Tiff Stevenson, a London based comedian who first made waves in 2011 after coming third in the British reality show Show Me The Funny, has just finished a revival of her 2014 Edinburgh show Optimist at the Soho Theatre. Hitting that impressive combination of being both riotously amusing yet highly thought provoking, Optimist covers a plethora of topics from the NHS to the scourge of the Kardashians to interpretive dance with Kate Bush. I managed to ensnare a few minutes of Tiff's time for a quick interivew.

In 'Optimist', you talk about your struggles with depression and several attempts at suicide in your youth. What are the difficulties in taking a serious subject matter such as this and integrating it into a comedy routine?

The kind of stand up I love matters. I don't care whether it matters to just the individual on stage, the audience or the world at large, so long as it matters to someone. I also like silliness and surrealism but I want the stakes to be high and that's the kind of stand up I've always aspired to perform.

I think about what I want to talk about and why that is strange or odd and then that’s how it becomes funny. I always work out how I feel about a topic first and I try to not separate myself from it, including the dark stuff. Once I know how I feel, it makes it easier to find the funny. That way I think the audience tend to go with you.

Although, whilst touring Australia last year, a woman came up to me in Marysville, Victoria. Here is a transcript of the conversation:

Her: Many people tried to commit suicide after the forest fires here, did you know that before the show? 

Me: No 

Her: Would you still have done those jokes?

Me: Yes 

Her: Well, I find that really offensive.

Me: I do stuff that may be considered taboo from a personal angle. I do stuff about abortion and suicide.

Her: Oh, I wasn't offended by the abortion stuff.

Me: Of course you weren't, because it didn't affect you, so really you have no right to be offended by the other stuff. 

Anyway, it ended with her backing down and apologising for having a go at me...so I guess my point is that talking about these topics doesn't come without some kind of risk. Also, you are constantly working out the boundaries on stage which is why gigging all the time is so important. I always like to be solid about why I am doing a particular piece of material. A very long answer!

You've stated that we are currently in an 'Arsehole Apocalypse and the Kardashians are riding the horses’. Who do you blame for the current obsession with 'celebrity culture'? The media? The consumers? The celebrities?

I think it is a mix and it's something that I am actually exploring more in my new show. Cult of personality...that kind of thing. I feel like we are definitely being sold our identity. I think there has been a relentless push on the Kardashians and now people are defending Kim saying 'Just leave her alone, she's not that bad' and turning her into this Marilyn Monroe type figure which she most definitely is not. 

The Kardashians are basically famous and loaded because the dad, Robert got OJ off of his murder charge. I'm sure Pistorius's lawyer is sat by the phone waiting for E! to call. Then we can all witness the happy-go-lucky gun toting South African dream. 

It's a bizarre world where talent has been replaced by notoriety. When I saw that 27 million people follow Kim Kardashian on Instagram, my first thought was - why don't they like themselves more?  Then I felt mega depressed that this is the world we live in.

Do you think the British need more optimism in everyday life?

Yes, we do hate ourselves a bit too much. The British have done some terrible stuff going back to the days of the Empire and I think there is a constant apology hanging in the air for that. However, there is a lot to be proud of about Britain. For instance, we are truly multi-cultural in a way America isn't. I always thought America was a melting pot but all the cultures are quite separated, even in the big cities...Little Italy, the Mexican Quarter etc. We are much more cohesive.

We also have phenomenal artists, performers, sports people, architects, designers and thinkers from many cultural and class divides. That said, I do have one caveat: I'd like to see more working class voices in the Arts as I think we have been regressing there for the past few years. Other things to be optimistic about include our beautiful historical buildings and great parks and waterways, despite the shitty, shitty transport. 

I am incredibly proud and lucky to be a Londoner. Whenever I fly home to Heathrow, you do that swoop of the city and it’s so beautiful to me. I play hide and seek with the Thames...she disappears for a bit then comes back and it always makes me smile. I just made the river a woman...but of course she is. 

So, I love being British. However, the Americans have a palpable sense of optimism and I love that about them and I love being a part of it.

Who do you think has produced the best comedy outputs - Britain or America?

They are very different. The type of stand up I love is mostly American and dead, such as George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Joan Rivers. Joan was a huge eye opener as she was the first person I saw who made me go 'Wow I could do that'. Current American comics that I love include Rich Hall, who I’m lucky enough to see at my weekly new material night The Old Rope and Mike Wilmot (Canadian). Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, Louis CK, Maria Bamford are just a few more to name. I also did the comedy festival in Kilkenny last year with Jake Johannsen and Kathleen Madigan who I LOVED. Also a loving mention to Todd Barry who is just brilliant, I did his podcast last year in New York which you can listen to here.

