Cringe, laugh, doubt. Who would have guessed a stand-up comedy by academics can spark so much sensation in one night. Photo Credit: Hilary Jackson at UCL

Jon Butterworth walks onto stage at the Wilmington Arms pub in Clerkenwell and introduces himself. He’s a particle physicist. It’s a great privilege of his job, he says, that when he introduces himself and tells people what he does, not everyone turns away immediately.

He is joking, but while telling everyone you’re a particle physicist may keep people’s attention in a normal conversation, it’s not exactly a guaranteed laugh at a stand-up comedy gig. And yet here he is, entertaining the crowds with stories of his work at the Large Hadron Collider – “my project… that I share with 3,000 people.”

He and four others are doing stand-up at the Bright Club, a stand-up comedy night where academics talk about their work and make people laugh. It was started off at UCL as part of their public engagement programme and has blossomed, with members of the general public now making up a significant part of the audience.

As it turns out, academia seems to make for absurd situations and a good laugh. Butterworth talks about how, despite getting to go to Hamburg to do a PhD, he lost his übermensch getting lost on the train. A post-doc who specialises, as he describes it, in “watching nurses” explains how a turd in a bag was an example of post-completion error in humans.

Another comedian, a PhD student who studies biomechanics at the Royal Veterinary College, explains why she’s known as “the girl who does horses” and describes the joy of collecting bleeding animal limbs in the back of a white van for experiments. Another particle physicist talks about how some of his exotic travels in Antarctica and Louisiana lead to the joys of the daquiri shack. And finally a psychologist talks about how humans are fundamentally flawed and “a bit rubbish”.

Most of it is funny and the bits that aren’t are at least educational and interesting. Either way, the crowd is very appreciative. That’s partly to do with the compere, professional comedian Joe Lycett, who keeps the energy flowing and intersperses the show with tales of his ventures on Grindr.

There are also sultry songs from Strawberry and Cream, a band of two women, two double basses and a drummer called Raspberry Coulis. (I’d recommend them anyway, if only to hear the wonderful “face trumpet”.)

For £5 entry, it’s well worth it. I laugh a lot, learn a little and I’m thoroughly entertained. And it’s not horrendously geeky. Though if you do run Windows, it’s probably not the best place to mention it.

Read more from The First Pint, the international's guide to all that London offers.

The Brooklyn-based band and performance collective MEN will be playing at The Garage in Islington. Photo: Cass Bird

Activism meets creativity as Ladyfest Ten reaches Highbury Road and Holloway Corner to celebrate female talents in all forms. Founded ten years ago in Olympia, Washington, this year’s Ladyfest upholds the tradition of a global, feminist, DIY movement. Ladyfests have been held all over the world from New Orleans to Santos-Brazil.

Events

From 12 to 14 November, you can catch a dizzying array of music, art, comedy, photography, film, debate, and written and spoken word events. The independent festival offers an eclectic selection of music performances – from hip-hop and beat-boxing at the Horatia to electro and riot grrl action at the Relentless Garage, finishing up on a mellower folk-tinged note on Sunday afternoon.

The festival encourages interaction so if all that artistic energy gets you inspired, you can engage in some creativity of your own; The Lady Garden will provide you with all of your DIY and crafting needs at the Resource Centre on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets

Tickets can be bought per day or for the whole weekend: music passes are £15-£25; ‘rest of the fest’ passes cost between £12.50-£40. All profits from the festival will be donated to Eaves, a charity which provides high-quality housing and support to vulnerable women.

For the full musical line-up and schedule of events, check out the Ladyfest Ten website .

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This cabaret-circus extravaganza offers unusual personalities, amazing feats and some amusingly disturbing things too. Photos Courtesy of La Soirée

Behind the National Theatre in the South Bank Big Top, a circus is brewing. London’s latest spectacle is La Soir ée, a flamboyant display that truly embraces the unusual. And unusual it is, from top to bottom: La Soirée’s troupe is a self-proclaimed ‘madcap family’, performing feats ranging from the acrobatically impressive to the downright disturbing.

Crafted for the Edinburgh Festival in 2004 by a creative team of cabaret producers and performing artists, La Soirée premiered in mid-October in London’s ultimate circus venue: the South Bank Big Top. The ring really lends itself to the performance, with a marquee-like interior and blaring accordion music providing a lively, carnivalesque atmosphere as the guests file in. The seated members of the audience surround a small circular stage and ultimately become part of the performance themselves. Crowd interaction is a common theme with La Soiree, so to those who like a front seat – be warned.

