He might look like a bearded reject from the Munich beer festival with his long greasy hair, thick-rimmed specs and flares but don't be fooled. Daniel Kitson is definitely no pushover.

As anyone who has seen this Perrier Comedy Award winner perform will know, he's the dark prince of profanity, turning swearing into an art form and woe-betide any heckler who dares take on his whiplash responses.

Born in Yorkshire to academic parents - one a teacher, one a lecturer - Kitson chose his comedic career at 13, the age when most adolescent boys were just starting to give in to the testosterone call of raging hormones.

By 16, he was already performing stand-up and gained recognition when he became the youngest ever runner up of the Daily Telegraph's Open Mic Award.

A drama degree at Roehampton Institute followed which lead to regular gigs on the peripheral club circuit. As with many cult comedians, his reputation grew steadily by word-of-mouth, although it wasn't until his debut at The Edinburgh Festival that his notoriety really began to take off.

Now after what his agent calls a "four-month sabbatical", during which he has apparently been indulging in fun things (attending weddings, buying Amelie posters and experimenting with lots of Nigel Slater recipes), Kitson is back playing a few gigs in rooms he likes and more crucially in rooms he hopes to fill, without too much publicity.

This is a man who remains resolutely disinterested in fame and all the trappings it brings with it.

Since winning the Perrier, the willfully untrendy short-tongued stutterer has been inundated with offers promising to turn him into the next big thing. But apart from the occasional cameo appearance in Peter Kaye's Phoenix Nights, he has remained "reluctant and ungracious", in keeping with his non-conformist stage persona of the school misfit.

"Because of who I am on stage, the nature of what I think and feel all come from not being part of the mainstream, of not fitting in," he says - although he assures us that despite (or indeed because of this adversity) he will be funny.

Starts 8pm, Tickets £12.50/£10, Tel 01273 709709