A COMEDIAN says Brexit has caused an “awful lot of damage” to the world of stand-up comedy.

Simon Evans, who has lived in Hove since 2007, has never been shy of discussing current affairs – even presenting GB News’ newspaper preview show Headliners.

But in an interview on The Argus Podcast, the 56-year-old said while impossible to avoid in a stand-up routine, politics has created a “divisive” atmosphere within comedy.

“Party politics is quite tiresome. I don’t personally like stand-ups that spend too much time attacking individual politicians, or demonstrating their support for one party over another,” he said.

Simon, best known for his stand-up shows and BBC Radio 4 series Simon Evans Goes to Market, highlighted Brexit as the sparking point for the modern wave of contentious political comedy.

“I think Brexit did an awful lot of damage to the world of stand-up comedy because it seemed that every stand-up had to have a view about it,” he said.

“They all seem to think anyone that voted Brexit was a neanderthal, racist, knuckle dragger, and it was a disgrace, and they’d let down the side terribly and so on.  

“By all means draw attention to the hypocrisy of the MPs, but at the end of the day, we get enough politics.”

The Argus: Simon Evans, who has lived in Hove since 2007 Simon Evans, who has lived in Hove since 2007

Simon, who is set to continue his UK tour in May, warned that fellow comedians risk falling into the concept of clapter – a political joke with the purpose of making the audience agree instead of laugh.

“if you get too political, it can become a repetitive nag,” he said. “But there are some comics who do brilliantly at it.

“Jeremy Hardy, bless him, was a superb comedian. And despite everyone knowing his hard left political views, you never felt excluded from enjoying the comedy if you didn’t share those views.

“But it can be a trap and you can fall into being what they call clapter in America, where you’re playing a room hoping to get the sound of approval and confirmation of your views.

“I think the really strong laughs, the sort of laughs every comedian should be aiming for, are the ones where the audience almost laugh against their will.

“It’s hard to get that if they start to know what your political views are, and your jokes fall in line with them all the time.”

According to Simon, comedians should be the “outsider”.

“I think all comedians should have that Groucho view – never be a member of any club that would have you as a member.

“If you want to do political material, my favourite would generally be to say a plague on all their houses.

“And actually, the great strength of stand-up comedy is it can remind you of the more fundamental things about life that are what really define us, who we are and how we experience one another.”

The full episode of The Argus Podcast featuring Simon is available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.