, which will be staged in The Aula (University of Prertoria campus) on August 17.
His schedule has been filled with TV and film work for the past two years and, with Doctor’s Orders, Moosa says it’s the first time he’ll be pushing an extensive tour.
In fact he’s already booked dates across South Africa, in parts of Africa and abroad up to December.
“I’ve previously visited major cities with a space of a few months in between each gig,” he said.
“But with Doctor’s Orders we’ve basically mapped out a tour for the whole year, stopping at small towns, bigger cities, in Africa and overseas.”
Gigs abroad include those in Zambia, Swaziland, and the Montreal and Edinburgh Festivals.
Commenting on the show’s content he said:
“Doctor’s Orders is a snapshot of my life right now: me doing movies, doing stand-up comedy again, being confused about all my careers, some cultural material – and then I like to throw in some local material specific to the area where I’m performing.
“Obviously the show will have its core elements, but it also involves audience interaction,” he said.
In case you didn’t know, Moosa, a qualified medical doctor, swopped his stethoscope for a microphone after graduating and finishing his internship and community service.
After first just flirting with TV and film he found himself working more in these industries – particularly in film over the past two years.
He has worked on the TV shows Laugh out Loud, Pure Monate Show and Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola.
His film credits include the highly successful independent release Outrageous, Material, and the Anant Singh/BBC Films production of Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom, which will be released later this year.
“I never planned to do movies,” he explained.
“Material was a labour of love and I actually thought it would end there.
“But based on Material more opportunities opened for me in film, like with Long Walk to Freedom in which I play Ahmed Kathrada.”
Although completely different from his previous comic avatars in film, this was a role he could not pass up.
“At the time I had other things on my plate but I juggled everything around to make way for this part.
“It was very different for me. It’s a big-budget film, my performance was polished by the director and Anant Singh. It’s a great honour to be able to play someone like Ahmed Kathrada.”
It’s not just TV, film and stand-up comedy Moosa is juggling at the moment. He’s also involved in a private hospital establishment in Rondebosch, although he can’t chat too much about that right now.
And, judging by the loving way he speaks of his family, it’s no surprise that it’s important for him that they’re added to the mix.
“My tour is also based around my family requirements. I tour only for the first two weekends of the month… well, I’m trying to do that, that’s the aim,” he says with a laugh.
“The rest of the time is spent making lunches, picking up the kids from school and spending time with my wife.”
With this tour spanning a whole year Moosa said he partly hoped to grow his audience from the core following that he already has.
“I want to expand my comedy audience and I hope new people will come out and see the show.”
• Doctor’s Orders will be in Pretoria on November 3 at the State Theatre. For tour details visit www.riaadmoosa.com