Bright Club is a number of comedy-club-style events in the United Kingdom promoting public engagement by scientists, academics and others with specialist knowledge. It has been described by The Guardian as "a 'thinking person's' comedy night",[1] and by Londonist as "where funny meets brains".[2]
Every event has a number of speakers, normally university researchers, each of whom gives a short, funny talk related to their area of knowledge and a theme for the night. There is a compere, and musicians play a set halfway through and at the end of the evening.
Bright Club started at University College London; the brainchild of Steve Cross and Miriam Miller.[3] The first event was held in May 2009 and a Bright Club now happens in London once a month.[4] Bright Club Manchester held its first event in May 2010 and now hosts events every two months. Bright Club Wales held its first event, in Cardiff, in November 2010.[5]
Bright Club Edinburgh launched during the Edinburgh Festival with a show on the BBC@Potterrow stage on the 24th August 2011 following a preview gig on 26th July[6].
There has been a one-off Bright Club in Brighton[7] and a small number of 500-seater Bright Clubs in the Bloomsbury Theatre.[1][2][4]
Steve Cross won the Joshua Phillips award for innovation in science engagement in a ceremony at the Manchester Science Festival in October 2010.[8]