Tumi Morake: We undervalue ourselves as South Africans

Comedian Tumi Morake believes the only thing holding local talent back is the thought that we are not good enough.

Tumi has travelled around the world making people laugh and recently joined the Netflix Comedians of the World series, alongside other South Africans Loyiso Gola, Riaad Moosa and Loyiso Madinga.

The series, which hits the streaming service on January 1, 2019 will showcase 47 comedians from 13 regions in 8 languages. It will feature a range of stand-up specials from comedians diverse in style, gender and ethnicity. 

Tumi said she was excited for the world to see the talent that South Africa has and make  Mzansi proud.

"We have so much amazing comedians. The thing is we need to value ourselves and believe in our talent. Nobody is going to babysit us and look after us, we need to look after ourselves and we are more than capable of not only being on such a big stage but owning it."

She said that South Africans needed to give themselves a break and appreciate just how good they are.

"We are bigger than we give ourselves credit for. We are more amazing than we give ourselves credit for. We are lighter than we give ourselves credit for. We think everything is dark and gloomy but look at how easily we laugh. We are bloody awesome and we need to stop putting other people before us."

Tumi was far from home during the shooting of her episode in Montreal, Canada but said she was able to represent Mzansi and still relate to her audience by keeping it "universal".

"I made sure it was in the way I looked. I also tried to immediately pull them in by talking about motherhood, weight, being a wife and being a stranger in a new place. These are experiences that we all have and then bring it back to my own unique perspective of where I am from. It is the best representation we can make."