Raybon Kan is bringing the jokes

Raybon Kan will conduct the laughter during a performance at Napier's Cabana on Friday, August 28.

Comedian Raybon Kan will bring the jokes - but it's BYO laughter.

Kan is a veteran funnyman on the New Zealand circuit - he was part of the industry virtually before there was one.

Back then, he says comedy was like a naughty word, spoken of in hushed tones, let alone considered a legitimate career path.

"That's ancient history, I got into it before there was comedy in a way - there was no comedy festival. The best you could get was a bar which was trying it in Wellington," he said.

"It was almost a dare. I started out with jokes on a bit of paper and told friends to show up, it's a miracle it wasn't a complete disaster."

From there it was a case of practice makes perfect, although the idea of quitting his day job was somewhat of a joke in itself.

Kan came up at a time when there was nothing polished or overly professional about cracking audiences up - it was raw material and raw laughter.

"I was wary of being able to use the word comedian the way someone might call themselves a gardner as a hobby - I didn't want to say it.

"You would confess being into bondage more quickly than you would confess to being into comedy - I referred to it as the 'C' word."

It was when he found it was a success - people actually started to pay for shows - that he felt comfortable with the term "comedian".

Seeing was believing and counting receipts was actual proof of bums on seats.

"I figured 'yeah, those aren't just my friends coming because I forced them to'," he said.

Kan obviously did something right, having been named Best Comedian by Metro and North & South magazines - twice each.

He's also performed at major comedy festivals in Edinburgh and Montreal - appearing in a line-up alongside a host of personal "heroes".

The Age newspaper named Kan a "highlight" at Melbourne Comedy Festival, so it might come as a surprise that jokes don't always flow easy for the Kiwi comic.

"Initially you start out with things that have happened to you ... often they are the most extreme stories that have actually happened, possibly just because you have started to drink less those situations don't occur as much.

"You need to find the next level, I think in a lot of ways I am still searching for what people call their 'comedy voice'.

Kan will perform a one-off show at Napier's Cabana Bar on Friday, August 28.

"There will be jokes, people have to bring BYO laughter," he says. "I will be conducting the laughter, they will bring their instruments."

Comedy capers

WHAT: Comedian Raybon Kan
WHERE: The Cabana, Napier
WHEN: Friday, August 28
COST: General admission, $19.50, eventfinda.co.nz