Chucky Bartolo Explained

Chucky Bartolo (born Andrew Bartolo; 5 July 1993) is a Maltese stand-up comedian and drag queen.[1] Currently based in Glasgow,[2] his career breakthrough came as a writer and journalist[3] for Lovin Malta after years of garnering a small following on YouTube as a vlogger.[4] Bartolo is openly gay and uses his platform to speak out against hate speech[5] and fight for reclamation of derogatory slurs.[6]

Since November 2018, he has written and starred in four stand-up specials,[7] [8] [9] and was the closing speaker of TEDx University of Malta's 2019 edition, 'Quirks'.[10] In 2018, Bartolo also starred as the Dame in Malta's National Theatre (Teatru Malta)'s first pantomime[11] and returned to the role in 2019[12] and 2020. To comply with COVID-19 safety regulations, the pantomime was moved to air on select national radio stations[13] and is the only one taking place on the island in 2020.

In 2020, Bartolo also collaborated with the Government of Malta's Children's Festival, Żigużajg, to put on a digital show encouraging children to write creative stories and bring a modern twist to old fairytales.[14] The digital programme was then brought to Malta as a live theatre production of the same name, "Fab Fantasy Fables with Chucky", in 2022.[15]

Bartolo will be the narrator and voice-over artist of the first-ever season of reality TV drama Love Island Malta[16] which aired in 2023.

In September 2023, Bartolo hosted and performed at EuroPride 2023's official drag show, The Drag Spectacular, in Valletta.[17]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Chucky Bartolo: What's in the bag?. MaltaToday.com.mt. 2019-10-27.
  2. Web site: MaltaDaily . 2023-04-04 . Chucky Bartolo announced as Love Island Malta narrator . 2023-05-09 . Malta Daily . en-GB.
  3. Web site: Lovin Malta's Chucky Bartolo One Of This Year's JCI's 'Global Goals Awards' Winners. lovinmalta.com. 27 October 2017. 2019-10-27.
  4. Web site: Master of YouTube. Times of Malta. 10 March 2014 . 2019-10-27.
  5. Web site: New Maltese Fashion Brand Fights To Reclaim Homophobic Slur. 2019-07-06. Lovin Malta. 2019-10-27.
  6. Web site: Watch: An assault rifle bullet... the cure for a gay man. Times of Malta. 19 February 2019 . 2019-10-27.
  7. Web site: ** Gag Order ** . 2023-05-09 . www.chuckybartolo.com.
  8. Web site: One Sweaty Lady – One-Man Show Malta Society of Arts. 2019-10-27. 2018-11-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20181113171730/http://artsmalta.org/events/one-sweaty-lady-one-man-show. dead.
  9. Web site: Tolqueen Stand-Up Comedy Show Gay Guide Blog. 2019-03-08. Gay Guide Malta. 2019-10-27.
  10. Web site: TEDxUniversityofMalta Is Back: Here's A Look At The Five Amazing Speakers For This Year's Event. lovinmalta.com. 28 March 2019. 2019-10-27.
  11. Web site: Teatru Malta's Dame Miss Ħuta. Times of Malta. 26 December 2018 . 2019-10-27.
  12. Web site: L-Imbuljuta – A Panto in the Dark. 2019-10-27.
  13. Web site: Teatru Malta's panto over the radio. 2020-12-17. Times of Malta. 16 December 2020 . en-gb.
  14. Web site: A fabulous set of stories . 2023-05-09 . Times of Malta . 27 November 2020 . en-gb.
  15. Web site: Fab Fantasy Fables with Chucky . 2023-05-09 . ŻiguŻajg . en-GB.
  16. Web site: Mifsud . Terrence . 2023-04-08 . Drag Queen and Comedian Chucky Bartolo to Narrate Inaugural Season of Love Island Malta . 2023-05-09 . Oh My Malta . en-US.
  17. Web site: Drag Spectacular by Chucky Bartolo . 2023-10-01 . GayMalta.com . en.