James Ryder Malta Comedian: Turning Headlines into Jokes

In short

• James Ryder is a Maltese stand-up comedian, actor and social media creator who turns the day’s headlines into sketches.
• His fastest method, he says, is to take the main word of a story, break it down and compare it to something else.
• He says he started the Hard Rock comedy club in 2012, which he describes as Malta’s first stand-up comedy club.
• In 2024 he ran for the European Parliament as an independent and, by his account, finished around 13th of 40 candidates.

James Ryder, comedian in Malta, treats the news like raw material. On this episode of On The Rock, recorded at CastMe, our podcast studio in Malta, he opens up his process: how a headline becomes a joke, why an audience is half the act, and why a campaign that began as a sketch ended with real votes.

How do you turn a headline into a joke?

James starts with one word. He finds the main word of a story, takes it apart, then looks for something to compare it to. When a story about a ghost at an Airbnb made the news, he listed what a ghost is: see-through, loud, unable to actually do anything. The joke came from matching those traits to someone else entirely.

That speed was trained on a late night show. He and his writers would meet the evening before filming, go through the main headlines with empty pages, write a script overnight, film in the morning and publish that afternoon. The show has ended for now, but he says the process became his morning routine: up between 5:30 and 6:00, coffee, headlines.

The output is considerable. James estimates he has posted close to 200 original sketches this year, and that his Instagram following grew from about 14,000 to about 23,000 over the same period. He is also honest about the limits, describing quiet weeks as maintenance for the comedy filter. Running out of ideas, though, does not worry him.

“Material is like oxygen. It’s everywhere.”

Why does writing a joke start with the punchline?

Many stand-up jokes, James explains, are written backwards. The punchline comes first because it is the part that makes people laugh. The writing is the route you build towards it: why is this glass here, who picked it up, what happened before. Years in, he says most of the rejecting happens in his head, before a joke ever reaches a page.

The other half of the work happens in the room. He weaves prepared lines with crowd work, warming people up before he improvises. He also keeps a running list of topics in his notes app and still writes key points on his hand before a show. Stand-up, he argues, depends so much on audience reaction that it only works on screen when filmed live.

He learned that early. His first attempt at stand-up came at 15, at midnight in a pub, just after a football result had ruined the mood. The lesson was to know your audience. He has returned to it since, including at a formal event for new accountants that he counts among his worst shows. A kind audience member later sent him a link to an introduction to stand-up comedy.

Can a comedian make a living in Malta?

His answer on the podcast is a flat no, at least not from live comedy alone. Asked how comedians make money from stand-up, he is blunt about the bar and restaurant circuit.

“It’s a hobby that at most will pay for the drinks you’re going to have while you’re there.”

What works, according to James, is taking comedy online and working with brands. A venue caps the audience, while a video gives marketers something to measure: views, likes and shares. He credits starting on TikTok at the right moment, and he keeps a day job in marketing alongside it. James Ryder handles the shows and the brands. James Muscat handles the administration.

Being upfront with brands is part of the model. If he cannot find the funny side of a product, he says he tells the client before taking the job. Construction companies were a recurring example: the first joke that comes to mind is a wall falling down, which is hardly the message they are paying for. Most, he says, appreciate the honesty.

Theatre remains a passion, even if he is now choosier about long projects. He played the Jack Black role in School of Rock, an eight-month process that meant training his voice for musical theatre and learning guitar to play live. Asked to pick between stand-up and musical theatre, he chooses musical theatre.

How did a comedian end up running for the European Parliament?

It began with a sketch. James and his comedy partner Nathan once filmed a politician agreeing to every promise put to him, then wondered what would happen if they actually did it. They spent the next three years quietly building a campaign around comedy. On 1 April 2024 he announced it, and most people assumed it was a prank. The slogan was “We’ve had worse”, and MaltaToday covered the announcement at the time.

The debates scared him most, until an egg was smashed in protest at his first one and the absurdity flipped a switch. Politics and comedy, he says, suddenly met. From then on he saw the stage differently.

“I’m not the one in trouble because I’m a stand-up comedian. They’re the ones in trouble because I’ve had way more years of public speaking.”

By his account he was in the top 10 a week before the vote and placed around 13th, in an election where six seats were available, with more than 1,500 people voting for him according to the episode. He also notes that politics is now easier to joke about than it was a generation ago.

What is James Ryder’s favourite place to perform in Malta?

For all the theatres and screens, his answer is the Hard Rock Cafe in Valletta, where his stand-up story began. Going back there, he says, feels like going back to his roots.

About the guest

James Ryder is a comedian and performer based in Malta, with around 15 years in stand-up by his own count. He took his stage name from an online name generator as a young magician. Follow him on Instagram and TikTok. He was interviewed by Nina, co-owner of CastMe, on the show On The Rock.

Key moments from the interview

• 01:39 A joke that works everywhere but Malta
• 04:14 Crowd work vs a pre-written set
• 05:45 James’s worst show
• 07:42 Where the name Ryder comes from
• 12:00 The work behind the comedy: payroll, plays and a 9-to-5
• 15:04 Where the jokes come from
• 18:27 Writing a joke from the punchline backwards
• 20:35 How do comedians make money in Malta?
• 22:03 Theatre life: School of Rock
• 28:43 Material is like air
• 30:43 Comedy across languages
• 34:15 The MEP journey

FAQ about James Ryder and comedy in Malta

Who is James Ryder?

James Ryder is the stage name of James Muscat, a Maltese comedian, actor and online creator who also stood for the European Parliament in 2024.

Where does the name Ryder come from?

He picked it up as a young magician, from an online hard rock name generator, and kept it after he stopped performing magic.

Does stand-up comedy work in Maltese?

James performs stand-up in English and says it is very hard to do in Maltese. Online he keeps a roughly even split, because some jokes only work in one language.

How does James Ryder write jokes?

He says he takes the main word of a story, deconstructs it and compares it to something else, often working backwards from the punchline.

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This episode was recorded and edited at CastMe in Sliema. Discover podcasts and videos recorded in our studio, read where to record your next episode in Malta, then book a recording session by the hour or choose our full production service.