A treasure of comedy

UK national treasure, Stephen K Amos, returns to the NZ International Comedy Festival and performs in Tauranga for the first time. Photo/supplied

Stephen K Amos has been described as a national treasure in the UK and "The Laughter Master" is performing in Tauranga next week as part of the NZ International Comedy Festival.

Amos is inspired by the everyday and the absurd and he says he finds humour in most situations. "Everyone has a story to tell. From kids in playing grounds, to people arguing in social media. I see things on a daily basis - things that make you just want to laugh."

He says while most people have the ability to see the funny side of life, the difference with comedians is that they don't want to accept the status quo and try to make people question what they do.

"All of us have the capacity to think about life outside the box. It's just a few people (comedians) manage to transfer that skill to a wider audience. I don't want to be spoon-fed information and take it as known."

"Comedy is wanting to know why, not to insult, but to make light of situations, to make you laugh at yourself, to tackle their point of view in a light-hearted way."

From an early age he had a natural curiosity and this informs his comedy.

He says life as a comedian is a strange way of living and you have to be a bit of an outsider to do it. "Comedians offer a different perspective - people who don't want to be part of the rat race. You have to be a misfit to be part of that."

Amos has performed in New Zealand a handful of times, but always in the big cities. This time, he's thrown in the smaller places and says he's pleased to be out and about. So, after travelling to New Zealand many times, is there anything absurd or particularly funny about us?

"I think you are an amazing culture. I have just done a tour of Australia and bearing this in mind, you have a very, very different take on what happened to your indigenous culture. It is quite breath-taking the different approach."

Superficially, comedians can make the appearance of being the easy-going joker. While Amos finds comedy in everyday situations, like many in the profession, he is a deep thinker and considers it his job to look at situations differently.

He approaches the art of comedic story telling a number of different ways. Sometimes ideas crop up as the everyday part of life and other times there are definite ideas he wants to address. So, he might start by writing an essay about the topic and discover comedy from what arises.

Whatever, the route, Amos will put on a show that will have audiences chuckling in their chairs up and down the country.

the fine print
What: Stephen K Amos
Where: Baycourt Theatre
When: Thursday, May 12, 8pm
Tickets: ticketek.co.nz