Did you know that, on average, cows kill 20 people in the US every year? Or that you can cut your chances of dying from a heart attack by 50 per cent if you drink eight bottles of wine a week? Or that you have a 0.000043 per cent chance of dying during a performance of Your Days Are Numbered: The Maths of Death?

Taking comedy in a new and thought-provoking direction, 'stand-up mathematician' Matt Parker and writer and comedian Timandra Harkness discover that death is a funny thing.

“We thought we'd find out what the facts and figures of death were,” Timandra says. “We thought it would be quite a dark, scary show but the more research we did, the more we found the picture was actually quite cheerful.

“We're saying, don't just listen to the headlines – look at the facts and figures and make your own mind up. There's always stuff coming out, scary headlines, but when you look at the research it's a lot of speculation.”

The pair are touring the show around the UK and it has already received rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and at science festivals across the country. But “you don't need to know any maths to get the show,” Timandra says. “It's aimed at anybody with a sense of humour.”

But undoubtedly the show will attract a certain type of audience member. At Edinburgh, she remembers, “someone in the front row shouted out: 'Which year are you taking your data from?' That was definitely one of our most unusual heckles!”

Your Days Are Numbered: The Maths of Death is coming to artsdepot, Nether Street, North Finchley on Saturday, February 18th at 7.30pm. Details: 020 8369 5454, www.artsdepot.co.uk