For those who don’t know you, tell us a bit about you, Kevin! 

At 44 years of age, I believe I’m at a point where I can confirm that laughter and love have the power to change the world. Married to an amazing woman and father to two beautiful girls, I don’t think I could ask for anything more now. (I have a list of about 34 things I could ask for, but let’s focus on the interview.). 

 The 4th of 5 kids, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I was clearly a mistake. Nowadays, thankfully, I believe they don’t regret that mistake, although eight years later, my mum gave birth to my younger super sister, clearly making me feel that eight years into my existence, they were like, “ok, we should try again as last one failed”.At least, that’s how I see it. But that is my go-to place. Making light of every situation possible. Humour can serve as a shield. 

Even better, humour can serve as a healing tool. 

 All five of us have a good sense of humour, so it must have been just the buzz and craziness of growing up with four siblings. I call it domestic survival. My mum comes home with 4,000 grams of ham, and before I can say, “I love ham,”… it’s gone! So that’s where my determination probably comes from, to go for something when I want it, straightaway, without any overthinking. Why? Because when you do, you miss out!! 

I love comedy, but only a few know that my true passion lies in acting (be it a comedy role or serious) and directing. 

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been making friends laugh since my early years at school. And it just continued to develop. The kick I get from hearing people laugh is indescribable, to be honest. It gives me more energy, and the more laughs I get, the funnier I get. It’s like a chemistry reaction. As I got into my teens, meeting friends out and about, I just continued to be myself.  

The energy I get around positive people is fantastic, and I roll off one joke after the other. But not the “an Irish man walked into a bar” kind of jokes! Just raw, natural humour based on the moment, on something someone says, or something that I think of which is related to a topic being discussed. It just comes to me. 

Kevin, you’ve made quite a name for yourself in comedy. Can you share what initially inspired you to pursue a career in comedy and how your journey has evolved over the years? 

The key moment in my decision to take on the Stand-up scene was at a dear friend’s wedding many years ago. Police came to stop the music, so I grabbed the mic and spent a good twenty minutes improv, keeping his guests entertained. Following that episode, one time was at Ray Calleja’s place. We immediately clicked and spent a night cracking one joke after the other – at one point, he casually said, “You should try stand up”. Now, when someone as genius as Ray tells you something of sorts, you take it on board and follow through with it. I was still a novice in the knowledge of performing. So I replied to Ray, “Yes, I’ll do it“. He noticed a very casual stance about my reply and told me, “You do know you have to script yes“?. To which I reacted with a blank look, clearly thinking stand-up consists of  naturally funny guys with no shame to go on stage and say what they have to say.  

Thankfully, scripting is also a natural part of my creative process, so I got writing my first special, “LAUGHING AT THE TRUTH.” I knew I had a reputation for being funny, and of course, I was aware that I knew lots of people, so let’s not start with the pubs, but let’s go straight with a one-hour and twenty-minute special. Two nights of 145 people each night was a success. 

 Two years later, I wrote “NOTHING TO HIDE.” It was written over two nights, with 250 people each night. It is the most raw material I believe I have to date, but it is probably one of the best scripts I’ve had. 

The following year, I made the decision that, to this day, was the best I’ve taken, the make-or-break moment. I figured if I was doing this and managed two specials, the latest one managing a total of 500 people, I might as well go big or go home. So, I booked MCC Valletta. My third special, titled “NO LIMITS”. It was one night only to a fantastic crowd of 800 people. That was a success, and from then on, it just gave me the energy to keep writing and improving my stage presence, body language, and delivery. In 2019, I wrote, “HERE I GO AGAIN”. It was a clear signal that I took no break and wrote my 4th special in less than a year from my previous one. 4 sold-out nights and three venues. MADC, BLUE BOX, and Unversity Campus Valletta.  

Thankfully, another successful special, and I just kept looking forward with a drive to keep bringing laughter to what I believe nowadays is a rushed, stressful life. In covid times I wrote and produced “ITS MY LIFE”. It was more of a ‘tonight show’, which featured several local personalities as guests. This ran across six sold-out nights at Chukkas Mosta. Once the avalanche of stress and concerns of Covid fizzled out, I decided to book the one stage that was missing from my story, The Manoel Theatre! And voila, two sold-out nights.  

And then, “I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY”, my 5th special. Which thankfully was a success. I produced this with GREATT, another stepping stone in my Comedy journey as it was the first time the highly reputable producers collaborated with a stand-up comedian. Enough? I thought so, too, but in 2024, I decided to write and develop a new concept. Stand-up comedy and Pop music. 6 sold-out nights, and what a rush! For the first time, I did full-on crowd work, in a comedy club feel, rather than a full special, and a mix of pop music, which kept my crowd laughing and singing for two hours! 

Your comedy often reflects keen observations of everyday life. Could you walk us through your creative process? How do you come up with your material and ensure it stays fresh and relatable? 

 My creative process is taken from everything around me. Any little moment that could be irrelevant to one person is relevant to me. Any moment that makes me react one way or another means there is something there that I could develop further. I take down notes, along with many mental ones, and believe it or not, I’ve trained my mind to keep them stored; if they come to me when I start my scripting process, then that means they are worth writing about. If they get flushed, that means they weren’t worth remembering.  

 Staying fresh is simply a matter of how you keep your audience entertained. I’ve learnt that you could have a mediocre joke. Still, if you develop it with body language and solid delivery and get the audience to visualise the scene, then the joke will land just as good as any great joke – which is why staying fresh is easy; just stay relevant. Also, writing about my current feelings towards life in general, automatically translates to fresh material.