Ballyrags Comedy Club

A new comedy venture aims to bring laughs aplenty to the Island as Ballyrags Comedy Club takes up a residency at Bar 74 in Ryde, with the first show on April 18th.

The inaugural show features headliner Simon Emanuel (as seen on BBC), supported by Sandro Ford, Victorian Rapper ‘Baron Fortitude’, and showcases talent from the Isle of Wight School of Comedy.

Ballyrags - which means ‘to use scurrilous language’ in the old Isle of Wight dictionary, will be showcasing the best of UK comedy with Tony Law (Never Mind the Buzzcocks), Alistair Williams (British Comedian of The Year) and Bobby Mair (8 out of 10 Cats) already confirmed for later shows.

The comedy club has been put together by Luc Valvona, who many will know as Baron Fortitude and founder of the Isle of Wight School of Comedy, and Toby Brown, a business and events manager who’s fulfilling a lifetime dream of running a Comedy Club.

Co-founder Luc, Fresh from making it to not one, but two comedy finals (The Musical Comedy Awards and Hampshire Comedian of the Year) said of Ballyrags; "We are going to be putting on the best nights of comedy on the island, featuring amazing headliners alongside the best local acts. As such we aim to give a stage for acts on the island to develop and create a pathway into the comedy industry that doesn't require commuting or relocation!"