Tim Minchin

"There'll be me and a piano and songs about fat children and muslims and other stuff that I think about. There'll be some large hair and I'll talk about things and might do a poem about perineums," says comedian and songwriter Tim Minchin of his upcoming Fringe show 'So Rock'.

"And there'll be lights so people can see and special magic electronic devices for making me loud. There'll be laughter and happiness and about 1 in every 500 people will write an angry letter about swearing and Jesus," he continues. It has to be said that Minchin's brand of satirical composition, with songs like The Palestinian Peace Anthem, is the sort of thing that might ruffle a few feathers.

"I have received a few angry letters," he tells me. "The most recent from a chap who saw my show in a regional town here in the UK. He suggested that my use of swearing showed that I wasn't a good comedian and that my irreligiousness was a clichˇ." How does one respond to that? "I would like to say criticism doesn't bother me, but it still does. I'm trying to get better at dealing with it, but y'know... I'm still getting accustomed to the idea that people give a shit about what I say at all. I should add that the vast majority of the feedback I get is extremely positive!"

It certainly is, if the awards and critical acclaim Minchin have received are anything to go by. However controversial he may be, his shows seem to be a hit with the crowds. "We are - it seems - programmed to accept and embrace music, so one can exploit the traditions of music: slip contention in behind the convention. Don't get me wrong though, I certainly don't set out to be shocking, and in the world of modern art, I'm pretty tame," he explains. "All I try to do is give the audience the benefit of the doubt: I go in with the assumption that they are intelligent and liberal in their thought."

But there's more to Tim Minchin than just funny lyrics and a truly mesmerising head of hair: he's a serious composer, and has acted on the stage in shows like 'Amadeus' and 'Hamlet', which he describes as "really laborious, and I find it much more tiring and in some ways, less immediately satisfying [than comedy]... but an exciting challenge."

And he's not about to start resting on his laurels now. For the moment he's busy, as he puts it, "touring my arse off", but he has plenty planned for the future. "I have a little bit of interest from various TV and radio types... I just need to make sure the idea I go to them with is one I want to make. I also want to get back in the studio, write a musical, make sure I keep a bit of acting up. Maybe direct.

"I want a long, varied career, rather than a short, crazy one. I'm like the opposite of Kurt Cobain," he adds.

Henry Nicholls

Tim Minchin performs in the Umbrella Revolution from Tues 20 March