No one likes a cleverclogs – except perhaps when it’s a one-on-one battle of the wits between two comedians.

The brainchild of promoter Angela Barnes and hosted by comic Mark Allen, The Humble Quest For A Universal Genius is inspired by a desire to find a Renaissance man or woman for the 21st century – a Leonardo Da Vinci type-character who can excel at all things from language to music to art.

While challengers Tom Bell and Julie Jepson both displayed determination, not unsurprisingly they came up short of the grand master’s standards. But it wasn’t without a fair share of giggles of self-deprecation and laughter from the Komedia audience.

The idea itself was of Da Vinchi-esque origin. Get two fairly well-known comedians to make fools of themselves by performing (mostly) unplanned tasks in front of a paying audience.

It has Channel Four Friday night slot written all over it.

The art round, where the two comedians had to make sculptures out of Plasticine, and poetry round, where they had five minutes to come up with a verse about salami, were both huge amounts of fun.

Other rounds, such as the trash-talking round, just didn’t really pay off.

It took a while for the challengers to warm up but, after the initial shock, the audience and the participants quickly settled into what was ultimately a good-humoured and unexpected evening.