The benefits of living stupidly | Nick Page

What’s funny?

I’m lucky that I find so much funny. I like people falling over pomposity, I love thwarted bureaucrats, I think PG Wodehouse was amazing, but I’ll laugh just as hard at a video of a cat attacking a carrier bag.

Many comedians cannibalise their past experiences for material, but you appear to be particularly merciless on yourself in your shows. Why did you choose to take this particular approach?

I had no choice with my approach. I lurch through life from disaster to disaster and seem clinically incapable of taking it seriously. If life gives you lemons, swap them for limes and make a mojito.

Is it a challenge to strike the right balance between ‘shocking’ and likeable during a live show, which appears to be so essential to a stand-up comic, particularly one with your approach?

Oooh! Good question. I just tell my stories and hope for the best. If you’ve lived as stupidly as me you get used to presenting the facts in the way that makes you look less to blame. I think people recognise their own experiences in a lot of my stories (maybe not quite as extreme) so they sort of go along with it.

As a comic who tours internationally, how do you view the stand-up comedy scene back in the UK?

The UK circuit is amazing – you constantly find new acts who amaze and surprise. There are great professionals who entertain thousands of people every week, and there are great audiences who come out for live comedy in weird places on odd nights. It’s the best circuit in the world, and the envy of every comic I meet from every other country.

Are you looking forward to performing in Malta?

Of course – I’ve been planning to come to Malta for years and not made it yet. Anyone who wants to recommend the best lunch, coffee and cocktail on the island please get in touch via my website www.nickpagecomedy.com.

The Eden Comedy Club will be taking place on February 19 at 20:30, at the Eden Cinemas, St Julian’s. The other participating comedians are Mark Palmer (South Africa) and Geoff Whiting (UK). Tickets may be purchased by logging on to www.edencinemas.com.mt or from the Eden Box Office