FED up with the stresses and strains of modern life?

Worried about the credit crunch and depressed about the summer rain?

A "yes" to any of those and it sounds like you could do with a laugh or two.

Step this way, then, to a comedy club near you. That seems to be the invitation being issued at more and more venues these days.

Jokes, some as painful as watching Paula Radcliffe run a marathon, are all the rage on the stage.

Those in the market for some in the Swansea area have been enjoying comedy nights at the likes of Jumpin' Jaks, the Grand Theatre's depot studio, Coyote Bar in Green Dragon Lane and Pontardawe Arts Centre.

The latest comedy club to set up in Swansea is Crobar in Northampton Lane, off The Kingsway.

Normally a nightclub, it will be playing it for laughs on two Sundays a month. The usual setting will be converted into a gag-friendly environment allowing customers to sit around tables attended by waitresses.

Some old school audiences may regard alternative comedy as an alternative to comedy, but everything moves on. None of today's acts comes close to matching Ken Dodd's legendary staying power. He is on stage so long that the caretaker often hands him the key to lock up, or at least feels like doing so.

But the modern breed have their moments.

Brian Damage, who performed at Crobar Comedy Club's opening night says on his publicity blurb he has entertained psychopaths and lunatics in London pubs and workingmen's clubs.

Six years ago, during a bout of severe depression and on the advice of his therapist, he sought solace on the London comedy circuit.

He said: "The first time I went to a comedy club, I saw all these depressed, agitated, stressed-out, worried-looking people and I thought. . . I wanna be a part of that!"

Brian Phillips, the man behind the Stand and Deliver comedy nights at the club, hopes audiences will want to be part of the experience as well. He is joint managing director there and used to run a comedy venture at a Cardiff club he was involved with.

He thinks it is a popular option, appealing to those who perhaps want a different night out from those enjoyed in nightclubs.

He said: "It's a bit more grown-up. I like to do some different things. We will be using acts from Stand and Deliver, one of the biggest agencies around.

"I feel there is a space for comedy nights. I just feel there is a big growth in the market. Comedians are on TV and they have got roles in Hollywood films. It is a trend that is growing.

"I like the comedy scene. You get students and people in their 50s and 60s. It is a mixed market."

Actress Caroline Berry, who has appeared in Doctor Who and Inspector Morse, launched the monthly club Mad Dog at Coyote.

"Being an actress, I wanted to do something that was quite challenging," she said.

That led her to Swansea University's Hendrefoilan site for an insight into the special art.

She said: "I did a stand-up comedy course. I was the only woman out of 12 because women aren't supposed to be funny. The course was a great success and we then did a 10-minute act with our own material at the old Coffee Cesso in the marina."

A chance conversation with Darren Ripley, who runs Coyote, led to her suggesting comedy nights there. He asked her to organise them and Mad Dog was born, with Caroline sometimes appearing as her character Kelly-Marie, a far from shy Liverpool lass who met her chav boyfriend on holiday in Magaluf.

"Comedy has always been there. It is good to have a laugh. It is the best thing you can do," she said.

When it comes to comedy, Silky has been around the block. The Liverpudlian, who describes one of its advantages as being indoor work with no heavy lifting, has appeared live all over the world and on television.

To Silky, comedy is like fish and chips — people have always liked it.

He thinks it is all about giving people a night they will remember.

Not for him a flirtation with the genre as an entertainment tool. He takes the laughter business more seriously than that and puts the hard yards in, as witnessed by his promotion of 14 venues in Britain, six of them in Wales, including Punchline Comedy Club at Pontardawe Arts Centre, which has recently celebrated its fifth birthday.

"It is not just a question of saying 'we will try a comedy club'," he said. I think we have got past the exploitation phase, with people saying 'oh comedy'.

"If you give people a good night, they will keep coming back," he said.

"If you give them a great night, it will run and run. You have got to put in the work."

He thinks comedy works in any era and not just in tough times like the present.

"If you can guarantee someone a good night out, they will be happy," said Silky.

"It is a better investment than a DVD. It's special being in that room. That experience will never be repeated. You may have one as good, but it will not be the same experience."

Final word to Caerphilly's finest, Tommy Cooper, voted the Funniest Brit of All Time in a 2004 Reader's Digest poll.

He was in a taxi and at the end of the journey settled up. But the driver was obviously looking for a tip to top up the payment. Tommy reached back into his pocket, saying: "Have a drink", before slipping him a teabag.