The art of Comedy, especially stand-up comedy in Ghana is growing steadily. But the major challenge this budding industry faces is the lack of sponsorship and wide public acceptance.
Comedians such as (Hon) Fritz Baffour and Tommy Annan Forson have all contributed their quota in ensuring that this industry flourishes. The current generation boasts of many spectacular comedians. One of such talents is the ‘rib cracker’, Foster Romanus.
Foster Owusu Amponsah, who responds to the stage name, Romanus, started his career as a humorist when he joined Top Class Entertainment about a decade ago.
The first runner-up for Stars of the Future, comedy section, revealed on the Xclusive Chat With Real Eugene of The Big Exclusive Show on Radio Universe that he had to desert his accounting class to pursue his dreams of becoming a top class stand-up comedian.
"I went to University of Professional Studies (UPS). I was doing Chartered Accounting…There I realized that the brain was not meant for accounting…It was then that Stars of the Future came up".
After placing second on the comedy edition of Stars of the Future, Foster Romanus focused his attention on exploring the field of theatre arts which eventually led to his admission into the University of Ghana to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater Arts.
In the process, he had to abandon his studies in Chartered Accounting to make enough time for comedy. ‘I enrolled and did Theater Arts…That was the course! 'I dey force for there paa’ (comedy)’.
When asked by the host, Real Eugene if he regrets choosing comedy over a career in accounting, Romanus responded that though sponsorship was absent, his passion for comedy kept him in the industry and he has no regrets.
‘I don’t (regret) at all…I did comedy for almost six years without pay…God took care of us. We were using our own monies to fund our shows. But we still did it.’
He added that he had to finance his own shows and performed usually for free.
The old boy of Pope Johns Senior High School who shot to fame with his role in the theatrical work titled Gallery of Comedies at the National Theatre has been soaring high ever since.
His appearance on Viasat 1’s ‘Laugh a Minute’ show also gave more people the opportunity to see Romanus in action.
Foster Romanus is one of the few stand-up comedians the country has produced. He has not failed to mesmerize his audience with hilarious pieces on the numerous shows he has appeared on recently.
Comedy Bar, Comedy Fiesta, DKB Comedy Tour and Flagstaff House are few of the numerous shows Romanus has featured on.
