Why has comedy been so influential? Who decides the line between funny and offensive? And how do we navigate this world with laughter?
Join us as we explore how comedy can help make sense of our world, along with a drink in hand.
Hosted at the Xafarix Bar: Av.Dom Carlos | 69, 1200-647 Lisboa. Doors open at 18:45.
FREE
Thursday, 15th May 2025
19:00-20:30
COMEDIANS
PRANNAY REDDY
XINYI LI
JOÃO CRUZ
LANGUAGE
This live event will be in English.
Why is comedy so influential? Is it because there is more to it than just laughs? From “silly” court jesters calling out kings to satirists shaping revolutions, comedy, for the most part, has been more than just entertainment. It has been a mirror to society and has made it one of the oldest tools for reality checks.
In this Ar in a Bar event, we lean into this legacy, blending humor with real questions about how we communicate, react, and (maybe) overreact in today’s world. So join us for a night where sarcasm, science, and society collide. In a world addicted to instant outrage and knee-jerk reactions, let us pause, think deeper, and laugh with punchlines grounded in critical thinking, historical hindsight, and linguistic quirks. And it doesn’t end with the last punchline as after Prannay, Xinyi and João give their comedic takes, we will have an open discussion where both the comedians and audience members unpack some of the themes raised on stage—no mic drops, just real talk.
Sometimes, jokes and conversations are just the beginning. We hope these conversations can spark journeys for a deeper understanding of how we got to this point in our society.
Ar in a Bar is one of the offshoots of the Ar family (the others being Ar Events and the online Ar Magazine). We aim to create a cosy, friendly atmosphere to have interesting discussions about many different topics in small groups. Our emphasis is on learning together, as part of a community, so we won’t have long talks by individual speakers, but instead will spend most of our time in discussions and explorations of ideas. No prior knowledge of the topic we’re discussing that day, or any scientific training, is necessary.
Why in a bar?
The students at Champalimaud Research have been performing extensive research on themselves and have concluded that beer is beneficial to thinking about science.
Where will this event be held?
The event will be held in the lovely Xafarix Bar: Av. Dom Carlos I 69, 1200-647 Lisboa, with a bar stocked with the drinks you need. Doors open at 6:45pm so that you can buy drinks before the event.
Comedians
Prannay Reddy
Prannay Reddy is an INDP PhD student in neuroscience at the Champalimaud Research Foundation with a focus on revealing the neural mechanisms behind impulsivity and aversive behaviors. He uses comedy as a coping mechanism to deal with the peaks and valleys of being a researcher and thinks it is a useful tool for making science more communicable on YouTube.
Xinyi Li
Xinyi Li, made in China and broke in Portugal, wisely launched her comedy career amidst the global pandemic while doing a PhD in linguistics, and has performed in Portugal and countries such as Germany, Spain, and the U.K. After a successful first Edinburgh fringe run with two split shows, Xinyi continues to explore cultural shenanigans, language kerfuffles, and her love-hate relationship with being an immigrant in the city she chose to call home — Lisbon.
João Cruz
João Cruz is a marine biologist turned science manager, who later shifted gears into sustainability.
He got into stand-up comedy with the group Cientistas de Pé and realized that humor can be a powerful tool to make science more relatable—and a little less boring.
Worried about climate change, he’s looking forward to sea level rise, so his T2 in Buraca can finally get a sea view
Hosts
Daniela Pereira
Daniela Pereira is a Research Scientist in the Neural Circuits Dysfunction Lab at the Champalimaud Foundation. Daniela’s projects focus on understanding how neuronal connections are reshaped to support motor learning. She is also an amateur theater student and a frequent participant and organizer of science outreach activities.
Luisa Vasconcelos
Luisa Vasconcelos is a Research Associate running the Innate Behavior Laboratory at Champalimaud Foundation where they use fruit flies to chart the neural basis of instinct. She is also an overenthusiastic newbie to amateur theater.