In terms of British Comedy, the women are kicking the shit out of it at the moment. Pretty much all of them: Roisin Conaty, Bridget Christie, Kath Ryan, Sara Pascoe, Aisling Bea, Nina Conti, Zoe Lyons etc. I think the fact that we have felt shut out a lot of the time means we've just got better and better and better. The guys haven't had to fight like that to get heard. I'm aware this sounds a bit like the plot of Whiplash but there is something in that. There are also loads of great newer girls coming through like Katy Mulgrew, Lucy Beaumont, Ellie Taylor, Hayley Elis, Laura Lexx, Lauren Pattinson, Jayde Adams and Mae Martin. I'm also aware that I will get a message after this saying I have missed out tons but that's how many fantastic women there are.

In 'Optimist', you talk about your appreciation of what the NHS did for you and the concern that the Tories are stripping it away. There tends to be a prevalent liberal attitude with most stand-up comics. Why do you think comedians do tend to be predominantly left wing?

I always thought stand up was about punching up and speaking where you see injustice. That doesn't mean everything has to be massively worthy but where is the fun in taking the piss out of the homeless or the poor or the vulnerable? Most stand-up ends with the protagonist mocking themselves, there is evident self-deprecation and maybe this doesn't come as easily to right wing people? I don't know.  There are comedians who are more right wing but even then I would say they are more centre… Maybe if you rant about right wing things onstage it feels like more of a rally? 

I think a healthy comedy scene has a mix of opinions. 

Saying that, the media is portraying all sides and this has led to characters like Katie Hopkins who is hateful for a biscuit. Imagine painting yourself into that corner where you become the defender of the rapist and the violent. Bleurgh.

One of the great things about going to see a stand-up comic doing a more intimate venue is that the relationship between comic and audience is often particularly personal and relatable. Do you think there's a danger of stand-ups losing this relatability as they 'make it big' and start doing panel shows, sitcoms, adverts etc?

Not if they carry on doing venues that feel intimate. I think that it’s less about success and more about the size of the rooms you play. Also, it depends on your stage persona. If you play low status or weedy, then that's going to be a problem if you become massively successful. On a panel show you are one in a mix and this collaboration with other people is enjoyable and, sometimes, a relief. The same goes with acting as you are part of a team and the weight is not solely on you, which can give you a degree of freedom.

In America, comics like Pryor and Carlin did movies but were still relatable because the same problems they talked about were still there...in fact, these problems were sometimes heightened by their success.

You've travelled a lot for your work as well. Which country, not including the UK, has given you your most fun and receptive audience?

I love Australia. I did the Adelaide Fringe, then Sydney and toured on the International roadshow so we got to travel round Australia on the road with lots of other great comics which was brilliant fun. The audiences were brilliant and there were all of these beautiful new theatres where everyone was so excited to see the shows. It's a sharp relief from London which is sometimes very cynical. I also love America, so far I've only gigged in New York but I loved it. I need to get out there more.

Have there been any "lost in translation" incidents abroad where your British sense of humour hasn't been received well? 

In Norway, they don't have vajazzling, so they just stared at me.

They also have a morning after pill called 'Micro Luton' and I kept trying to explain why that was funny to an English person. If there is one area in the UK that can't sustain life...the whole place smells of vodka, burning tires and crushed dreams.

Now Optimist has finished its run at the Soho Theatre, what else can we see you doing in the next few months?  

I have a few more tour dates left and then I'm about to make a start on four episodes of the new series of People Just Do Nothing. This is very exciting as it is a brilliant show; I’m also in the middle of making a documentary based on my 2012 show which is all about plastic surgery, pressure on women in the media, ageism and whether we are becoming less than human.

Oh and I’m also writing the new show for Edinburgh in August!!

Lastly, I was thrilled to see you reference two of my favourite movies - Beetlejuice and My Cousin Vinny - in your set. What are your top five movies of the 80s and 90s? 

Too hard to pick five! Those two are in there, in addition to Terminator 2, Point Break, Top Gun, Weird Science, Uncle Buck, Trading Places, Coming to America, Beverly Hills Cop - basically any 80s Eddie Murphy. Also, I owned every single Jean Claude Van Damme movie on VHS which is way too odd to get into now. Suffice to say I had a very weird specific crush on him 

Tiff Stevenson will perform Optimist at The Phoenix on the 24th March, Latitude festival and Glastonbury festival and her brand new show Mad Men at Edinburgh festival at The Stand Comedy Club from 4th-31st August. She can be found on Twitter @tiffstevenson