Time for a laugh. Why migrant comedians get us thinking and laughing.

Laughing is healthy and fun. I have been to many standup comedy shows. I'm sure the comedians are nervous before they come on stage, I know I am tense as part of the audience. Will I find this funny? Will my fellow guests laugh out loud? I hope so. I dread the comedian 'bombing,' and I hope they are resilient enough to laugh a bad night off. I am eager to laugh with them because I have come to the venue for a laugh, and because I admire their bravery.

Why would migrants make good comedians? With all jokes, the humour comes from 'laughing at someone else's expense.' Much of the humour from migrants is based on their experiences. They are laughing at what has happened to them, and or ridiculing the circumstances responsible for those laughable situations.

Migrants can observe because they have two perspectives of the country or society they are living in. In a previous post, some of the 12 reasons why migrants make good artists are also valid for comedians. For example, show host and comedian Graham Norton said that being an outsider, helped him to be an observer asking the questions, rather than having to be included in the group.