‘Nobody is safe’ – Wilbard Nam takes on comedy

After his recent shows that left audiences fascinated at the City of Windhoek /Ae //Gams Arts and Cultural Festival and the Savanah Comedy Hour in the capital, stand-up comedian and hilarious prankster Wilbard Nam chatted with The Namibian about his comedy career, inspirations and what comes next.

Raised in the Oshikoto region’s Uuyoka village, Wilbard’s journey into comedy started while at school where he was labelled a class clown.

“I’ve always played the comedian and been silly. The jokes gained the upper hand when I arrived at a senior secondary school at Uukule, and that is how I somehow managed to find myself at the University of Namibia,” he laughs.

He says his breakthrough came in 2019 when a friend showed him Trevor Noah’s stand-up videos on YouTube. Inspired, he googled “stand-up comedy clubs in Namibia” and discovered FreeYourMind comedy club.

“The rest is history,” he says.

Wilbard’s material is as diverse as his public: “I do a little bit of everything,” he explains.

“Politics, culture, daily life, current events, self-deprecating stuff – you name it. No one is safe, including me.”

He incorporates experiences from day-to-day life, like his comments about Namibian society, being short and his experiences being black.

Summing up his brand of comedy in a few words, he simply states: “Utter violence. Nobody is safe.”

Wilbard is a regular performer at the Comedy Hour Comedy Club, which performs monthly shows around Windhoek.

He is also part of the Windhoek Comedy Club, performing at venues such as The Wolfshack.

“I also get invited or apply to perform at public and private events,” he adds.

His comedy career is already dotted with remarkable landmarks. He had the chance to perform at the ZED Laugh Comedy Festival held in Lusaka, Zambia, in December 2023.

“It was one of the best moments of my life. I was able to network with international comedians and sample Zambian culture,” he recalls.

Last year, Wilbard put on his first one-man show at Vinyls Music Café, cementing his place in the local comedy circuit. He was also nominated as Namibia’s Best Stand-Up Comedian of the Year, a reflection of his growing strength, he says.

In the future, Wilbard is working with FreeYourMind for their comeback and birthday concert on 4 July. He is also preparing his second solo offering, which will be held in late July or early August.

Wilbard has big dreams. “I want to be among the best – not only in Africa or Namibia, but among the world’s best stand-up comedians,” he says.

But he also hopes to build up the local scene. “I want comedy to be accepted as one of the leading forms of entertainment in Namibia so that we can be booked, well paid and make a living out of this art.”

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