Clean humour and family fun: meet Chatsworth's comedy star Ashley Somiah

IN THE heart of Woodhurst in Chatsworth lives Ashley Adrian Somiah who has transformed from a local emcee to a social media sensation with his family-friendly comedy.

This father of three balances his pyrotechnics business with creating relatable content that has South Africa laughing, while staying true to his roots and values of clean humour. 

He has rapidly gained popularity through the comedy he shares on platforms like TikTok and Facebook.

Somiah, 41, said while in school, college and at work he always joked around. 

"But I also had funny friends who were just as shell as me. So when you are around funny people all of the time, it's easier to come up with jokes. Some of them had better jokes than me. They were just too shy to record themselves and post it. Even in my family, I was always the one they called to emcee their functions. There were a lot of jokes in between the speeches and fun crowd games." 

Born and raised in Unit 1, Somiah remembered a time when the community thrived with safety and camaraderie, playing soccer daily from dusk in local grounds.

This laid-back atmosphere instilled in him not only a fondness for sports but also a foundation of confidence that eventually blossomed into a passion for entertainment. 

“I was a soccerite and that helped shape my playful spirit,” said Somiah as he reminisced about his earlier days.

"Back in the day we played in the grounds from 4pm until 10pm and it was safe to walk through the pathways and roads to get back home." 

After he matriculated from Southlands Secondary, he pursued a BCom in business management and information systems at the University of Durban-Westville (now UKZN). 

"At a young age I was fascinated by how computers worked both with the hardware components and software. That led me to study information technology. I also went into the training field and taught technical support and MS Office at various private colleges." 

Although his educational background may seem a far cry from comedy, the stage was calling him and Somiah found himself yearning for the laughter of audiences.

He said he had no formal acting experience, and was mostly self-taught by watching old and new movies and sitcoms, including The Three Stooges, Mind Your Language, In Living Colour, The Wayans Brothers, Martin and stand-up comedy shows.

"I always had a passion for entertainment and the stage from an early age when I was in Sunday School and had to perform plays. We used to have big church concerts where they would have different acts like dancing, playing instruments, singing and so on, but I used to love acting in plays and playing the comedic role. 

"That's what led me to emceeing at events such as weddings, birthdays, nelengus, hurdees and corporate functions. I wanted to bring back that old school style of comedy with impersonations and good clean humour. You don't always have to swear to make a joke funny." 

Somiah started posting memes and jokes on Facebook from 2010 and TikTok from 2022. 

On Father's Day in 2022, he uploaded his first video on social media and that was the catalyst for his digital fame. 

"I made a joke that if my wife bought me one more stupid gift for Father's Day I would burn it. She bought me 2 packs of agarbatti (incense sticks). From that day I received a lot of views and likes on TikTok and people in the comments asked me to make more joke videos. And that's what led me to continue with content creation. I started doing more impersonations, role-plays and changing up my style of comedy as the years went along." 

He said his content focussed on good clean humour and it was family-oriented. 

"I use real life situations that people can relate to and turn it into a joke: like drama when renewing your driver's licence, that one aunty who complains about everything when attending a wedding, or that one family member who steals the nice sweetmeats from the Diwali parcels. I use Samsung notes and whenever I think of something funny, I type it out then come back to it later to script a joke around it. Sometimes it's just one punchline that I type out and then I think of a story to tell around that punchline.

"I am also an observational comedian. I watch how people act, their body language, or listen to their voice and try to mimic it. That's how I come up with different characters like the old grumpy grandfather or the cheeky granny. I like to watch the news and if there's any interesting stories, I think of something funny to say regarding that event. I try to put out at least four videos per week, coming out with fresh funny content that people can relate to." 

His wife, Larissa Somiah, 35, who owns a décor company, also joined in on the fun. 

"About three years ago, while at the Wild Coast Sun, I got ready to see some old college friends. My wife started asking me 101 questions, like why I was using perfume and why I dressed up so nicely. Eventually, I told her to leave it, I won't go. I'll just stay in the room. 

"Then I thought to myself, this will make a good joke because a lot of wives don't like it when their husbands go out with their friends. My wife played along and we recorded our first video together. We had a good response from that video and that's when we both started doing videos according to what married couples or couples in general go through. Even if we are fighting for real, I'll still be thinking in my head: 'Hey, this is a good joke to make'." 

Somiah said it was important to tackle online negativity with grace.

"The best way to handle negative feedback or trolls is simply to ignore. I don't respond to any hateful or vulgar comments because it's a waste of time. The block button is easier to use than to type out a full comeback for haters. As a content creator, you are always going to get a few people who won't like you but you must always remember the many people who love your content and support you. That's what keeps me going. 

"I love meeting new people when I go out with the family. At events they come up to me and tell me about the video they watched and how they laughed. That's what makes me happy, when I make someone else smile. 

"I also market videos for companies. When I post these I get a few comments that are not hateful or vulgar but rather constructive criticism. I respond to those comments in a professional and dignified manner and not take it personally because you can always learn something new each day, which will help you to grow and put out better content." 

He referred to himself as a carefree guy who did not get angry easily. 

"Sometimes even my own supporters fluke me but I know it's all in good fun."

The couple have three sons: Jevesh, 17; Isaiah, 8; and Zion 3. 

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