Why Munya Chawawa Is 'Jumping Ship' From Social Media to Shakespeare

Munya Chawawa is swapping viral sketches for Shakespeare, but his stage debut is also part of a personal attempt to escape the grip of social media. The comedian says he is on "a conscious mission" to use his phone less, even as he prepares to appear in a modern version of A Midsummer Night's Dream set during Britain's 1990s illegal rave scene.

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a conscious mission

Chawawa has immersed himself in footage of the era's free parties, when people gathered in empty fields before smartphones and cameras documented every moment. He says he misses a time when people danced for themselves rather than for an online audience. "I absolutely miss an era where we were dancing for ourselves and not for a digital world somewhere," he says.

The 33-year-old believes many people share that nostalgia. He points to comments beneath rave videos from people who remember being able to dance, get sweaty and possibly get high without leaving a permanent record. Chawawa says he took that brief pre-social-media period for granted. Even now, he says, anxiety about being filmed affects the way he dances: "my two-step has become a lot stiffer" because a bad move could suddenly go viral.

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I absolutely miss an era where we were dancing for ourselves and not for a digital world somewhere.

The irony is that Chawawa owes his own fame to the digital world. He became known for short satirical videos featuring characters including the upper-class drill rapper Unknown P and chef Jonny Oliver. After almost eight years of making such content, he says those skills propelled him toward the wider entertainment career he wanted. He has since made two Bafta-nominated documentaries, appeared on Taskmaster and performed stand-up comedy. Now, he is testing where those online beginnings can take him next, on stage and away from the phone.

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my two-step has become a lot stiffer