'It's a personal war!' Churchill speaks out on struggles in a comedian's life

Piece by: Elizabeth Ngigi
Lifestyle

Daniel Ndambuki, alias Churchill, says the biggest challenge facing most Kenyan comedians is keeping up with social media.

Speaking during the late Othuol Othuol's tribute episode on Churchill Show, the veteran comedian said comedy is a very lonely journey that one has to go through.

"It's a personal war that you are fighting with yourself. What makes people laugh today may not make them laugh tomorrow, and so you have to be creative every day," he said.

 

He said at the beginning, when one is not even a brand, nobody believes you, including yourself. But the day you hit the stage and people like you, you start creating a whole community around you.

"You create friends and those friends will determine who you will be in future. You have to be disciplined to take the brand to the next level," he said.

Speaking about the challenges comedians face, Churchill said fame also costs some comedians.

"You have come and performed, you are famous, you get money and you don't know how to manage it," he said.

"Automatically you get friends. Some are good while others are bad. And because acting is not a full-time job, you have to supplement it to get money elsewhere. The little you have, you have to manage it.

"Social media is the main challenge as once you have a big name and big following, you think you have to impress people every day."

He said most comedians are under pressure to remain relevant.

"You have to feed this animal called social media every day. You have a whole family and the expectation becomes so much."

He urged Kenyans to help comedians wherever they can as some of them are going through so much pressure from the industry.

"When you meet these creative people at social places or anywhere, go say hi to them and interact with them," he said.

"It may make a difference as most of them are constantly thinking. At times, it takes a nation to build a comedian. The appreciations heal the soul and if they give you the laugh, give them the love."