Bringing the public more of the Bright stuff

Bright Club - the thinking person's variety night ' continues to spark the public imagination with a series of upcoming events and podcasts. On 17 August the variety night that merges the academic and the comic wades in with Power as the theme for its monthly event at the Wilmington Arms in Islington with a line-up including: Henrietta Lynch (UCL Bartlett School of Architecture), building scientist, lighting designer and carbon saver, talking about the design of the built environment Bright Club takes place in a comedy club in Clerkenwell, where, every month, a professional comedian takes to the stage alongside musicians, UCL staff and students to try to make a public audience chuckle until closing time. Steve Cross, Bright Club Creator and UCL Public Engagement Coordinator said: "I still can't quite believe that Bright Club works. Every month people who don't work or study at a university will come and see researchers who have never tried comedy before be funny. And they go away having learned a few things, and having changed their ideas of what universities are. It's basically a group of very brave researchers and academics, stepping well outside their comfort zones to share their work. Through jokes." Each event is themed, and to date researchers have tackled subjects as diverse as 'Lust', 'Space' and 'Crime' and explored amongst other things the sound of rock music through a cochlear implant.