Loyiso Gola’s ‘Unlearning’ set to debut as first African stand-up special on Netflix

Loyiso Gola. Picture: Netflix

Loyiso Gola. Picture: Netflix

Published Feb 22, 2021

Share

Loyiso Gola will return to Netflix, ready with his sharp wit and critically acclaimed comedy hour, “Unlearning”, which launches globally next month.

Gola, who will explore his own experience of maturity and masculinity during apartheid in South Africa, is the first African to have a solo full hour of stand up comedy on Netflix.

The special first debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017 and ran at the MICF, London's Soho Theatre, Grahamstown, and Soho Playhouse in New York.

Following the crazy year that was 2020, Gola brought his special to his hometown, Cape Town.

Africa’s latest Netflix Original was filmed in front of a live audience at the famed Zeitz Mocca, following strict Covid-19 protocols, and while the audience was small and intimate, the laughter filled the room.

Taking to social media, Loyiso expressed his excitement and said he was humbled. “Happy and humble to announce that my Netflix special, Unlearning, is coming out on March 23.

“It will be Netflix‘s first Africa’s Stand Up Original. @netflixsa @netflixisajoke OH WHAT A FEELING”, he wrote.

Gola is one of Africa’s most loved stand-up comedians. He is a two-time Emmy nominated anchor for his satirical news television series, “Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola”, which launched in 2010 and saw 12 seasons.

He is also the African correspondent for Charlie Pickering’s The Weekly on ABC in Australia.

Some of Gola’s noteworthy performances include his show, Tall Tales which ran at the Soho Theatre in 2015, “Dude, Where’s My Lion?” which ran in Edinburgh, Loyiso Gola Live in New York, which was his debut US stand up special, recorded in Brooklyn both in 2016 and the Netflix special, Comedians of the World which was released in 2019.

Related Topics:

Netflix