Michael Kudakwashe

Michael Kudakwashe
Michael Kudakwashe on stage performing a book reading of Rotten Row by Petina Gappah in Harare
Residence	Harare
Nationality	Zimbabwe
Occupation	Actor, Standup Comedian

Michael Kudakwashe is a popular Zimbabwean stage and television actor, a comedian and an acclaimed caricaturist. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s with his series the Guest that featured at Book Cafe.He goes by the stage name 'Michael K' in his stand up comedy routines.

Acting career

His drama career began in the New Millennium that saw him perform in such works as Athol Fugard’s The Island and Sizwe Bansi is Dead. He also featured in numerous Zimbabwean plays including Victor Mavedzenge’s Textures of The Moon. After gaining experience, Michael went on to make a joint venture with Victor Mavedzenge in 2004.^[1] Working under the handle 'The Guests', the live comedy routine established Michael as a talented comedian with his jaw breaking humour. Michael bases his stage perfomances on various issues ranging from social ills that include sexually transmitted diseases and relationships.^[2] He was discovered by the 'Developing Artists' project, which is a local art development organisation, that resulted in him being selected together with fellow actor Victor Mavedzenge to creating a play based upon stories from their own lives in 2006. Two years later, Michael Kudakwashe travelled to America to appear in the first professional out-of-New York production of Alan Bennett's The History Boys.^[3] In 2011 he was considered as 'The Funniest Man in Zimbabwe'^[4]

In 2011 he became part of the Zambezi News comic series. The series attacked ministers who donate computers to rural schools with no electricity, drunkards who claim rights that do not exist^[5] and other genuine problems faced in the country. Micheal plays the role of 'Mushayahembe' in the comedy.