Doc brown dissects comedy in shanghai

British comedian Doc Brown described his China debut last week as "one of the greatest gigs of my career" and said he was keen to return to Shanghai because "anything is possible here".

"And that's what made Thursday (in Shanghai) so special, because I was connecting with people," he said, "especially that bit with the barmaid (whose phone kept ringing) ... She hated me, but it created a moment, and you've got to be in the moment."

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Pure harmonies

Brown, aka Londoner Ben Smith, performed at Zapata's, a popular drinking hole in Shanghai, to a crowd of about 180 people.

He has worked with top UK talents Ricky Gervais and Lenny Henry, and has a starring role in the latest season of the police drama Law & Order (UK).

The self-confessed "failed rapper"-"I failed my whole life," he punned, "that was my specialty"-reflected on his latest performance during a presentation at M on the Bund on the evening of March 15 as part of the Shanghai Literary Festival.

He also discussed his obsession with certain parts of the female anatomy, and the irony of his reinvention as an unwitting feminist after campaigning against The Sun newspaper's sexual objectification of women.

Other topics included his major career breaks, and why he still lives on a run-down British council estate.

Smith said his "moment of epiphany" that "comedy is all about connecting with people", rather than relying on pre-scripted shtick, came during a de facto audition to impress The Office creator Ricky Gervais during a gig in Norway.

Gervais gave Smith a shot after being persuaded to watch his clips on YouTube, and the two met for the first time in a dressing room before Smith stepped onstage.

Smith was crashing and burning in front of one of his comic heroes when he suddenly came right side up with a few off-the-cuff, self-deprecating jokes.