Goran Vinčić Vinča in Niš on October 11 - the Croatian comedian lined up for the first home-grown solo stand-up show at Arena Zagreb

Goran Vinčić, known to audiences as Vinča, performs tonight, October 11, from 20:00 in the Cine Grand hall at the Delta Planet shopping centre in Niš with his stand-up show "Komedija je ozbiljna stvar" ("Comedy Is a Serious Business"). Two more nights are scheduled in Belgrade, on October 29 and 30, at the Ben Akiba comedy club.

Vinča comes from Mirkovci near Vinkovci, in Slavonia. A wider audience got to know him through the TV show "Stanje nacije" ("State of the Nation"), he had a small part in the hit comedy "Svadba" ("The Wedding"), and he is a member of the comedy collective BIS. His biggest solo show so far was in front of 3,500 people at Belgrade's Hala sportova, and at a charity night with colleagues at Split's Gripe hall he played to 4,200. Croatian media are billing him as the first home-grown stand-up comedian with a solo show at Arena Zagreb, the country's biggest venue.

He takes his material from his own life: three kids, a wife and grandma Dušanka, one of the most frequent subjects of his jokes. The tour title is also his creed. In an interview with "Novi list" he said comedy is a very serious business and not something to joke about. A Croatian comedian with a record crowd of 3,500 in a Belgrade arena - in the Balkans, a joke clearly crosses the border faster than any customs officer.

Tickets for Niš cost 1,800 dinars (about 947 denars) and are on sale at tickets.rs. For the first Belgrade night at Ben Akiba, on October 29, tickets are 1,500 dinars (about 789 denars).