Comedian to donate all show proceeds to female-empowerment organisation

A local comedian will be donating all the proceeds from his show Love and Other Jokes to a non-profit organisation which provides young people with sexual education.

Simmi Areff will be performing his stand-up show at the Auto and General Theatre on the Square on 27 and 28 September. Throughout the show, Areff tells stories about his love life while also interacting with the audience and including their stories about love.

“It’s a show with lots of interaction, bringing in the audience to share their love stories along with me. I’m not only talking about love but about stories of my dad, my poetry and other experiences.”

Areff made the decision to donate all his proceeds from the show following recent protests about gender-based violence. He recently performed at a venue that was located just a few hundred metres from the post office where 19-year-old student Uyinene Mrwetyana was last seen before she was murdered. It was this stark reality that inspired Areff to contribute to a cause that could help educate young people.

Femme Projects has an interactive approach to education and empowering the youth about sexual education and sexual and reproductive health and rights. They provide this curriculum to young women at under-resourced schools. “It’s not about me adding my voice but rather about educating others,” said Areff.

He added, “It’s a no-brainer why I wanted to work to help them [Femme Projects]. They do such good work at a grassroots level and one of the ways we can change our country’s femicide rate is by learning more about the topics they educate communities about.”

Areff said that there are so many incredible organisations doing great work in communities and he hopes that he will be able to contribute a large amount of money to Femme Projects.

Tickets for Love And Other Jokes are available from Computicket outlets and online. The show carries a PG14 age restriction and starts at 8.15pm.

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