From the second the lights are dimmed and the first act takes to the stage, it is clear that La Soirée is all about one thing: pure, unadorned entertainment. There is no story, no narrative of any sort that connects the performances in any way – their only similarities are that they are all bizarre, and mostly quite funny. There are times when it almost feels like watching an episode of Britain’s Got Talent (minus the judges).

The English Gents in one of their impressive acrobatic moves.

Not all the acts are brilliant, but there are a few that stand out. Of these are The English Gents, an acrobatic duo whose strength and skill is awe-inspiring. These suit-clad, pipe-smoking performers balance upon one another in seemingly impossible ways. Both have equally impressive solo acts as well – one of which involves enough of an element of danger to keep audience members at the edge of their seats throughout.

La Soirée is certainly not a place for the squeamish, as many seemed to find out during the show’s other stand out act – Captain Frodo. This Norwegian contortionist squeezes and bends his way through a pair of tennis rackets, all the while chatting to a visibly shocked audience. Whilst those of a weaker constitution may choose this moment to head to the bar or nip to the toilet, there is no doubt that Captain Frodo was the audience favourite. But it wasn’t simple appreciation for his freakish talent, but also for his comedic timing and excellent showmanship that added a lot to the performance.

The inimicable contortionist Captain Frodo.

Other acts include David O’Mer, a German gymnast whose performance starts from within a bathtub (for little other reason than to soak the nearby crowd), and Miss Behave, an eccentric sword-swallowing diva who wanders through the audience taking swigs from their drinks. On this particular night, one hapless ‘volunteer’ was invited to the stage at one point by Canadian Comedienne, Mooky, before proceeding to act out a scene with her for the best part of ten minutes.

An homage to the strange, La Soirée is an eclectic mix of the weird and wonderful. “Follow your dream, no matter how freaky it may seem to others,” were the uplifting words of Captain Frodo at the end. The show may be light-hearted and fun, but it insists on spreading a relevant and positive message as well. La Soirée aims to provide something for everyone and, whether you love it or hate it, you will certainly be entertained.

La Soirée runs until 31 January, 2011. Shows are at 8pm Tuesdays through Thursdays, 7pm and 9:45pm Fridays and Saturdays, and 5pm on Sundays. Tickets range from £15 to £65; the show also offers dinner packages. La Soirée is at the South Bank Big Top, sE1, behind the National Theatre.

La Soirée tickets are available online or at 0843 221 0999.

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The Chap Olympiad, a return to the UK's elegant past? Photo credit: Maja Kucova

We Russians, angry or not, have a rather funny perception of England and its dwellers. It’s largely formed of 19th and early 20th century novels – Dickens, PG Wodehouse, Agatha Christie etc, all widely available in the USSR in superbly done translations by some of the best Soviet writers and poets – and the classic screen version of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series.The latter is so great that Her Majesty herself bestowed an OBE on the leading actor, Vassily Livanov. And all the while the Soviet-British relations were neutral at best.

But we somehow insisted on thinking of England as of some retro-themed fantasy land stuck in the times when everybody was buttoned up and mannered and calmly humorous whatever the circumstances. This notion is, of course, centennially away from the current state of affairs.

I’m running a Russian-language blog about Britain and London as a separate country within her and it’s moderately popular (about fifteen hundred subscribers at the time of writing). But what really pushed my blog upward in the ratings was the translation of an old article from The eXile, undoubtedly the best and sincerest newspaper in Moscow which owed its glorious existence to the sole fact that no one at the Russian Minitruth at the time could read a word of English (for a story of The eXile as concise as practically possible see this article from Vanity Fair. It was about chavs, the English counterpart of Russian gopniks, the kind of proletarian youth that wears tracksuits with massive junk jewellery, binges on cheap liquor and pollutes the gene pool by means of rapid and almost instinctual procreation.

So the chav story became an instant hit on the Russian internet, having been reposted at least two hundred times so far. Almost everybody’s image of Britain seemed to have been hopelessly shattered. Could it really be Sherlock Holmes’s grandkids or the Hugh Grants of the world who are pissing on walls after downing six super strong lagers at a children’s playground? I almost felt a collective sigh of relief. We (Russians, internationals, whatever) aren’t that different from the rest of the “civilised world” after all. Others (mostly those who have never been in England or at all abroad) were utterly disappointed and really angry at me for ruining their dream.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR. Photo credit: Maja Kucova

Rekindling a Chap’s dream

But alas, not too much is lost, apparently, thanks to a wonderful thing called The Chap Olympiad. It’s run by a magazine appropriately titled The Chap which is all about fancy retro dressing, fabulous moustaches, shaving with razor blades and smoking pipes. So the Chap Olympiad at Bedford Square on Saturday was like being in a park full of Bertie Woosters and Pauline Stokers. In fact, I looked quite out of place in my dull plain clothes and not in an impeccably stylish tweed suit.

