The economic downturn and forecasts of a recession could be leading people to seek relief from live comedy, club organisers have said.

The Stand has reported a 2% increase in audience numbers overall for its shows in Edinburgh and Glasgow for November.

And comic Bruce Fummey said the crisis was a source of comic material. He has found the financial climate a good source of new material and has a joke about Chancellor¹ Alistair Darling's eyebrows² and how Mr Darling wakes from a night out to find he is missing the £47bn he had in his pocket.

Tommy Sheppard, of The Stand, said: "The rise could mean a margin³ of error, but there is no sense of people staying away as a result of the credit crunch⁴." He believed the club had been busier than usual.

Mr Sheppard said: "I would say numbers are slightly up. I looked at the last four weeks and, compared to November last year, we were 2% up overall and 8% up in Edinburgh."

"There could be an element of people saying let's have a laugh, but live comedy is also relatively⁵ cheap entertainment."

A few references on the economic downturn have made it into some routines, but Mr Sheppard said economics were not an obvious source for comics.

He said: "A couple of months ago when there was talk and reports of a £500bn bail-out for banks I think most people, and comedians⁶, found it hard to get their heads around that. It just seemed so other worldly."

Bruce Fummey, who is involved with the Just Laugh Comedy Clubs in Dundee, Perth and Stirling and previously⁷ in Inverness, said he hoped people fed up with talk of a recession would seek out live comedy.

He said: "Going to a comedy club is a relatively inexpensive night out. It is £9-£10 to get in and you don't tend to drink much because you are sitting watching the comedy so the night can work out for less than £20.

"How much would you pay for a meal at a restaurant? And then you go home and complain about the service, the meal and the bill. "

"A comedy club is good value for money and is a social experience."

In October, the BBC Business website reported how as the credit crunch spread feelings of fear and powerlessness, some are turning to humour as the only escape.

俱乐部的组织者表示，经济下滑，衰退将至，人们可能会通过看喜剧寻求安慰。

The Stand（苏格兰著名喜剧俱乐部）说，11月它在爱丁堡和格拉斯哥举办的演出，观众总数增加了2%。

喜剧演员布鲁斯·法美伊说，危机是搞笑素材的源泉。他发现如今的金融环境是一个很好的题材，于是就拿财政大臣阿里斯泰尔·达令的眉毛开涮，还说他如何在夜间醒来，发现口袋里丢了470亿英镑。

The Stand俱乐部的托米·舍帕尔德说：“数字增加也可能只是弄错了，但人们没有理由因为信贷紧缩就不看演出。” 他相信俱乐部的生意比通常更好。

舍帕尔德说：“我要说，数字出现了上升。我把过去四个星期与去年11月相比，总体的确上升了2%，单在爱丁堡更上升了8%。”

“这里面的一个可能因素是，人们说，咱们去笑笑吧；况且现场喜剧表演也相对便宜。”

一些表演中也涉及到经济衰退，不过舍帕尔德说，经济也不一定是明显的搞笑素材。

他说：“两个月前，如果谈论和报道5千亿英镑对银行的紧急救助，我想大多数人，乃至喜剧演员，都会觉得很难去了解它。这种事情当时看来就好像脱离现实一样。”

参与了Just Laugh 喜剧俱乐部在敦提、柏斯、斯特灵和之前的印威内斯演出的布鲁斯·法美伊说，他希望那些厌倦了谈论经济衰退的人们可以寻找现场的喜剧表演来解忧。

“去餐馆吃顿饭你要花多少钱？而且回到家还会抱怨服务水平、饭菜和账单。”

“去看喜剧不仅合算，还是一种社会体验。”

BBC商业网曾在10月报道了信贷紧缩如何在人们中间传播恐惧感和无力感，于是有些人转而把幽默当作唯一的逃避方法。