Jonathon Falconer is not the average comedian; he works as a pharmacology lecturer during the day before hitting the mics at night.
Now mixing both together, he has been travelling the country with his show, in which he brings science and humour to talking about the pharmacology of recreational drugs.
His show The Science of Getting High has been a hit around New Zealand, and the American comedian-scholar is bringing an hour of fun and science to the Gore Repertory Society this Friday at 7.30pm.
Drawing from both expertise in the science behind the topic and personal anecdotes with psychedelic drug use, Mr Falconer said it helped to explain the how and why behind drugs and their various risks and uses, alongside a good amount of jokes and fun.
"Even I get bored of talking about drugs for an hour, so there will be some jokes about whatever I’ve been finding funny lately," he said.
Mr Falconer said it was important to take a scientific and pragmatic approach to drug use, preferring to educate and inform rather than shy away from the potentially taboo topic.
"Humans have been doing drugs for thousands of years, and psychedelic drug use has been increasing the past several years.
"It’s possible society would be better if no-one ever used drugs, but that’s completely unrealistic."
But it was also important to broach new ideas, he said while acknowledging the nature of the show might risk putting off certain audiences.
This was by design, as it was important to push boundaries and comfort zones in standup comedy.
"You can make anything funny if you’re determined. The nature of a joke is that it typically surprises you, or shocks you in some way.
"The possibility of the joke being offensive is what makes it good, if the comedian can navigate the delivery properly."
Having toured the show around New Zealand, he had been very happy with responses he had received, although sometimes the compliments could come backhanded, he said.
"The audience responses are usually very positive, but people also don’t tell me if they hated it. I have to gauge it by the compliments people give me afterwards.
"If they tell me I was brave for getting up there, well, it didn’t go well," Mr Falconer laughed.
He was excited to come down to Gore and perform his show, and said audiences should "expect to laugh, learn and have a good time".
