From late pentagonist to victorious: Martin Dane wins award for crazy comedy

“Hot” comedy. That turned out to be the case again, this time at the Lunatic Comedy Award. More than 70 up-and-coming comedians registered for this competition, and after 12 were selected, after the semi-finals, 5 names were allowed to storm the boards of Menard in Ghent. Beautiful hall, sold out, tension was at its peak and it was actually the last person in the queue who won.

There is no professional jury, as in other competitions, only the public decides through the voting form. The final was a close match, but Martin Dain (age 42, a latecomer from Wurtgem in East Flanders) still provided enough of a lead in the overall standings.

He’s a little older, mature, and calm on stage as if he just got out of his seat. Pure stand-up comedy: Mic ready, just tell and take a look. About his childhood, his parents, his former religious teacher, but also a silly story about rabbits in his garden. By playing it casual, he crafted the best joke of the evening. He convinced the entire audience. He is thus the successor to Stijn Vandermeeren, who won the 2022 race.

The finale is always interesting as it provides a selection of a new group of comedians. This is also the case with Milan Burmese: tight playing, “unwoke rant” about children and trouble with them, but also a surprise song inspired by the mayor from “Samson”. He’ll get there, but first he has to log some extra flight hours. Wolf Sionen was the second name to play a 12-minute “set”. Very young, only 19 years old, with stories and jokes about his outings, his art education, his parents and his job in Plopsa. It started very quickly, but slowly faded away. Still stark, but clear potential.

Then “Water with Wine”: a duet with a comedy sketch. Or even a cabaret. Lots of ideas, good and not so good, that’s how it is. There was a lot of momentum, although it wasn’t always clear where it was headed. Two men with stage presence, that’s for sure. It’s now a matter of cutting and bringing harmony to the group. Then Tim Lubwick walked by, also doing pure stand-up comedy, fixed the microphone and stormed into the room. Obviously some experiences, and good jokes, are taken from life, and some are more poignant than others. If Martin Dane had not been present, he would have been the winner.