Bad African. Comedy.
Venue: Victoria Girls’ High School Gymnasium
Next Performance: 26 June 18:00
Preview
By Benevolence Mazhinji
What do Kendrik Lamar’s “Not like us” and Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding out for a hero” have in common? For Céline Tshika, they both belong on a playlist that best captures the emotional range of her solo debut comedy show, Bad African. In this genre-blending performance, Tshika aims to crack open the silent weight and confusion of the impossible expectations placed on African daughters. She draws on stand-up, original songs, physical theatre and drag to explore how purity culture and religious fear shape the women we are told to become.
Tshika says that one of her most anticipated moments of the show is stepping into the spotlight to perform her heartfelt original, “May I offer you God”, a satirical song tracing how religion planted its roots in Africa, particularly the Congo, where she comes from. She says that this song is framed as a kind of twisted missionary sales pitch. It blends drag, musical theatre and historical commentary to unpack the spiritual cost of Western domination. “It’s the hardest part of the show for me every time,” she says “but it was the only way I knew how to talk about Congo without just saying things are bad. I wanted to show how it got there.”
Directed by Sophie Joans, the show resists tidy narratives; it’s a dynamic exploration of identity and the complex process of becoming. Tshika hopes that the audience walks out with empathy and the courage to question. They may even feel relief. “I want people to feel like who they are, where they’re at, is okay.” That being in-between things does not make you a Bad African.
