Laughing Matters -- stand-up comedy social enterprise to help recovering addicts

From touching a nerve to finding their funny bone — people affected by addiction problems are being asked to draw on their own life experiences to devise material for a stand-up comedy routine, as part of a new social enterprise devised by two Nottingham entrepreneurs. Laughing Matters will coach people affected by past alcohol, drugs and gambling problems through the strategies and cues used by professional comedians in their act in a bid to improve their communication, confidence and self-esteem. The aim is to offer them a new range of skills that will aid them in their recovery, help them to reintegrate into society and improve their prospects, including future employment opportunities. The venture is the joint brainchild of a graduate and current student from Nottingham University Business School — Mark Christian who has previously run a charity offering counselling to recovering addicts, and Kirstie MacDonald, a former investment banker who worked for huge multinationals including Goldman Sachs in New York. Unique rehabilitation. The idea was born when the pair collaborated on a Social Entrepreneurship module while studying at Nottingham, Mark on a full-time MBA course and Kirstie a specialist MBA in Corporate Social Responsibility, from which she is currently on maternity leave. Kirstie said: "We'd hit on the idea of stand-up comedy workshops and as a result of his past life as a counsellor Mark suggested that we use them to benefit recovering addicts.