At the Edinburgh Fringe festival two years ago, six comedians put on a show for 28 days called Abnormally Funny People. One was hearing impaired, another blind, one was in a wheelchair and there was a man and woman 'of short stature'. Oh, and there was one token non-disabled comedian to promote diversity.
The short guy was Simon Minty, part-time comedian, part-time documentary-maker and most of the time consultant to companies such as Sky Television and the BBC on the portrayal of people with disabilities and on disability issues.
Mr Minty is in Hong Kong for a two-day conference on Diversity and Inclusion in Asia organised by local NGO Community Business, which promotes - and provides training for companies on - corporate social responsibility. The conference next Tuesday and Wednesday will involve local and international experts and cover disability, sexism, cultural values and age issues in the workplace.
Mr Minty, 39, is also taking part in a 'diversity week' organised by investment bank Merrill Lynch, and a diversity programme conducted by the British Council.
His foray into comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe was covered by Sky Television, which filmed the comedians both on stage and as they prepared. This was followed by another show last year.
Mr Minty was keen that their act be seen as real comedy, and not a one-off 'brave attempt' by artists with a disability.
