Being a former Gqeberha resident of Iranian descent and a civil engineer doing standup comedy on the weekends, Vafa Naraghi will celebrate SA’s melting pot of cultures and traditions at The Athenaeum on Friday with his tour Becoming South African.
Through the show at the Little Theatre, Naraghi hopes to generate a sense of unity, while trying to encourage SA’s citizens, through social media, to become visitors in their own country.
Early this week, Naraghi posted a comedic video on TikTok that he shot in Gqeberha, which, at the time of publication, had more than 170,000 views and more than 22,000 reactions.
“A lot of people from diverse backgrounds see a strong sense of connection,” Naraghi said.
“Even though I might not look like them, a vast majority of people relate to the story, which makes the story relevant.
“Part of this tour is to go to every single province, but to also showcase the province to everybody else.
“We are not interested enough in people in other provinces, but with comedy it is nice, because you get to learn that Gqeberha is windy, Siya Kolisi is from there, there is a pyramid, instead of saying come and visit this place.”
Through his sharp wit, Naraghi unpacks the absurdities, contradictions and the beauty of a democracy still finding itself.
He said he decided to bring his tour to the city because he had lived in the Bay for at least two years, working as a civil engineer.
“A lot of people may not know this but when I first started working as an engineer a good 10 years back, I started in Gqeberha at a construction site, so Gqeberha personally is a very soft spot for me.
“I kick-started the tour at home in Mahikeng because that is the community that brought me up; they gave me perspective.
“Gqeberha is the second stop. This is where I got familiar with isiXhosa, interacted with Xhosa people. I ended up staying here for 2½ years.”
From Gqeberha, he will take his tour to Cape Town on October 17 and Polokwane on October 31, among other places, with his final stop being in Johannesburg on December 6.
He said the show was based on his experiences as well as observations.
Naraghi said that growing up their parents instilled in them a sense of patriotism.
“Our parents told us this is our country now, this is where we were going to live and we should integrate because there was no going back to Iran.
“Wherever I was, I was always interested in getting to know the people, understanding and integrating.
“I have lived in almost every province and during that time I have learnt that to be SA it is not just one thing.”
He said the tour was a story of adaptation, integration and unity, adding that people could expect to hear him probing into race, culture and ethnicity.
Naraghi said he hoped to challenge South Africans to become more patriotic.
“I want to bring my comedy to the country, but I also want to bring the country to its country to see they are not different from one another,” he said.
Tickets for the show are available online at Webtickets or at Pick n Pay stores, with ticket prices ranging from R110 to R300.
The doors at the Little Theatre at The Athenaeum will open at 7pm, with the show starting at 8pm.
The Herald
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