It’s funny because there’s no aristocracy in modern Britain to speak of, and most of these people are common office clerks in their normal, non-retro mode, but it still all looked incredibly organic. It’s probably some kind of a genetic memory, because when a Russian holds a Victorian-themed party, everybody ends up looking like a constipated Dracula. And if it weren’t for party spoilers like me and a couple of other journalists in crumpled jeans, you could really forget that you were indeed in 2010.

Anyway, the Olympiad part consisted of silly but quite fun “competitions” like bicycle jousting with umbrellas for lances or moustache tug war, but most people seemed to be more interested in a beautiful weather and a good opportunity for a picnic. The only things that were sort of disappointing were the low turnout of the barbeque stall and one lady who knocked over my gin and tonic and didn’t even offer to buy me a new one. I mean, that happens all the time, but probably wouldn’t in the fancy era they all pretended to live in. I will definitely go again, but not without proper preparation this time.

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Avenue Q is at Wyndham's Theatre in Charing Cross. Photo credit: AndyRob/Flickr

“If you have to watch a musical you might as well watch Avenue Q”. Praise indeed from a theatre hating friend of mine who had recently seen the musical comedy at West End’s Wyndham’s Theatre. The show, which first hit the stage in 2003, tells the story of Princeton, a newly graduated twenty-something puppet who embarks on his new life away from home.

I had been promised the production would include plenty of lewd jokes and I had not been lied to. The show starts with the protagonist’s amusing but rather tame rendition of “What do you do with a BA in English” before coming into its stride with “It sucks to be me”. During the song the characters all moan about why their lives are terrible before they are all trumped by former child actor Gary Coleman and all agree that it does suck to be him.

The inclusion of the recently deceased Gary Coleman in the play has been a source of controversy. The creator’s of Avenue Q claim the former child star is the personification of the show’s themes, namely children being led to believe they are special and growing up to find life is not that simple. Coleman, who died in 2010, once said of the production; “I wish there was a lawyer on earth that would sue them for me”.

Original, amusing humour

The comedy goes from strength to strength in the first hour peeking with the amusing “The Internet is for Porn” and the downright hilarious sex scene between Princeton and Kate Monster. A 15 minute intermission gives you the chance to grab a very small, very expensive bottle of beer before Act Two kicks off.

Although not as good as the first half, the second act does have its highlights including the “Schadenfreude” song and “I Wish I Could Go Back to College”. In the later the characters fantasise about going back to university but imagine what losers they would be on account of being older than everyone else. Themes touched on include racism (“Everyone’s a little bit racist”), homosexuality (“If you were gay”) and coming of age (“Purpose”). Each is tackled in an original and often eyebrow raising way.

All in all the production is great fun although at two hours long it does tend to run out of steam towards the end. The cast is brilliant, particularly porn-addict and recluse Trekkie Monster, whose love of the internet provides a running joke. Not for the squeamish or the very young as full-puppet nudity and swearing are very much part and parcel of the Avenue Q experience.

Tickets range from £10, which will get you a seat on the 3^rd floor balcony, to £26 which grants you access to the stalls directly in front of the scene.  Avenue Q is currently being staged at Wyndham’s Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London.

Tickets can be purchased here or at the box office if you get there early enough.

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Lady Alex presents a burlesque show based on comedy and learning how to be sexy. Photo credit: Sophie Schorr

A great night-out has to start with a bang. How about starting it with a class in the ancient art of tease with the burlesque show that is on the menu at the Wam Bam Club?

The gorgeous Café de Paris nightclub just off of Piccadilly Circus is host to the Club every Saturday for the last year and a half. The Wam Bam Club itself has been running for four years in other venues and its guests can expect an evening of glamour and old fashioned fun.

The Wam Bam Club offers guests the opportunity to enjoy a three or two course sit down diner during where Lady Alex, the hostess at the Club, offers a high class variety show including music, magic, comedy and burlesque. The show is different every time: “The only formula we have is that every show contains music, magic, comedy and burlesque. So the only thing you can expect is the unexpected,” she said.

