Tell us a little about yourself and your career...
I have been performing stand-up comedy for the last 20 years at the age of 25. I got into comedy because I failed my Accountancy exams. My family weren't laughing. I have performed in the US and had the opportunity to open a show for Chris Rock. I have also performed alongside Louise C.K, Ricky Gervais, opened for Russell Peters by his request, and many others. I was also heavily involved with improvisation when I started and I was part of an all Asian impro group which now tours the States and Canada.
What do you think of Malta and its audiences?
I have been to Malta a couple of times now and enjoy it. Maltese people are very friendly, so audience-wise they love a good laugh.
What is different or unique about your kind of humour?
I am an intelligent human being. I love writing comedy that appeals to everyone and can talk about very complex issues and make it funny. We live in a world where news and society can be manipulated. You do need a voice that can interpret this and summarise the news in a funny way. My comedy comes from common sense and how far reality is from it.
Why should people come and see you?
If you have ever sat and looked at life and thought: "Am I a weird person for thinking this life is crazy?", but feel weird thinking about it, then you should definitely come and see me. If you have ever sat and looked at life and thought: "Life is ok", then you need to come and see me!
Why is laughter important?
We live in an environment where good things and bad things happen. But we do not know how to deal with the bad things. We know how to deal with good things, we celebrate it. Bad things we do not know how to cope with. So if we turn the bad things into things that we can find humour in, then we can deal with the bad things better... and make sure bad things do not happen and live a happy life
Anything else you'd like to add?
Live comedy is an amazing experience. To be a part of Maltese Funny Business, where the aim is to build a live comedy scene, teaching people to be good stand-ups and writers... we are creating something for audiences on this island to make Maltese comedians a voice in the world. This is 'a good thing' and you should support it.
The next Maltese Funny Business Comedy Nights starring Jay Sodagar supported by Gary Pennington, Tanya Malta, Dave O'Dwyer, Marica Lewis and Jimmy Carter will be held on Friday the 27th and Saturday the 28th April at 8.00 pm at Talbot & Bons (Skyparks level 1, next to Malta International Airport) in Luqa. Entrance for this free show is by reservation only through the FaceBook page (search Maltese Funny Business).
Maltese Funny Business is the brainchild of Paul Pennington who started his working life as a professional actor in Manchester when he was 15. He went on to perform in West End productions, as well as on British television and radio. He also produced and directed a number of plays. Roles in journalism and PR followed until the unexpected arrival of his daughter which led him to focus his career efforts in broadcast, health PR and media training.
After a brush with bowel cancer and hormonal health issues, he returned to performance art and - by happy coincidence - found himself participating in a stand-up comedy course tutored by Jay Sodagar - starting a friendship that led on to two comedy projects and the formation of Maltese Funny Business in October 2017, which helps find and develop Malta-based talent (with Jay's help as stand-up comedy tutor and his own input as a director/communication coach).
Maltese Funny Business works as a not-for- profit enterprise and will presently be launching a rewards-based crowd funding campaign through www.maltesefunnybusiness.com to raise the money to take them to the next stage of their development.