Having grown up during the final years of South Africa’s apartheid, Trevor Noah has experienced his fair share of racism.
He was born in the Soweto district of Johannesburg to a black mother and white father and, at times, neither parent was allowed to even walk beside him on the street as, in the eyes of the regime, Trevor was considered an aberration. But as he approaches his 30th birthday, the comedian has learned to take a stand against racism in the best way he knows how – by poking fun at it.
In fact, the title of his UK fledgling tour is quite simply The Racist.
“I gave it that name because it’s a fun title to go with,” said Trevor.
“I knew it would catch people’s eyes. It’s a topic I like dealing with, as I love making fun of racists and dealing with racial issues.”
But while the topic has given him plenty of material to choose from – and has been a fruitful platform for him, having launched easily the most successful international career of any South African comedian – he is keen not to be seen as an anti-racism activist.
“I’ve never thought of it as a way of informing people, but then we are informed by our own experiences. In terms of the material, I have always brought out what was funny. But I’m not trying to impart. I just hope that people will leave the show knowing more about me so we can build a relationship from there,” said Trevor.
And if people go away a little more knowledgeable about the new South Africa which has emerged from under the tyranny of apartheid, then that’s no bad thing, he finds.
“People have so many misconceptions,” he said with a chuckle.
“They think it’s like a war zone and crime-driven, but it’s really not as bad. Yes there’s crime, and some bad crime, too, but there are many places in the world that are the same. But people in South Africa have come a long way in terms of reconciliation. It’s a rainbow nation now and a wonderful place.”
Indeed, Trevor’s love of his homeland has been especially prevalent following Nelson Mandela’s death, which occurred after my interview with Trevor. The comedian’s Twitter page has been alight with praise for the great man who also lived in Soweto.
“One of the funniest and most amazing human beings I’ve ever met”, one tweet states. Another, post Hammersmith Apollo gig, reads: “Tonight was the perfect personification of everything Mandela fought for. A beautiful rainbow audience laughing together.”
But what’s clear is that Trevor’s perspective is now that of a citizen of the world, and not just of his homeland. In the past few years, Trevor has left the comfort of his South African nest, where he’s a massive national celebrity, and set his sights on the west.
And it’s going very well so far. In the US, he has already appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The David Letterman show, and appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, while here in the UK he is becoming a regular face on panel shows, such as QI and 8 out of 10 Cats.
And already, he is keenly aware of what audiences are looking for in each country. In the US, just like his homeland, stand-up sets need to be gag-filled, with joke after joke being thrown out there like an arsenal of water balloons. But in the UK, we’re apparently quite different in what we look for from our comedians.
“I find people in the UK want a bit more. They want to feel a bit and want to know how you feel. And I really enjoy that. It’s a totally different experience, but it’s totally worth it. It’s something that’s special,” he said.
“People love listening here. There’s an old culture of theatre, comedy and the spoken word, and the people are really willing to listen. It’s not necessarily a joke-driven culture, but a storytelling one with jokes added too.”
And again, while in this introductory tour the issue of racism gives the main structure to his set, Trevor doesn’t want to put himself in a box as the “racial issues comedy guy”. There’s plenty of regular observation gags, such as his views on the UK and US, and reacting to the audience on the night.
It’s one of the reasons he has never been a fan of tightly scripting a set. In keeping with his laid-back personality, he prefers to let things happen naturally, rather than write it all down.
“When it comes to words, I have a photographic memory. So if I wrote it down, I would be reading in my mind, and I never want to do that,” he said.
“The audience needs to be part of the experience, as much as my plan is. And so every single show is different as I’m really reacting to them, too. So that’s why I’ve never really written anything down.”
As for his view on the UK, his South African upbringing has helped him develop a keen eye for observational comedy, and a healthy sense of perspective.
“It’s funny, I’ve actually been warned about going to Glasgow,” he laughed.
“But coming from South Africa, that warning has pretty much fallen on deaf ears. I’ll take it with a pinch of salt.”
Trevor Noah will be at The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen, on Sunday, January 5. Tickets are available from www.aberdeen performingarts.com or by calling 01224 641122.