Lady Alex, also known as comedian and burlesque dancer Alex Frances, started the show because she wanted to see a show that was pure variety. “After a lot of nagging about it, someone said ‘why don’t you start one?’ – so I did,” she said.

In addition to the show, Burlesque dance instructor, Ruby Deshabille, offers two free burlesque taster classes before the shows, where you can reserve a spot by e-mailing her.

Burlesque classes bring the power of the tease to London. Photo credit: Sophie Schorr

Sexy and Powerful

Surprisingly for a show about scantily clad women, the audience here is mainly female. “It’s about having glamour back in your life, it’s not about sitting in your tracksuit watching TV. It’s about making an effort, dressing up and feeling like a sexy powerful woman and having a wonderful night,” Lady Alex explains.

“It’s also escapism, you come into a different world and you can forget your troubles and you can indulge in a more traditional way.”

A highlight of the show is Lady Alex’s own performance that fuses comedy and burlesque. It’s consists about how she got together with the leader of Al-Qaeda where she acts as the ‘sex-bomb’ which ends with the performance setting herself alight.

The show is about two hours long and afterwards there’s an after party that goes on to 3am. Tickets are £35 for the show if you pre-book and £50 at the door.

However, the complete package is recommended: A two course meal and show for £70 or a three course meal for £75. A bit pricey but worth the money if you are looking for a special night-out.

For full June and July listings visit: www.wambamclub.com

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Philbin Bowman mixes controversial politics with razor sharp wit.

Abie Philbin Bowman is an Irish comedian who does not shy away from controversial politics in his humour. His first show, Jesus: the Guantanamo Years, queried what would happen if Jesus came back to earth now – after wandering out of a cave in Palestine and telling the authorities that he is a religious fundamentalist. Imprisonment and hilarity ensue.

On January 30, 2010, Al Jazeera released an audiotape, supposedly from the Al Qaeda leader, which blamed the US for climate change. As Abie told audiences a week later: “He’s effectively calling for ‘Eco-Friendly Jihad’ – but if Al Qaeda is so concerned about climate change, why do they repeatedly bomb public transport?”

International politics, religion, the US war on terrorism – Philbin Bowman flits lightly across major issues and has the audience following his irreverant take on major issues. His latest show, Sex, Lies and the Ku Klux Klan, was well recieved in Brighton and he has agreed to take the mic at the Soho club’s stand-up night on his way through town.

If The Daily Show is your idea of a good time, check out the Soho Comedy Club this Friday.

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Vicky Butterfly captivates the audience. Photo credit: Boom Boom Club

Please forgive yourselves over any confusion on your whereabouts when you arrive at a multi-coloured mosaic mosque-like building, through the entrance of a church. This is the Boom Boom club on a Thursday night at the Bath House, just off Bishops’ Gate in Liverpool Street. It lives up to its name. It’s booming with rhythms from the thirties to the seventies with dashes of soul and swing and its beaming with decadent decor. The combination of comedy and cabaret is what really gets this place rocking and rolling in its theatre-style dinner setting. The act doesn’t start until half past nine, so there’s plenty of time to absorb the atmosphere.

Once Pizza Pomodoro, and before that an Indian restaurant, the Bath House has now returned to its original roots. As a completely renovated Victorian Turkish bath house, the place unleashes that opium den feel. Silver disco balls prance around bridges of mosaic tiles and pillars wedged in between luxurious burgundy velvet drapes canopying the ceiling. A random display of a ten foot birdcage acting as a DJ box comes into view.

At times it carries a Frankenstein or vampire feel to it. Orange flames flicker away in wrought iron lamps shedding some light on the Mary and Jesus figurines over the bar area, all in the name of good spirit of course. It’s a little random really, but that’s what ignites my interest.

A ruffling experience

Photo credit: Boom Boom Club

Through the silver candelabras, sprinkled in flaking wax, the opera-styled curtains open. It’s show time.  It’s the Dusty Limits whose humour gets the crowd rocking back and forth. Thankfully Vicki Butterfly comes on to introduce some calm to the audience, as she graces the stage with her burlesque act. Cloaked in white feathers, she flutters around gracefully in her see-through bejewelled and black-beaded costume. As she unveils her act and clothes, roses cascade down her and the graceful movement of her feathers swoon the audience. It’s a classy performance and teenage boys might write poetry about her. It all gets raucous again when a singer starts to strum his guitar frantically. He amuses the folks with hilarious lyrics and anecdotes of his mental disturbances thanks to all the changes that have taken place such as Jif being called Cif, Labour renamed as New Labour and the Millenium Dome revamped as the O2.”Why must things change?” he bemoans. Then there are tunes on how he was once tempted to force-feed a Rabbi some pork.

