Cape Town comedian Yaaseen Barnes has been in the industry for over a decade, and has been dubbed the ‘prince of one liners’ for his short punchy jokes. He is also a co-creator of the charting comedy podcast, The Reg Boys, which he co-hosts with Simon Orgill.
“I was never a stage person,” says Cape Town comedian Yaaseen Barnes. “I never wanted to become a comedian. I never wanted that feeling until the moment I did [comedy]. Then I realized, joh this is like drugs!”
Yaaseen Barnes sports a The Office t-shirt and a The Reg Boys bucket hat. The Office is one of his favourite TV shows. PHOTO: Joel Ontong
Barnes sits comfortably on an old couch in his study. His words are accompanied by a gesture, articulated by his dominant left hand.
Barnes did not pursue tertiary education after high school. Before he ventured into comedy, he did an assortment of odd jobs. But, he says, once he discovered the stage, he knew that there was no going back.
A partial list of odd jobs that he did include retail, working for Stats SA, diamond grading, videography, insurance, ticket taking and handing out flyers. He also worked as a photographer and still considers himself a director of photography at heart.
“I have ADHD [Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder], and I only found out a couple of years ago,” he says.
But he was never comfortable in those jobs.
“[Back] then I didn’t know it was the ADHD,” he says. “Anything I could do, I did, because I liked the experience of learning. The more you learn, the more you can say: ‘No, this isn’t my thing’ – because I tried the thing,” he says.
Since starting his comedy career in the early 2010’s, Barnes has done writing, direction, jingles, voice-overs and worked as a master of ceremonies.
“I shoot for perfection,” says Barnes.
Yaaseen Barnes shares a study with his wife, Na’eemah Masoet, who works as a publisher. PHOTO: Joel Ontong
Discovering the stage
Working different jobs ended up being valuable for his stand-up, says Barnes.
He emphasizes the importance of life-experience in comedy. “In comedy you can’t be dom. Comedy is the life you’ve lived till the moment you walk on stage.”
When he finally pursued comedy, it became another new learning opportunity for him. Getting his comedic style right was one of the areas in which he had to grow.
Twitter was one of his earliest learning platforms for comedy, says Barnes. However, performing on stage allowed him to tell longer jokes. It was during this stage that he started doing research on one liner comedians.
“I enjoyed doing that type of comedy. That’s where things clicked for me and for the crowd […] That’s where it went from soft drugs to hard drugs,” he says.
Yaaseen Barnes and his wife own two cats, Juno and Coco. Here he is seen with Coco. PHOTO: Joel Ontong
Barnes has since won numerous awards for his stand-up, among them the 2014 GoodHope FM’s Laugh Master, where the prize was a slot in the 2014 Jive Cape Town Funny Festival. There he was put in a line-up with Marc Lottering, Trevoh Noah and Nic Rabinowitz. Barnes says he is still in disbelief that he got a chance to perform alongside these comedy giants.
Comedy remains a constant learning experience for Barnes. Supporting him in his journey is his wife, Na’eemah Masoet. Masoet works as a publisher and often acts as a sound board for his jokes.
“The process feels more like a workshopping space. Yaaseen will give me his [idea]… I will say how I feel about it. I’ll tell him he needs to work on it… I’m the toughest critic,” says Masoet.
During lockdown, Yaaseen Barnes performed shows through Zoom, the video sharing application, he says. Due to the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, he was happy to finally return to the stage. PHOTO: Joel Ontong
Every crowd is different
As a comedian, he learned that every crowd is different. Some crowds are “loud smilers” and others “table hitters”, but he appreciates both. However, he learned early on that people are not as different as one might think.
“The first time I performed at Mitchells Plain. I was nervous as hell because I’m coloured, but I’m not someone from the area. I’m sturvy because I’m from Rondebosch East. I go up, I do the first joke… silent. Oh no! This is going to make the whole thing so much longer!” he says, tossing his arms up in defeat.
“Then this guy gets up and he hits the wall. My joke clicked by him, clicked by them. And you see people respond. Then I knew, I’m home. Shukran,” he recounts.
In dealing with different crowds over the years, Barnes has adapted his stand-up style. Initially deadpan, he eventually became warmer and more candid onstage. He explains that the change in style demanded of him to become “more myself onstage and offstage […] now I get to exist onstage”.
Yaaseen Barnes says that as a comedian, he is often approached with jokes from his fans and those who know him. Though the jokes are not always funny, he appreciates people telling him them nonetheless, he says. PHOTO: Joel Ontong
The Reg Boys podcast
Nowadays Barnes co-hosts a popular comedy podcast with Simon Orgill, who he has known personally for four years. Orgill is a well-known Cape Town content creator, most famous for being the co-founder of Sep & Simon, a now defunct online comedy duo. Barnes was a big fan of Sep & Simon, and he remains honoured to know Orgill.
Working with Barnes is “really fun”, says Orgill. “You kind of found someone that’s like you, but also not like you. He’s just lekker to be around.”
Barnes is one of the most hard-working people he knows, says Orgill, who sees him as a friend, as well as a colleague.
Their podcast came out of lockdown and is purely dedicated to talking about “nonsense”, says Barnes. The duo sees the podcast as a shared space, where different people can share their stories. In the different stories they hear, they realize there is always something to relate to, says Barnes. “You have an individual experience, but it’s a shared memory,” he explains.
In the first episode of their podcast, they proposed the name The Reg Boys.
“Growing up we were not the reg boys. The reg boys are like the cool kids at school. Then we realized we’re old enough to be the reg boys! […] If you want to be something, be that thing,” he says. The name also sounded funny to them.
Still getting it reg
Lockdown led to a shortage in live shows for comedians, but with the easing of restrictions, the comedy scene is finally recovering, says Barnes. Since 21 March, Barnes has had numerous projects in the works. Among them was being the host of the Jive Funny Championships, previously known as the GoodHope FM’s Laugh Master. He was honoured to take this on, since the competition allowed him to perform at the Jive Cape Town Funny Festival.
Barnes feels a great sense of gratitude for where comedy has taken him, as it allows him to pursue different creative projects and to do what he loves.
“I only have a matric. Because of comedy I have a career.”