Within a two year period that coincided with his thirtieth birthday, Lebogang Mogashoa moved countries, lost a parent, and changed careers. He insisted that he was fine; all he needed was chardonnay, an entire carrot cake and a good night’s sleep - every single day. Until he was mugged at gun point just before his thirty-first birthday. He suddenly found himself buried under the weight of three decade’s worth of terrifying experiences. In The Real Dirt, he examines some of those experiences through gratifyingly personal and hilarious stories that arrive at a satisfying moment of human connection, and an Apple product.

Lebo Mogashoa is a writer and storyteller based in Johannesburg. After completing a degree at UCT, he followed America’s next top model to Korea, where, sadly, instead he ended up teaching English… But he also developed a cult following for his Storytelling Series “When We Were Nearly Young”. He returned to South Africa in 2014, where he has been running successful shows in both Johannesburg and Cape Town, while writing for TV and theatre. Lebo’s popularity has grown through his ability to share his honest experiences on difficult subject matters. He penned possibly the most raunchy story in “We Didn’t Come to Hell for the Croissants” and is currently working with POPArt on The Storytellers Series and is a writer on TV's hit show "The Queen". He has studied storytelling under the guidance of Kevin Allison of RISK!

Media & Reviews

Review by David Fick

Audience Responses

Fabulous! Lebo's show was poignant, touching, disturbing at times but still a lot of fun. It was a pleasure to share the evening with him.

I saw Lebo's show last year at the Alex Bar and was keen to see this development. The new stories are great. And yet, interestingly, the show didn't feel like it had the emotional wraparound the last one did. After the last one, Rachel Neary and I sat drizzing in the street it was so good. It's not that this version is less good: the material is excellent, and Lebo's insouciant calmness is as remarkable as ever...it just felt the rhythms of the show were a little off-balance. But that does *not* take away from the story-telling nous he has. Still a fantastic hour of story-telling and engagement.

I like it very much, the connection with the audience was good and is a topic that makes you think and ponder. All the best with the show

LM heart-felt approach, lightness of touch, economic evoking of places and people, hilarious TV references and great structure are completely gripping. Plus the show launched a whole new area of fashion consciousness: bible-reading gear.

Great, captivating story-telling at it's finest

Funny, heartfelt. Thank you.

The performance and performer were amazing. It was a heart warming story. Absolutely wonderful.

This was once again an incredible performance. Real, raw, thought-provoking and truthful!

Raw, honest and vulnerable, Lebo is a reflection of the self few of us have the balls to share.

First show in very many that I've not rated 5 stars. Insufficient content for an hour, rather laboured. The good bits were good but there were far too few of them.

Wonderful to hear someone's life story told with such humility and sincerity. Both entertaining and moving.

The show is excellent, and Lebo is fantastic. I'll be recommending this show to everyone (even though it's only on for three more nights). I hope Lebo comes back to do more plays in Cape Town soon!

This was a great performance, thoroughly enjoyed by our whole party. Sad, funny and heart warming. Thank you Lebogang, we look forward to seeing more of your performance and will certainly spread the word! Best Beatrice Rabkin

He opened my eyes to the other side of my childhood. And his experience of gay youth brought back memories.

There's nothing like a good story, and Lebogang delivered just that. Authentic, moving, suspenseful irreverent and poignant. It would be great to see more curated, directed story-telling ala 'The Moth'.

Funny and sad at the same time. His life story had a powerful impact on me and I thank him for telling it.

Fantastic hour connecting to Lebogang's "Real Dirt". Thoroughly enjoyed by all members in our Group of 4. Well done.

Really lovely and charming! And very funny at times!

This was my fourth time. I adore Lebogang, He is a a delightful, hilarious, engaging, insightful, wacky, fun, cute, moving story guy. He is treat for an audience, indulging us in a new way of receiving from a performer.