After last week’s discussion of the value of family in comedy, Radio New Zealand’s Charlotte Graham and New Zealand comedian James Nokise explore the way comedy and society approach race.
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James, who is of Welsh and Samoan descent, makes stand-up that manages to expertly traverse the line where the parts of ourselves that are difficult to countenance, meet the parts that are just really funny.
His latest show, The Bronaissance, builds on his previous stand-up work, So-So Gangsta, to explore the Renaissance, our perceptions of each other, and what’s gone wrong with our use of the word “bro”.
It’s on at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in Auckland and Wellington in April and May.
Listen to James Nokise discussing how we talk about race in both comedy and in New Zealand society.
And in the full interview, including discussion of James’ new show, his time as a teenage gang member, and his complex relationship with his dad.