When comic Steve Day stumbled into an art exhibition by mistake he was struck by inspiration.

At that moment he knew what he had to do: Bring art history to the masses. Steve, who is the UK's only deaf comic, started off in 2002 with a wry, one-man show about the dilemmas faced by people who can't hear called Deaf In The Afternoon. It went down a storm at the Edinburgh Festival, and he toured with it in early 2005.

Over the years Steve has built up an impressive reputation and is now a regular voice on BBC Radio Four. But his latest project launches Steve in a different direction, and he admits he's not quite sure how to classify it.

"It's either a comedy show with serious bits in it or a serious show with funny bits in it," he says. "I've done it because I love art, but it always seems to be presented and curated in a stuffy, elitist way.

"I came across something quite by chance and was captured by it. It has taken me on a voyage of discovery, so there's a lot about me in it, there's a lot of humour."

Steve - who classes himself as "an oik from Stevenage" - applies his average Joe credentials to demystify the world of art. He tells the tales behind the works of painters such as Caravaggio and Rembrandt, and casts an amused eye over their eccentric lifestyles. "You don't have to know about art to enjoy it," he says. "You just have to be open to new ideas.

"You may question my lack of expert knowledge - that's all part of the fun of the show - but I don't think you'll question how much it means to me."

And, says Steve, he hopes there will be room for a bit of high-tech audience participation too.

"If I can work the projector, there will be slides," he says.

"I may get the audience to select them randomly. It'll add a bit of excitement."