Salvado’s one-man show leaves mixed reactions

Holding a one-man comedy show is like a ‘commitment to marriage’, according to comedian Daniel Omara.

“You do not promise and not deliver,” he says. 

“You need to have jokes that are relevant and jokes that are your own to sustain a one-man show.”

As we went for Patrick Idringi aka Salvado’s “Man from Ombokolo” comedy show last Friday at the Kampala Serena hotel, expectations were high. 

Salvado had promised to deliver a defining one-man’s show for Uganda’s comedy industry.  And Ugandans responded by turning up in big numbers that the hotel’s Victoria hall was packed to capacity.

By 9:30pm, all the gold tickets that went for Shs 50,000 were sold out. After all the curtain-raising from singer Bebe Cool, Janzi band, guitarist Myko Ouma and Lydia Jazmine, it was time for Salvado to take the centre stage. But first was a dancing group from West Nile, to be specific Arua, to usher him in.

Their Lingala dance strokes amused the audience, and it was amidst this excitement that the man of the night took to the stage only to exhibit how inflexible he is. But realising how a bad dancer he is, he soon turned to what he knows best – cracking jokes.

He started off in his usual style of mimicking singers’ performances, which was entertaining as he showcased his rapping skills. The only problem was that it wasn’t any different from what he has done before.

He then began cracking jokes about his parents who were in the audience. The most surprising beat is when he told us of how his father does not wear underwear. He later asked his parents to bear with the jokes since it was the only way he would afford their transport back home.

His jokes could safely be classified into his usual four groups: toilet jokes, sex jokes, Ombokolo jokes and tribal jokes. Many guests agreed that it was a nice show if only he had toned down on the sexualised innuendos. 

He, for example, joked of how women lie about reaching orgasm.

“A Muganda woman will begin shouting even when you are just opening the zip. She will scream ‘baby, you are killing me.’ You remind her that you have just opened the zip but she will tell you “yes, I am turned on even via Bluetooth!”

Collins Senabulya, one of his fans, praised Salvado for doing a good job, except that he relied heavily on sexual innuendos.

“He tried to entertain but his jokes were 95 per cent vulgar. Most of us reached a time when we were just quiet. He was too vulgar,” Collins says. 

Mariam Nabankema, a student at Makerere University Business School (MUBS), also agreed with Senabulya.

“The show was great. I laughed till my head hurt but he was very vulgar. Yes, it had no age limit but he exceeded the point where he should not be saying some things, especially since his parents were there,” she says.

Salvado’s father Lawrence Dawa defended his son, saying sexual jokes are no problem.

“I don’t mind the sexual jokes. He is educating people – because these are things that people worry about but are afraid to discuss in public,” Dawa said.

“That boy stressed me when he was still in school. He was always sent back home because of his jokes. But I am happy that he is doing something that he loves. He has really grown; to see all these people here to support him means he is doing a great job.”

Agnes Maggimbi, an administrator at Galaxy FM, was also full of praise for Salvado.

“It was great and fun. I like him. He is funny and he has grown as a comedian. If he can pull off his own show, it shows that he is now big,” she said. However, Michael Nabulere, a guest at the show, expressed his disappointment with the show.

“People are saying that the show was a success but that is only because the hall was full. Personally, I did not get the kind of comedy I expected,” he said adding: “It was the same old Salvado – sex and Ombokolo jokes!”

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