Lady Gaga's older sister? Photo credit: Sonia Shah

Burlesque Banter

The madness continues into the night. A lush from California rushes in. She‘s a gothic looking purple clad Lady Gaga in her fifties. She’s frivolous and flamboyant to the point. Her hats mantle a killer stiletto shoe if not a well filled purple bra. An audience member has “the pleasure” of having his socks removed on stage and receiving a foot massage, her tongue gliding through from toe to heel. If that’s not enough to shock our dear viewers, she decides to pour some red wine into his trainers and slurps it down her throat. It gives foot fetish an altogether different stance and we’re choking on her act. But it’s time to bring back some burlesque. Bingo Burlesque is a real winner as one dancer drifts through– nipples, belly button, cheeky bottoms and arms covered in balloons. She pops them one by one to disclose the winning bingo numbers and some lucky stranger is the winner. It’s back to the limericks of Dusty Limit’s who cleans up the act with more belly bursting moments as he enlightens us about his gay lover leaving him bruised and confused followed by his affair with a priest.

Two hours of entertainment have flown by too quickly. It’s almost midnight now and the Bath House breaks into a frenzy of music until the early hours of the night, but it’s gone past my bed time.

For more information on events at the Bath House visit:

www.thebathhousevenue.com

www.boomboomclub.co.uk

Tickets to the shows cost £5 in advance and £7 in at the door.

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Photo Credit: Nikolay Kopeikin

The whole idea is that Russian culture doesn’t necessarily have to be all about excruciatingly long, depressing novels. We Russians love to have good fun, even if it culminates in a throbbing headache the next morning. We also don’t march in uniforms or stand in lines for bread and toilet paper, the climate is not that different from Canada and, while we’re at it, we’ve never actually had Communism, which is a purely theoretical concept. But we do laugh at “In Soviet Russia…” jokes because self-deprecating humour is a very important part of Russian culture.

And since it’s impossible to rule out every single national stereotype, yes, we will be serving vodka on our opening night (Thursday, April 22), the way it is drunk in Russia (which is the only right way), with lots of classic savoury snacks like brined herring with spring onions, smoked lard and pelmeni.

Culture-wise, we have a great selection of young artists from Moscow, St. Petersburg and London. In rock festival terms, the headliner is obviously Nikolay Kopeikin from St. Pete. He’s responsible for the visual side of NOM, one of the most popular “joke rock” acts in Russia with a genuine cult underground status. Kopeikin paints in a crude style that is (probably) influenced by anything you can think of, from French Fauvists to editorial cartoons through German expressionism, masterfully mocking everything from everyday Russian life to international affairs. Don’t be fooled by his almost naïve approach: he’s got quite an ideological punch, maintaining an idea that the content is more important than the form.

The Angry Russian in the flesh. Look out for icicle jokes... Photo Credit: Maja Kucova

Kibersekta (Cybersect) is a three-strong artist collective from Moscow who have achieved a somewhat cult status with their Agitprop-style posters with sharp social and political commentary.  Photographer Maja Kucova captures everyday life in Moscow suburbs, finding unexpected beauty even in the most unmpromising places, while Larisa Golubeva gives the same treatment with oil paint to the other Russian capital, her native St. Petersburg. Nikolay Vasilyev and Stas Kazimoff both explore the possibilities of pop art to some extent, with Vasilyev sticking (pun intended) to Scotch tape to create portraits of random people.

We’ll also be screening some of our favorite stuff, starting with Kin Dza Dza, a late Soviet cult classic which had so much influence on at least two generations of Russians that you can wake up anybody in the middle of the night and they’ll be quoting whole scenes from the film. It’s part steampunk sci-fi, part bizarre comedy with so much unclassifiable but amazing stuff inbetween that it’s a huge shame it never came out in the West. But fret not—we are here to correct that cultural mistake. We’ll also show some dark comedy from NOM Film (for most of which Nikolay Kopeikin is responsible), London resident Janna Kuzmova’s short film and comedy sketches, and VBS.TV’s great recent documentary on Russian “Parallel Cinema”.

There you have it, your official invitation. Now come and have fun, folks!

