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New comedy duo in town

Back in 1983 a comedy duet emerged on Malawi’s theatre landscape. The duo comprised John Nyanga alias Izeki and Eric Mabedi who traded as Jakobo.

Izeki ndi Jakobo possessed rare wit and humour such that even by just stepping on stage they would send audiences into stitches by mere gestures and their often weird costumes.

The duo went on to dominate stage comedy for decades until the death of Izeki in 2015.

Since then, some individuals tried to replicate the exploits of the two, but are yet to parallel the success that Mabedi and Nyanga attained at their peak.

Tannah (L) and Nya Uyu are both comedians in their own right

Having said that, new kids on the block Felistus Ngwira aka Nyauyu and Tannah Sydney Harawa aka Tannah, have announced the birth of their comical duet, Tannah and Nya Uyu.

Nya Uyu said: “We are very excited to announce the birth of this duet. We are as excited as a couple which is announcing its wedding day.”

In separate interviews, the two comedians mentioned to the pairing of Izeki and Jakobo as the biggest inspiration to their comedy project.

“We had Izeki and Jakobo, one of the greatest comedy duet Malawi has ever had. We feel now it is time to have a new scene and a duet which is made up of a male and a female. As young comedians, it is proper that we join the movement to bring new ideas,” she said.

On his part, Tannah described Izeki and Jakobo as very talented and organised. He however, failed to fully commit if he feels they have what it takes to scale the heights of their models.

He said: “We do not want to say much, but we promise Malawians that we will give them the best.”

Nya Uyu and Tannah said they will soon start releasing their skits. Apart from that, they will also be involved in production of TV adverts, taking part in awareness campaigns and hosting both social and corporate events.

The 23-year-old Nya Uyu said their coming together will also help them expand their territory as artists by reaching out to new audiences and learning from each other’s skill and qualities.

The two have over the years built their profiles in the comedy world as separate individuals. Nya Uyu has earned a huge following owing to her numerous comical skits which she posts on YouTube as well as her social media pages such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Early this year, her exploits caught the attention of BBC who featured her on their radio programme.

On the other hand, Tannah, who is also known as Mr Broken English, has over the years steadily built his own fortress in the comedy world. He started serious comedy in 2017 with production of audio clips characterised by his hilarious broken English.

However, the two have revealed that the birth of their duet does not mean the death of their individual careers. 

“I have my own brand and he has his own. We will continue pushing our solo projects but at the end of the day team work is important hence the need to work together,” she said.

Tannah said the current arrangement will give them an opportunity to tap into each other’s following since they are coming from a background where they have operated as solo artists.

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