By Seleoe Nonyane
unsung – Defending Human Dignity will hold a show called Stand Up For Something at Café What? on Thursday.
Stand Up For Something is a brainchild of Unsung, which is an organisation that comprises artists and lawyers who teamed up to address unsettling issues affecting society unconventionally and creatively.
Talking to theReporter this week, the creative director of unsung, Tieho Mosoeunyane, said the organisation uses art, music and in this case, comedy to address the issues hence the theme of the show ‘Humour’n Trafficking’.
unsung was established in 2019 after the United States Department of State Report ranked Lesotho second in countries with high human trafficking.
Mosoeunyane said this inspired the establishment of the organisation as a platform to take a stand against human trafficking.
“We thought about how we could get our hands dirty and curb the human trafficking pandemic which is the fastest growing in the world so, that is how unsung was born.
“So, Stand Up For Something is another component that this movement uses to address social ills,” he noted.
Explaining how they are going to mix comedy and human trafficking, Mosoeunyane said one of their acts will write jokes based on other issues that are not necessarily linked to trafficking in persons. At least one percent of the act should touch on the topic at hand.
He added that they also have an MC who will be saying something between the acts about human trafficking.
Mosoeunyane said they chose comedy because, unlike serious messages, it sticks and one can remember a joke many years after they heard it.
He further indicated that they are using comedy as a vehicle to address pressing issues in a manner that arouses the interest of the public.
This will be the second event since the formation of the organisation; they also have a documentary in the works, which is also tackling the issue.
The event is the first of many in a series of events that the organisation will hold in 2024 alone.
Mosoeunyane said the feedback from the previous show was good as they conducted a vox pop and the people who attended the show applauded the new concept which they described as ‘practical’.
He said the reveilers said they were entertained and educated all at once.
Mosoeunyane added that they do not have well-known comedians in their lineup as they were very picky about who they select to convey the message.
He mentioned that on the line-up they have Tumi J Sibisi who is a content creator and one of the acts that launched Stand Up For Something when it was first showcased.
Content creator Khethang Mantsoe will also take to the stage.
Lastly, Hip Hop artist Thabiso Mohapeloa will be part of the acts on that day, doing comedy for the first time.
“Because of the sensitivity of the issue, we tend to be very picky about who should be performing.
“We have gone to so many shows locally to assess the talent, so we have realised that some of the talents cannot discern between things that are cringy and offensive.
“The phrase “lefu leholo ke litṧeho” already creates a borderline so, our choice of comedians is due to this reason,” Mosoeunyane pointed out.
He said he is hopeful that going forward a lot more people will sign up for the show.