Opening Thursday 22 April, 6 pm at The Foundry, 86 Great Eastern St, London EC2A 3JL

More from our Angry Russian:
Angry Russian on Compatriots
Angry Russian on Maslenitsa
Angry Russian on the ‘Big Freeze’
Angry Russian on vodka literacy
Rants by an Angry Russian

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Comedian Ricky Gervais (above) from the UK sitcom 'The Office' has become an iconic representative of British humour. Photocredit: Diamond Geyser

In true comedy show fashion, let me open with a little anecdote – here’s a clip of actor Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton from the new film Alice in Wonderland interviewed on BBC’s Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.

Jonathan Ross: Now, you are kind of “weird”, I imagine.

Johnny Depp: (shyly) Uh…yea, I’ve been accused of being weird.

Tim Burton: (jokingly agrees) He is weird.

Jonathan Ross: (to Tim) And coming from you, that’s quite a lot cuz you’re no stranger to “weird”.

Tim Burton: (now embarrassed) Well…what is “weird”?

Jonathan Ross: You two. You’re a double helping of “weird”.

Oh bless that Jonathan Ross for his not-so-tactful way with words. But like Depp and Burton, sense of humour is indeed ‘weird’ and unique to all. Britain’s quirky idiosyncrasies have been played out in the cheeky, rather direct nature of its humour.

So what exactly is British humour?  In one word – awkward,  in two – more honest.  “Social awkwardness is definitely a key part,” says Graham Trelfer, chairman of The London Comedy Writers. “But British comedy is not as defined as it used to be.” Several acts have translated very quickly overseas, such as The Monty Pythons who are considered pioneers of British sketch comedy. They inspired a version of it in America with the successful launch of Saturday Night Live.

In the earlier years of the British comedy scene, acts such as Benny Hill and Mr. Bean have led others to lean British humour towards that of a physical, slapstick nature but it’s actually unintended.

“We do have a thing for slapstick comedy but strangely it’s never actually written in the script – it just happens. Maybe we’re just a clumsy nation,” jokes Kenny Cavey, founder of the comedy writers group ComComedy.

The other fundamental quality of British humour is subtlety. Cavey notes, “The humour is so subtle here and done really well with even just a tiny, secret look to the audience, which the British go nuts for. Whereas in somewhere like America, people may just be thinking ‘Ok – where’s the next joke?’”

A more recent example of a great translation of British comedy can be made of the UK sitcom The Office which took America by storm. Ricky Gervais’s character in the UK version is the embodiment of the generally sarcastic and self-deprecating tone that is classic to British humour.  “We’ve been doing self-deprecation for centuries and Ricky Gervais has recently made it iconic to himself,” with the international success of The Office, says Cavey.

A recent scientific study in March 2008 led by Dr. Rod Martin at the University of Ontario surveyed 2,000 pairs of twins in the UK and 500 pairs in North America on their perceptions of humour. The results indicated that ‘positive humour’, referring to the bright side of life, was found in both regions. But ‘negative humour’, cruel jokes such as racist and sexist remarks, was found in Britain alone.

“The British may have a greater tolerance for a wide range of expressions of humour, including what many Americans might consider aggressively sarcastic or denigrating,” says Dr. Martin. America’s lesser tolerance for crude humour is seen in Steve Carrell’s character, who plays the more tolerable and sensitive version of Ricky Gervais’s character in UK version of The Office.

The British find humour in the more realistic, darker, uglier truths of life and “the comedy is often about wallowing in our own depravity,” says Trelfer.

“I think maybe we just cope better with more negative issues like depression,” says Cavey.

Former New York Times reporter Eric Weiner even goes as far as to say Brits are never happier than when at their most miserable in his book The Geography of Bliss.

“Most Brits, I suspect, derive a perverse pleasure from their grumpiness. For the British, happiness is a transatlantic import. And by transatlantic, they mean American,” he says.

Weiner believes, “For the English, life is not about happiness but getting by,” and British humour embraces this belief and makes light of the fact.

British actor, comedian and author Charlie Higson credits British comedy as “silly people doing silly things” and as less sophisticated than other acts around the globe.

But the rise of internet media has ultimately eliminated most of the cultural factors that determine an individual or even a societal sense of humour as viewership has widened, believes Cavey. “Nobody really goes to the internet wanting to get their bit of ‘British’ comedy.”

The wide-ranging internet audience appreciates the comedy before noticing where it’s coming from and ultimately raised the standards for the quality of humour and comedy.

With the overwhelming amount of content options on the internet, “You really can’t get away with making bad comedy anymore – which is really beautiful and the way it should be,” says Cavey.

Here are some recent Brit comedy programmes to check out if you’re itching for a laugh:

• The Thick of It
• The Inbetweeners
• Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Chips
• Live at the Apollo
• Mock of the Week
• QI

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