VANITY AFRO: Q&A with John Olaoluwa Modupe

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us where you were born & currently live.

My name is John Olaoluwa Modupe.

I'm a Nigerian/Italian stand-up comedian, podcaster and actor.

I was born in Italy, and I currently live in the city of Parma.

2. What languages can you read, write and speak?

I speak Italian and English fluently.

I understand a little of Yoruba and still planning to improve that.

3. What inspired you to become a comedian?
The satire lingo is, I think, the major language I naturally spoke growing up.

My Dad is one of funniest people I know, that definitely put me in that trajectory, and becoming a comedian seemed a natural transition of my self-expression.

4. How would you describe your comedy style?
I really don't know in all honesty; I love creating stories out of nothing and I love finding a connection between worlds that seem so far apart.

5. How did your show “The Glory & the Bush", a manual for bush people, originally come about?
I have no idea to be honest, I had a whole monologue written down a week to the show, but as soon as I landed I knew from within I had to scrap everything and write what my spirit asked me to, and so I did, let's see what comes out.

But a key word of this show is Identity.

6. How does that make you feel performing in Europe for the first time? Are you excited, anxious a bit of both?

I'm a bit nervous but I've learnt to cope with it and appreciate it.

I've been lodging in a studio apartment in a terrifying area of London, so that really helped in redirecting any form of anxiety.

7. What goes through your mind just before you go on-stage?

I pray and thank God for another opportunity to give expression to the gift he has given me.