Lunch was more fun than a barrel of monkeys yesterday.
I caught up with comedians Simon McKinney, Jim Stanton, Sarah Harpur and Justine Smith for a chat about the funny business of being funny.
And it is something that has always been in the blood of this quartet of quipsters.
"My old school reports said: 'If Justine spent as much time working on her lessons as she does making her classmates laugh she'd get straight As'," Smith reveals.
McKinney grew up in Dunedin before scaling the heights as "Hamish the Fish" on TV2 children's television programme Squirt.
"Comedy just took over my day job," he says.
The comics had their own ideas on what made something funny.
"I like clever humour that is a little bit mean," Smith says.
"I do a really good pterodactyl impression," Harpur offers (none of the other comics appear interested in seeing it).
"I like those spontaneous moments.
"Self-deprecating is always good," McKinney says.
"People are much more self-deprecating here in Dunedin.
"They'll get together and talk about something silly they've done.
"That humour doesn't happen elsewhere."
"Yeah, self-defecating humour is good," Smith adds, mischievously.
"I like laughing when you're not supposed to," Harpur says.
"My grandmother broke wind at her son's funeral just as he was being lowered into the ground and everyone pretended not to notice, but I thought that was very, very funny."
"The absurd stuff always makes me laugh," Stanton says.
"I fell down the stairs on to the stage once, and very ungainly it was," Smith interjects.
"I ended up lying on my back on the stage with my arms and legs in the air.
"I may, or may not, have a had a couple of lagers first, though."
But some things are no laughing matter, even for comedians.
"Deathly silence is the worst thing," Smith says.
"I'm always terrified no-one will laugh," Stanton readily agrees.
"It's happened a few times for me where the audience just aren't on your wavelength," Harpur says.
"It's hideous when that happens.
"You do the first joke and they hate it and you think 'Help! I've got no Plan B'."
"I did a show at the Ellerslie racecourse and as soon as I started everyone turned around and went 'Shush, love'," Smith groans.
"I was doing a punchline once just as someone hit the jackpot on the pokies and it went 'Ping, ping, ping'," Stanton says.
"Everyone there thought that was much more interesting than my show."
Part of the fun is the challenge of thinking on your feet.
"You have to be able to duck and dive as a comedian," Smith says.
"You've got to have a backup plan.
"Even if it's just going back up to the dressing room."
Simon McKinney performs at 6pm today at the Polson Higgs Comedy Club at XII Below, followed by the Comediettes (Jim Stanton and Sarah Harpur) at 7.30pm and Justine Smith at 9pm.
Dunedin actor Danny Still continues his adventures and misadventures in Mr Bun Bun's Terrible Day today.
Mr Bun Bun hops down to Latham Park, in Portobello, at 3.30pm, 3.50pm and 4.10pm, while tomorrow he will be at Green Island Memorial Park at the same times.
On Saturday, he'll pop up at the Botanic Garden sound shell at midday, 12.20pm and 12.40pm and at the same times at Marlow Park on Sunday.
The New Edinburgh Folk Club presents "The Acoustic Fringe" at 9pm at the Empire Tavern today, tomorrow and Saturday.
Kaitrin McMullan, John Egenes and Phil Corfield play tonight, Vic McDonald, Graeme Peters and John McGee pick up the baton tomorrow night and on Saturday it's Bill Morris, Jeffrey Robinson and Matt Langley.
Meanwhile, [cue: dramatic 1930s radio sound effects] Doom Gravy: A Radio Disaster in Six Parts nears its stunning conclusion at the XII Below Festival Club at 11 tonight.
Drop out and tune in.
It's very, very funny.
