Comedian Diogene Ntarindwa is anticipating a reunion with his audience after he was offered a special stage at which he will perform during the opening day of the forthcoming Seka Fest on December 3, at Kigali Convention Centre. It will be his first comedy performance in Kigali since comedy shows, like other entertainment events, were given greenlight to resume after a two-year hiatus due to the covid-19 outbreak. Atome’s upcoming performance at Seka Fest came as a ‘coincidence’ after he had a friendly conversation with his friend Arthur Nkusi abd they ended up discussing the possibility of hosting him. Arthur had already planned the lineup of comedians for Seka Fest Day Two (December 4) led by South African Loyiso Gola but Day One of the festival was still vacant. It’s no surprise that he tied Atome down and time did not hesitate to confirm his presence as the main act because he wanted to reconnect with his audience. “The time I had a phone call with Atome, our conversation was not intended to discuss anything associated with Seka Fest. We were just having a different conversation,” said Nkusi. “But when he said to me ‘I miss connecting with my audience in early December’ during the same conversation, I immediately jumped on the idea of hosting him as our main headliner for Day One because I had no one in mind yet. I told him ‘let’s make this serious’ and he agreed,” he added. Atome never runs out of comedy and acting gigs but the majority, if not all of the gigs he had were taking place in Europe. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, November 23, Atome said that he missed performing for the Rwandan audience because he always wants to connect with his people in Rwanda. “It will be an occasion to reconnect with my audience which I missed. I have a lot to share with them,” he said. “Who doesn’t want to reflect on Covid-19? The Ukraine-Russia conflict impact? Our Gorillas having accounts on Instagram? There is a lot to talk about because I always stick to relevance. Just come and we reconnect,” he added. It will be a special comedy stage mixed with some music, which is why Atome chose to perform alongside cultural musician Ruti Joel to add the spark of music to his comedy. Entrance at Atome’s special comedy gig is Rw10,000 for regulars, Rwf20,000 and Rwf30,000.
