If you enjoy Ugandan TikTok content, you have probably come across one or two videos of the Merry Hearts Tumbeetu Comedy.
The duo is making a name for themselves in the comedy arena; in 2023, they won the award for Best Upcoming Comedy Duo at Comedy Store Awards.
Quick Talk sat down with IVAN SSENJOVU, one half of the duo, to discuss their two-and-a-half-year journey in comedy.
Hi Tumbeetu, nice to meet you! Quick Talk is such a fan of you!
Nice to meet you as well.
How is the going? Tumbeetu is the name of your comedy duo; Quick Talk would love to hear more about you...
My name is Ivan Ssenjovu, but during childhood, I was called Ssekimpi. However, I changed it in Primary Seven because my brain was telling me I was going to be short [Hahahaa! Quick Talk sees what you did there…Ssekimpi can be loosely translated to mean ‘chief among short people’, while Ssenjovu is ‘chief elephant’.] The other guy I work with is Brian.
How did you come up with the name Tumbeetu?
Actually, we are called Merry Hearts Tumbeetu. We used to do comedy at Community Life Church in Lungujja and we called ourselves Merry Hearts Comedy, an allusion from the Bible, meaning medicine.
We used to act like school kids and sing ‘Tumbeetu, tumbeetu, tumbeetu…’ So people started calling us that, hence the name Merry Hearts Tumbeetu.
Should I assume you met Brian at church?
Actually, I met him at campus when we were both pursuing our bachelor’s degree in Music, Dance and Drama at Makerere University, although he was one year ahead of me.
Wow, so you’re a professional at this. Was it a childhood dream to be a comedian?
My mum tells me I was always funny since childhood, but I can’t say I always wanted to be a comedian. What I do remember is that I always wanted to do Music, Dance and Drama.
Every time they would ask me what I wanted to study, that’s the course I would mention, and when I joined Makerere University, that’s exactly what I pursued.
When did you start doing comedy?
I didn’t branch into comedy right away. Like I said, I met Brian at campus; so, we started in theatre because, at university, Phillip Luswata of Theatre Factory was our lecturer. We became friends with him, and he introduced us to theatre.
We used to walk to the National theatre every Monday, interact with various people in theatre, and I got some good opportunities. In fact, I was the first person to do the Momo advert for MTN.
But entering mainstream comedy happened when Comedy Store held its first auditions at UMA grounds. That was after the lockdown. Brian and I went to audition. We were over 80 comedians, and they only wanted two to perform at the next day’s show.
We were the first to audition, and they loved our act and chemistry. We left the auditions very confident that we were going to be called to perform the next day, and indeed, they called us back.
We also won the next auditions, and we kept doing that for two months until they started putting us on the Comedy Store lineup.
How was your first performance at Comedy Store?
We didn’t have money to buy the expensive clothes like big comedians do; so, we put on our school uniforms that we used to perform in. This was our first big performance as a duo, and there were hundreds of people in the audience.
We were nervous, but they encouraged us backstage to be confident and just do our act. When we stepped on stage for our performance, people just loved it.
We started with the rhymes, the funny English, and people loved all of it.
Going back a little bit, why did you choose to leave theatre?
Actually, things in theatre have changed a lot. We have so many great young talents in theatre, but they have failed to make it due to the way things are now. Most people no longer go to watch plays.
Someone writes a play, they rehearse for two months nonstop, and when the shows are scheduled, they fail to fill up. People do not show up, and when that happens, it means actors won’t be paid.
That’s fracturing, unlike in standup comedy where you perform for maybe 20 minutes, and they give you good pay there and then. That’s why we opted for this, munange.
How do you come up with your comedy skits?
We write first of all, because it is our job. We think about the job all the time. Even if I’m sleeping, I sleep with my notebook next to my bed. When I get an idea, I write it down.
As a comedian and content creator, you always have to look for new ideas that your audience can relate to.
How do you manage creative differences between you two?
One of us will be like, “Oh, man, there’s something I thought about,” and then we share it to make the skit better. Even when we are about to shoot, for example, someone might raise their hand and say, “What if we do it like this and this?”
If it’s funnier than what we had originally planned, then we put it in. It’s not a dictatorship. It’s not a one-man goal. We all play the game.
We can’t finish the interview without talking about your funny American accent. How did you come up with it?
What I always think about God is when He says that’s your job, He will provide means to do it. I’m not like other content creators. I have many characters that I play, because if you give people just one character, they will quickly get tired of it and forget it easily.
[The duo’s Zina Oluyongono song, sang mostly in a non-existent language, is equally a hit with audiences]. So, the basama (Ugandans living abroad) are always coming back to Uganda, and I thought, why not try something about them and their accents?
That’s how it came about, and people really loved it. They even started asking for it on stage.
Have you ever cracked a joke and it just died?
It’s common, by the way. You write a joke, it’s very funny, you laugh even in rehearsal, and you think, this is going to kill, but when you reach the stage, no one laughs. Sometimes, people have their own problems.
What do you do in such a situation?
Basically, as a comedian, when you go on stage, you need to open up a rapport between you and the audience to break that third wall. That’s why you see comedians, immediately after stepping on stage, trying to interact with the audience complimenting them to break the ice. After that, you can go into your act.
What was your most memorable moment?
Personally, I would say winning our first award in the same year we had joined Comedy Store as the Best Comedy Upcoming Duo. To me, that was the greatest moment in my life.
What do you do outside comedy?
We are MCs as well. We have a photography company and a number of other ventures. I am also a radio presenter at Simba radio.
