Deborah Akinyosoye
Nigerian comedian and show promoter, Olanrewaju Gregory, popularly known as Larry J, will on December 25, 2025, kick off the 4th edition of his family-friendly comedy show tagged MC Larry J: A Night of Comedy and Laughs at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, lighting up this year’s Christmas with fire fireworks and ethical jokes.
This year, Kenny Blaq, Phronesis, Forever, Damola, Judicious, DJ Bayo and others will be performing at the show, while Alibaba, Deyemi Okanlawon and others will appear as guests.
Also, the comedian will elevate children from the slums, especially in Ijora Badia, who are into art, giving them the platform to showcase their talents in painting and others during the show.
Speaking ahead of the event, Larry J described the show as a strictly family-friendly celebration of comedy, laughter and creativity, designed to entertain audiences without offensive or inappropriate content.
According to him, this year’s edition will include a comedy competition, where emerging comedians will battle for a grand prize of N1 million.
He said, “It’s going to be a family-friendly show. It’s a night of comedy and laughs. The reason why we separated comedy from laughs is because we are featuring a comedy competition where the winner will be going home with N1 million. We need to support our own craft because there are lots of good comedians out there who are even looking for platforms.
On what the impact he wants for the evening, he said, “I want the audience to feel very satisfied. I want the audience to laugh so much that they forget any worry they have. I want the audience to go home feeling fulfilled. I have been warning people to come with an extra rib.
“I want to leave the audience with the feeling that they can go for a comedy show and enjoy it so much and don’t feel guilty about it. Because there are people who are very religious and feel like they have committed a sin after listening to a joke.
“We’ll be having some children singing, some doing choreography and others.
“Last year, we brought children from the School of the Blind and they did fantastic. We had others with disabilities to make them feel that their disability should not define them or weigh them down.”
When asked if he fears Artificial Intelligence (AI) will replace comedians, he said, “AI cannot replace comedians.
I have tried to experiment with AI but it failed when it comes to details. Someone taught AI my pattern of comedy but could not get it when it comes to the switch. AI was confused; it couldn’t imitate me. AI can do the comedy, but it can’t do my voice. Maybe I would have gone to meet the Lord before AI can take over comedy.”
When asked about his plans for 2026, he said, “I have an animate of my work which will be built next year, but I was told to do the voicing because AI cannot get it right.”
On the partnership with Eko Hotel, he said, “One of my major reasons I love Eko Hotel and we keep working together with it is because of the love they have for art. Everything in Eko Hotel has a touch of art. Eko Hotel could have a programme, for instance, at Easter and will choose live performance rather than showing a movie. They bring out colours in everything.”