Indeed it’s not. And even more so now, than when that phrase was uttered to award winning UK playwright Henry Naylor in the early 2000s as the reason for cancelling several of his comedy gigs, including one on BBC Radio 2. Never-the-less this single hander, having its world premier at Holden Street Theatres IS funny – at times. It’s also dramatic, provocative and on occasions delivers a punch to the solar plexus. It’s the story of what happens when you venture to Afghanistan with a seasoned war photographer to research and find images to enhance a comedy show being written for the Edinburgh Fringe. As you do. That’s even how they explained their presence to a rather menacing Afghan warlord. As you would. Interspersed with phone conversations with his therapist, Naylor takes you on a verbal journey to tank graveyards, crushed neighbourhoods, all but demolished villages, even a currently operating (at the time) air base. All illustrated with very real and at times disturbing images taken by his travelling companion and photographer Sam Maynard on a screen behind him. But don’t let this grim premise turn you away. Naylor digresses along the way, and there is enough humour to soften the blows (at least for the audience), to make this performance as entertaining as it is thought provoking. As a footnote, the show for which the images were gathered, “Finding Bin Laden” was a success at Edinburgh, almost leading to a movie starring Hugh Grant. But not quite. That is a story in itself, which helps lighten the narrative, and is engagingly told by Naylor. Afghanistan Is Not Funny is playing in The Studio at Holden Street Theatres until March 13.