Tired of explaining his nationality to a crowd, Pierre Novellie has filled his new hour Why Are You Laughing? with a discussion on topics as distinct and unconnected as British drinking habits and his own hyperfixations.
An uncanny ability to vocalise experiences or opinions
Novellie gives every part of his show the same level of intense analysis that only he can achieve, and in his own way, makes the minor annoyances that we deal with on a day to day or weekly basis appear much bigger. Novellie has an awareness of cultural phenomena that only happens in the UK, but in taking a step back from the object of his analysis, sees things that others miss or fill in for themselves. The show becomes softly personal, as Novellie reflects on his neurodiversity and how it expressed itself in childhood, bluntly narrating his experiences. It's not nostalgia, but something much more frank and blunt, almost ridiculing the events he describes. Novellie has an uncanny ability to vocalise experiences or opinions that a lot of people may have but don’t know how to put it into words themselves in a way that is almost miraculously accurate in perception.
Novellie decides to ask us a rather existential questions as comedy punters by asking us, why are we laughing? Because it helps, and if we’re not drinking, then we laugh to help us cope. We laugh because with his astute observations, Novellie provides some respite from the annoyances that we face every day, as well as genuine reflections and truths that we need to hear.
