30-May-2005 :

While reading this article you'll be thinking "What took us so long?" or "Why hadn't anyone thought of it before?". After all everybody enjoys a great laugh, the majority of us have a witty and versatile sense of humour, and the thing has been widely popular all over the world since the dawn of civilisation! So why it should have taken so long to hit our shores just beats me. The great news is that its here and that its taking off nicely. Introducing 'Laugh out loud' productions and their little baby ...

So, first of all, who are LOL Productions?

LOL Productions is made up of Roberta Zammit La Rosa and David Enriquez, it was formed in 2004 and next month we will be celebrating our 1st year of international stand-up comedy in Malta! So far every show has been an amazing success so we plan to keep on striving even harder & can always guarantee top headliner comic acts from around the world & can always guarantee the audience will laugh out loud again and again...Some people say health warnings should be presented at the door?!

I remember some really funny blokes at school who would get everybody laughing their heads off with a witty comment or a gesture! Can we say that you were that kind of kid at school or would you have been the mysterious one hiding in the background planning to become their manager instead?

Unfortunately the managerial instinct did not kick in at such an early age, we are not even managers to this day, we are merely bookers and promoters for stand-up comedy! However a good sense of humour has always been important to us both individually

Did you bump into each other recently? How did you meet?

No, we've known each other since we were teens then lost touch and bumped into each other again 2 years ago, discovered our similar passion for stand-up comedy and that's how LOL Productions was born!

Before LOL productions took off had you ever organised mini stand-up comedy parties at home?

Er, no! Our friends are comedians in themselves! :)

How did the idea of international stand-up comedy come about?

Well, we are big fans of stand-up comedy so we thought it was only natural to bring stand-up comedy to Malta instead of travelling to other cities to get a bit of the action! Risky we thought, but everyone loves a good laugh and laughs, cries and aching jaws is what they got! It's truly addictive, once you experience it, there's no going back.

What's the Maltese audience like compared to the ones at foreign comedy clubs?

Fantastic! They get every gag and punch line and nothing goes over their heads, we are graced with a very intelligent audience! Even the comedians told us so, they never expected the Maltese to be so sharp.

What type of comedians perform in your productions?

Top international acts; We've had award-winners, Guinness world record holders, regulars from The Comedy Store/Jongleurs, TV personalities and so on... They are all unique, some are physical acts, some observational and some who blurt out literally hundreds of one-liners one after another! The big shots like Lee Evans, Jack Dee and so on will never make it to Malta because they only perform in huge theatres to thousands of people, or some would have quit stand-up and moved to Hollywood!

Was the idea hard to sell to the comedians especially for your first event; or is it just a case of "what's your fee?"

It took a lot of negotiating to get the deal we wanted: a line-up of 3 TOP International Comedians, which is hard work to find only the best who suit each others style. They were skeptical about a Maltese audience at first, but soon found out they were wonderful. They also fell in love with Malta and funnily enough our buses (?!) so the word has spread round the comedy circuit about us in the UK like wildfire and we have many top acts lined up for upcoming gigs.

Are the majority of comedians also funny people off stage?

They are not all alike, most of them are very funny people off stage, but you may find some who prefer intelligent conversations, or some who solely just do stand-up comedy as a job and nothing else! But it's always a blast to hang out with them and treat them; taking 3 comedians out to lunch could very well end up being a free comedy show to most patrons in the restaurant!

Photo: Andre Vincent - serious about his job

Wouldn't it be great to have someone like Billy Connelly performing here in Malta! What are the chances of that happening?

We personally went to visit Billy at his house in Gozo to invite him to one of our shows, however he's into watching his football matches and relaxing in the Mediterranean sun driving his mini moke! Stand-up comedy is rarely on his agenda anymore.

I'm sure that even being part of a fun thing like LOL caused you some grief at times. What was the trickiest one to handle so far?

Yes it has got its down side too! In June 2004 we booked Lee Mack - one of the comedians on the popular tv series 'The Sketch Show', for our very 1st Stand-up Comedy Show and 1 week before the gig he cancelled due to a film he was going to produce in the States with Kelsey Grammar from Frasier!! We were shocked, but soon found a replacement who excelled and made us proud (Reginald D Hunter). We then found out that when TV contracts clash with gigs, the comedians will drop the gig at the blink of an eye to get a chance at fame, but it's a risk we have to take when we book top comedians.

What are LOL Productions' future plans? and do you have any words for your fans?

LOL Productions will keep rockin' the comedy world! & we'd like to say a big 'Thank you' to all the hard core fans for all the support and appreciation they have shown us... Our motto: We take comedy seriously!

Thanks Roberta. Thanks Dave. And Good Luck!
Interview for Manicmalta.com by Richard Borg on 30-May-2005

More info at www.laughoutloud.com.mt