Last Saturday (30th March), prominent Isle of Wight Comedian, Luc Valvona, who also performs the character of Baron Fortitude: Victorian Rapper, reached the final of two comedy competitions in one day.
Performing as his Victorian alter-ego, Luc scooped a place in the final of the Musical Comedy Awards in central London, then hopped on a train to Totton and won a place in the Hampshire Comedian of the Year final, before returning to the Island on a midnight ferry.
Luc said,
“Comedy competitions are like buses… I like to sit at the back. It was quite fortunate timing and luckily the train was perfectly on time so I was able to do both, although it was a really full-on day full of adrenaline and comedowns!
“The musical Comedy awards were electric, a packed room of about 200 people, and they laughed at everything – even lines I didn’t think were supposed to be funny. It was Headlined by Tony Law, a juggernaught of comedy, who was a must to watch.
“The Hampshire Comedian competition was equally fun. A slightly smaller crowd, but they really got the jokes.”
Isle of Wight School of Comedy
As the founder of The Isle of Wight School of Comedy, Luc opined that it was probably about time he collected some comedy accolades to prove he knows what he’s talking about.
He teaches classes every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning at Bar 74 in Ryde, and runs shows there under the name “Ballyrags Comedy Club” every 3rd Thursday of the month with big name headliners (such as the aforementioned Tony Law), and other spots for the local Isle of Wight comedians.
“My aim is to build up the comedy scene on the Island, giving local people a pathway to performing comedy without having to regularly commute or relocate to the mainland.”
Live performances
Luc will be performing as Baron Fortitude at The Isle of Wight Festival, the Isle of Wight Ukulele Festival and regularly at Ballyrags Comedy Club. For more information about the Isle of Wight School of Comedy find them on Facebook.
The finals
The Musical Comedy Awards Final is on Saturday 13th April, 6:30pm at Bloomsbury Theatre in London, and will also be live-streamed on nextupcomedy.com. Tickets are nearly sold out!
The Hampshire Comedian of the Year Final Takes place on Saturday 25th May 6:30pm in The Attic, in Totton, Southampton. Tickets available online or on the door.
News shared by Luc, in his own words. Ed
