Butetown born-and-bred Leroy Brito has taken the Welsh comedy scene by storm ever since his debut performance at Chapter Arts Centre in 2011. His humour focuses on tackling Welsh stereotypes in an intelligent and slick style.
“Growing up in Butetown is pivotal to who I am as a comedian, the show is gonna have a lot of Butetown in there, but it’s also gonna be a lot of who I am today and where I’m living now. The show is pretty much about myself, not to blow my own trumpet but I’ve named it to get a bit of press and buzz going around. And I’m the best comedian in Butetown!”
After success at the So You Think You’re Funny stand-up comedy competition, then a runner-up position at the Welsh Unsigned Awards in 2014, the comedian’s career has continued to arc upwards. But he’s excited to be performing at the Wales Millennium Centre in front of the crowd he knows best.
“I used to play this venue before it was the Millennium Centre, then when it was built it was always my dream to play here. This show will be Cardiff-specific, it’s pretty much my standard material. I find I play best to a Welsh crowd, in Wales, but if I’m playing to a Welsh crowd outside of Wales they really want to bring me down!”
In 2016 Leroy performed a sell-out show at the Cardiff Glee. He also took part in #towerlives where he explores the Butetown dialect in a documentary led by BBC Wales. But Leroy has assured that his show will be different to what he’s performed before, with 90 percent completely new material.
“The material’s pretty much written itself. I tend to be a comedian who doesn’t sit down with a piece of paper and let the material happen, I work on the material on stage. The structure’s almost there, I’m looking forward to it. You must look at it like jazz, you have to know the song so well inside and out that then you can play around with it.”
Leroy Brito: Butetown’s Finest, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, Fri 17 Nov. Tickets: £15. Info: 029 2063 6464 / http://www.wmc.org.uk/
words BETH CRUSE