Comedians | Daliso Chaponda
Daliso Chaponda was born in 1979. He is very proud of this achievement. He has three older brothers and he often boasts to young women that he is the shame of his family. Daliso’s earliest aspiration was to become a reverend but alas, he enjoys sinning too much. Stand-up comedy is the closest he has come to his initial dream of the pulpit.
Daliso began his comedy career in Canada with the acclaimed one man show ‘Feed This Black Man’. Subsequent appearances across Canada followed (highlights include The Just For Laughs Festival 2005 & CBC Television’s ‘Crossing The Main’).
In 2004 Daliso Chaponda headlined the ‘Don’t Let Them Deport Me’ Comedy Show as a plea to officials to have his Canadian visa extended. The show was sold out, well reviewed and frenzied letters were written to bureaucrats. He was forced to leave anyway after one final show, 2005’s “They’re Deporting Him Anyway.” Next, he worked as a comedy writer and performer in South Africa and recently he moved to the UK.
In addition to Stand-Up Comedy, Daliso has also had two plays produced and published fiction in numerous magazines. In 2002 he was a finalist in the L. Ron Hubbard Writer’s of the Future Contest and in 2004 he was nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the P&E Award.
“It takes a special kind of act to work on both sides of the Atlantic (as well as across Africa) but it seems an easy transition as he compels the crowd with his socially insightful comedy. Every sentence he ends results in helpless laughter from the audience” – News and Star, Carlisle
"Absolutely [took] the roof off the place. Brilliant, brilliant act." -- The Frog and Bucket, Manchester
“Demonstrated Malawi-style storytelling, British cynicism, and distinctly Canadian self-victimization bit in fine form." -- The Thursday Report, Montreal
"A wonderfully animated comic. Full of extravagant gestures and impassioned speeches. He inspires whoops and cheers from his watchers. Highly recommended" -- De Bees Music Bar Reviews, Winsford
"With his frank delivery, accent and cartoonish voice, he has a unique and endearing stage presence." -- Community Contact, Montreal
"He took control of the audience from the off with his own brand of humour. He had a wide range of material, and was not long in rocking the capacity audience with laughter." -- One4Review, Edinburgh
