COMEDIANS are standing up for mental health issues by raising more than £2,000 for charity Oxfordshire Mind.

Harry Househam and Alex Farrow from Oxford University-based Tightfive Comedy have committed to giving back to an organisation they feel supports both students and comedians by hosting stand-up gigs.

The duo have organised bi-monthly shows at Jericho Cafe over the last year for the cause.

Mr Househam said: “It’s a cause that unites. When we decided to give back, there was only one issue we could think of that is faced by students and comedians alike – mental health.”

“We don’t take any profit from it. Once the travel costs and all that are covered it all goes to Oxfordshire Mind.”

The pair met while auditioning for an improvised comedy group, and they had the idea to starting booking their own comedy shows for the university.

Mr Househam, 21, recently graduated with a degree in archaeology and anthropology while Mr Farrow, 29, teaches at Oxford’s philosophy school.

In addition to the monthly shows at Jericho Cafe and College Comedy nights, Tightfive also hosts two academic themed shows, Stand-Up Philosophy and Stand-Up History.

Mr Househam said: “The academic shows are a trend in the comedy circuit.

"The franchise of the Stand-Up Philosophy that we run in Oxford sells incredibly. We’d put an event on Facebook online, and over 1,000 people would invite themselves.

“When it started out, Alex and I were doing the odd gig in Oxford but there weren’t many audience members.

“We got the idea that we could start booking shows for the school.

“It all escalated from there. We work with 13 colleges now and there’s more being booked.

“It’s very hard to get Oxford students out to see stuff because so much goes on at the college. We thought – why not take it directly to their house?"

Their comedic antics have taken them all over the world, but they are incredibly proud to promote happiness in the city they call home. Although they have helped to fundraise for organisations such as Oxford Pride, Oxfordshire Stars and Oxford Rape Crisis, their primary focus is Oxfordshire Mind.

Mind provides support for those struggling with any mental health issues, and has offices in Witney, Abingdon, Banbury and Oxford City.

Debbie Backhouse, the Finance Resource Manager for Oxfordshire Mind, said: “The money will really help us to enhance our services and our localities.

“This is quite a big donation, and obviously lovely to have. We usually get smaller donations in the hundreds, but amount to around £35,000 per year.”