THE words “Afghan war” and “comedy” aren’t usually ones you would associate with each other, but that’s exactly what stand-up poet Matt Panesh set out to do with his one-man show, Welcome To Afghanistan.

The show is based on the true-life memoir of Lt John Greenwood, who served in the country 170 years ago, although there are obvious parallels to the current conflict.

Matt says: “The retreat from Kabul to Jalalabad was the greatest defeat in British military history, but many people know nothing about it.

“Sixteen-and-a-half-thousand people started — one survived. It was minus-30 at night, they didn’t have tents, they died in their hundreds — it was a nightmare.”

Despite the grim facts of the event, Matt made a conscious decision to try to make the show funny rather than preaching to his audience.

This was a decision made in part because he “didn’t want to get on a soapbox and berate the audience for an hour”, but also because he felt the show would be all the more effective if the audience’s emotions swung from laughter one moment to despair the next.

“John Greenwood had a wonderful turn of phrase and he is delightfully Victorian,” says Matt of finding the funny elements among the tragedy. “There is a tongue-in-cheek element that holds up our attitudes from 150 years ago.”

He was also inspired by speaking to an American Marine who had trained Mujahideen in Afghanistan before the current war broke out.

The poet says: “He had shown them how to double tap — to set two bombs in the same place to make sure the maximum number of people possible are killed — and how to make bombs out of household stuff.

“Of course he had no idea that they would be using it against his own side. He told me, ‘we’re going to be there for years — they’re brilliantly trained’.”

Matt plays all 12 characters in the show, which received rave reviews at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival despite him admitting the decision to both act and direct made life very difficult for himself.

He has since taken on a director, Julia Nelson, to help him improve his portrayal of the characters.

It has also been on tour, including several dates in North America, where the reception was surprisingly warm.

“I was kinda worried in Indianapolis because it really is the Mid-West, but they loved it,” he says.

* Welcome To Afghanistan is at The Met, Bury, on Thursday, April 14. For tickets, £8 or £6 for concessions, visit themet.biz or ring 0161 761 2216.