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Matt Roper

In his early years Matt Roper travelled widely while touring with his father, a trad stand-up comic, where he was surrounded by various entertainers including Ken Dodd and Frankie Howerd, and watched them at work. He later joined the young peoples theatre company Oldham Theatre Workshop, where he began to write sketches for the end of season in-house revues.
While travelling Australia in 1996 he tried his hand at stand-up comedy in the surf clubs and bars of the Gold Coast. There he was seen by a Channel 9 producer who invited him to perform on a live television show Hey Hey Its Saturday. Broadcast from Melbourne, he appeared in a new talent segment and came away with the first prize of five hundred Australian dollars.

Returning from Australia, he based himself in London and was quickly cast in the satirical stage showNewsrevue. A topical sketch and song show, he was chosen for his fast ability to caricature famous voices from the world of politics and celebrity, and for his talent as a singer. He performed two seasons with Newsrevue at the Canal Café Theatre before performing in a number of sketch shows on the London fringe, including Nice Mischief (Nine Acre Productions/Jermyn St. Theatre) and A Touch of Roberts and Roper (Canal Café Theatre).

During this time he continued to experiment with straight stand-up, becoming one of the first comics to play the Manchester Comedy Store and appearing regularly at Manchester's Buzz Club and the East Dulwich Cabaret's All New Stand-up Show.

At a May 2008 benefit staged by the filmmaker Grace Gelder he performed a short comedy set with the creation of a comic grotesque, which developed into the stage character of Wilfredo, a revolting satire of a Mediterranean lounge singer. A few weeks later he performed the character at the Glastonbury Festival.
The character of Wilfredo has established a cult following for his murderous cover songs, original masterpieces and for his onstage style, which is entirely bad mannered; salivating, drinking and smoking his way through songs, while abusing his musicians and audience members with insults and expletives. By contrast, Roper’s stand-up style – when performed out of character - is relaxed and charming. He has also presented the character on the Italian stage to public acclaim, touring the southern provinces and appearing at the Salento Summer Festival. Wilfredo is accompanied by his pop-socked, silent sister, the bespectacled Mana Maria  on guitar (played by Katie Pollak) and occasionally with a full band. Wilfredo recently hosted the main stage of the 2010 Port Eliot Festival, where he appeared onstage with Britpop legend Jarvis Cocker.

On the London circuit he has performed to capacity audiences at Madame Jo Jo's, the Café de Paris and at the Etcetera Theatre, where he has presented feature length solo shows.

"He's a splendid piece of character comedy... a triumphant debut." - Venue Magazine

“Musical character comedy at its most disturbing… but compelling, hilarious stuff.” - LondonTown.com

“A nice mix of innocence and aggression, of the unexpected and the truly odd. Oh, and funny.” - Martin Freeman

“I left having spent the evening roaring with laughter.” - Camden New Journal

Solo shows:
Erecto!
Wilfredo And His Christmas Sack
One Night With Wilfredo
Wifredo: A Man And His Music

Television:
Big Brothers Little Brother (C4/E4)

Festivals:
Glastonbury Festival
Brighton Festival Fringe (Komedia)
Boom Town Fayre
Port Eliot Literary Festival
Salento Summer Festival