F
rom the dusty streets of Soweto
to the bright lights of New York
City... How did a relatively
unknown comedian from
Johannesburg conquer the competitive
late-night television market
in the United States? The person
is, of course, Trevor Noah, presenter
of the acclaimed and award-winning
satirical late-night talk show
programmeThe Daily Show.
Arguably one of the biggest jobs
in television, the spotlight was on Noah
when he took over the hot seat from
the long-time presenter, Jon Stewart,
in 2015 using current news affairsas a point of entry for the political
comedy show. The critics were quick
to point out that as a foreigner he
might not understand the political
nuances of America, especially in
an era when the pressure to stay at
the top of television ratings is intense.
Two years later, and with Donald
Trump’s presidency providing ample
material, Noah has proved his critics
wrong. In May alone he had more than
a million viewers glued to his show- not bad for a so-called newbie
to the American television scene.
Noah, who grew up at the height
of apartheid, knows racism first-hand.
Still, it was not something that he
expected to experience when he
moved to America. He says that in the
past six years he’s been stopped by
the police “'between eight and 10 times
[...] it’s insane that it’s such a normal
thing,” he said onThe Daily Show.
Prior to his American debut,
Noah was already a well-known face
in South Africa, hosting a radio show,
Noah’s Ark, and also a television
show,Tonight with Trevor Noah.
He later dropped all TV work to focus
on developing his comedy brand,
for which he crisscrossed South Africa,
and building a solid fanbase with
his take on local politics and in
particular President Jacob Zuma
and his various political scandals.
Noah has received many accolades
but it was his 2016 interview
with Barack Obama before the latter
stepped down as President that
remains a firm favourite. He told
The Los Angeles Times: “Never, ever
in my wildest dreams did I imagine
I would be on a first-name basis
with the president of the United States
of America. Especially the first
black president. And maybe the last.
Hopefully not.”
Last year, Noah published theNew
York TimesbestsellerBorn a Crime:
Stories from a South African
Childhood, in which he chronicles
growing up under apartheid with
his black mother and the relationship
with his Swiss-born father. The
book also gives us insight into Noah’s
understanding of race relations
in the country and how he has had
to navigate this. He has already
received two awards from the National
Association for the Advancement
of Colored People for the book: Debut
Author and Outstanding Literary Work.
On how long he will host the show,
Noah says it will be for “as long
as I feel I can positively contribute
to a conversation in the community
that I’m in, whether it’s late-night (TV)
or the political discourse”. He says
his biggest inspiration is his beloved
mother, Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah.
The funnyman returns to his home
country in August for a one-off
performance. “I am coming back home
to do a show – not because Trump has
kicked me out, but because I would
like to do a show for you – new jokes,
new show and new guests.”
CrystalOrdersonTREVORNOAHSouth Africa/US, comedianTrumping American talent
on late-night T V
JOSIAH KAMAU/BUZZFOTO VIA GETTY IMAGESDIASPORA DYNAMO |FRONTLINE 25