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MPHO POPPS MAKES FUN OF HIS FEARS

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Popps’ perspective is his secret weapon.  Photo by        Noko Mashilo
Popps’ perspective is his secret weapon. Photo by Noko Mashilo

MPHO “Popps” Modikoane does not see things the same way as others.

“I have the ability to look at the same things society does but in a different way.

“This allows me to find humour in any situation,” said the 31-year-old comedian from Meadowlands, Soweto.

He said his responsibility is to be funny while giving an honest opinion of the world around him.

“My jokes are about my fears, disappointments, achievements, relationships and current affairs,” he said.

Mpho said his material is a combination of truth and humour.

“I put characters such as suicide bombers on an aeroplane, in a ridiculous situation.

“We don’t often use aeroplanes but travel by taxi all the time.

“It’s so much easier to strap a petrol bomb on somebody and let them get into a taxi.”

Mpho described comedy as the ability to make people laugh willingly.

“My mentor, Chris Mapane, once told me jokes are not funny but the comedian is.

“He also said I must present tasteful, generally acceptable material.”

He said Chris made him realise the danger of repeating jokes, which gave him the courage to improvise.

Mpho is an energetic performer who uses his strong voice to grab the audience’s attention.

In 2005, he won the most promising actor award while a pupil at Mondeor High School in Gauteng.

He was nominated in the Best Newcomer category at the 2011 South African Comic’s Choice Awards and the Breakthrough Act category the following year.

Thinasobabile, a film he produced and starred in, won the Joburg International Film Festival Audience Choice Award in 2015.

He also won the same award at the Pan African Festival in Los Angeles, United States.

Mpho said he teases the people who sit in the front row to make them feel they are part of the show.

“I try to reach inside the individual’s soul to give joy and happiness.”

His daughter Imani (6), is his number one fan.

She wants to be like her father when she grows up.

Mpho said he wishes comedians would work with writers for the sake of the industry’s growth.

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