IN an era of doom and gloom, Imran Yusuf’s lighthearted brand of satire could prove the perfect pick-me-up.

The comedian admits he is “one of those irritatingly optimistic people”.

Born in Kenya, raised in Hackney and schooled in America, he is a self-confessed outsider who nevertheless says: “If you’re coming from a background where the odds are stacked against you, you can either shut up and put up with it or try and make your own luck.”

And at last year’s Edinburgh Festival, that’s exactly what Yusuf did.

Despite not having an hour’s worth of material he booked himself a slot as part of the Laughing Horse Free Festival, intending to “learn along the way how to do it”.

But within a few days, with five-star reviews rolling in and packed-out audiences, it became clear that the “slow and steady” plan was somewhat redundant.

By the end of the festival, Yusuf had a Best Newcomer nomination, an invitation to appear on Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and a fearsome reputation to live up to.

“I love my craft and want to be the best I can be,” he says.

“It didn’t matter that I didn’t have the big management and the big budget — just because you’re on the free scene doesn’t mean that you can’t put on a good show.”

Much of the show deals, perhaps unsurprisingly, with identity.

“We live in a very polarised world,” says the comedian.

“Wherever I go I never feel like I fit in, but my opinion is that we all live the same life, we just look at it from different perspectives.”

And while comedy audiences were once almost totally white, Yusuf says he has seen an increasing number of Asian faces at his recent gigs.

“Everybody laughs in the same language,” he says.

“Comedy is a good way to build bridges and to diminish the things that people are afraid of.”

l An Audience with Imran Yusuf is at the Albert Halls, Bolton on Thursday, May 12 then Mechanics, Burnley on Saturday, Saturday May 14.