About a year and a half ago, I was thinking about the entertainment scene on Phuket and what niches there were to be filled. Many expats living permanently here feel starved for regular quality entertainment. "What this island needs is a Comedy Club," I said out loud. Somebody must have been listening, because now we have the Punchline Comedy Club.

The first comedy evening was presented after a candlelit buffet dinner held on the decks of the Watermark Restaurant on a sultry Wednesday in late May. The intimate setting was exactly the way a club should feel, and people mingled about, chatting and sipping wine. Suddenly, it was showtime.

Strangely enough, the first few rows of seats remained empty while the audience crammed in to the back. Our hosts kindly led us kicking and screaming to our third row seats. The braver warriors voluntarily stayed where they were seated, while other guests had to be subdued and chained into the first and second rows. I hid behind Tom, a nice Californian wearing a loud Hawaiian-style shirt.

"Tom," said the first standup comic. "You’re American? Thank you, Comedy God." He raised his hands in prayer, grinning, an evil glint in his eyes. "What are you doing in Phuket?" he asked of the gob-smacked American. "I didn’t realize you’d invaded yet."

I slid down into my seat and prayed he wouldn’t notice me.

"And I notice you have Harry Potter next to you," he said, pointing at victim number two, to Tom’s left, who was wearing thick dark-rimmed glasses. "Are there any Aussie’s here? You’ll be pissed already." The lines flew in staccato from the funnyman’s lips, reducing the audience to helpless laughter. "Are there any Germans here? No, of course not. What would they be doing in a comedy club"?

I quickly realized that sitting too close to the aisle, or in the first few rows too near the evil man on stage, was extremely dangerous. Giving him a name would only humanize him (alright: it was Tim Clark, one of the UK’s best comedians), and he delighted in singling out members of the crowd to find out how well they could laugh at themselves. Some passed with flying colours, but one aisle dweller was sent to the back of the classroom for failing his test.

"I’ll get back to you in a minute Yank," Clark told Tom. The following acts, Pierre Hollins and John Feathergill, continued aiming jibes at poor Tom throughout the night. He took it like a trooper, and laughed till he cried.

In conjunction with Watermark Restaurant, at the Boat Lagoon, Southeast Asia (SEA) Entertainment presented the Phuket Punchline Comedy Club. Following a tour at the Punchline Comedy Club of Hong Kong, the trio of top UK artists delighted Phuketians with their keen powers of observation, turning everyday sights and characters on this island into an evening of aching cheeks. "Phuket’s lovely," said John Feathergill, a cheeky Geordie. "But I think you could do with a few more mopeds."

The audience was on a roll squealing like children drunk on life. The evening was so successful that SEA Entertainment and Watermark Restaurant will again be hosting a Punchline Comedy Club event on 15 September.

For more information, see www.punchlinecomedy.com, or phone the Watermark Restaurant at 076 239 730.