Some might say that Jimmy Carr has made a career out of insulting people.

When I put this to him he sounds a bit hurt: "Thanks for that. I would have said lovingly-crafted one-liners.

Lovingly-crafted they may be, one-liners they certainly are. But they are also undeniably cruel.

One such gag goes: "Someone came up to me last week and complained about a joke. Quite a big boned girl. She said, 'I think youre fattist. I said, 'No, I think youre fattest'.

"It's big, it's clever and it's funny but it does make you wince.

Carr's dry delivery of these well-honed missiles adds to their sting.

On stage, he wears a suit, has his hair in a slightly creepy side-parting and wears a look of bemusement, as if in confusion that anyone could find what he says offensive.

He looks, in fact, remarkably like a Shell Oil marketing executive or not so remarkably, as that was actually his pre-comedy profession.

"It was actually good good job, good money," he says without that much irony in his voice. "There was a good pension scheme. It was tough to leave.

"That's very much what it is to be middle class in this country, you've always got quite a safe option go and work for a big oil company, that'll be nice and you end up being tempted never to take a risk.

Luckily, Carr took the risk. Of his new job, he says: "It doesn't even feel like work, it's a joy to do.

"You do have to put the hours in comedy writing is all about being bothered to get up at three in the morning and note down a half-arsed idea.

"But I know people with proper nine to five jobs reading this will be going: 'Hmm, that's work is it? Pitching up in Brighton and talking for two hours?'"

With a Perrier nomination and a Time Out award to his credit since his fairly recent debut and an American series of his successful Channel 4 game show Distraction under his belt, he's achieved as much success in comedy as he previously did with Shell's black gold.

But then, as he's the first to admit, underneath the caustic quips there's a middleclass boy with a strong work ethic.

"In the words of NWA, I am just keeping it real but my real, isn't being from Compton and rapping. My real is coming from the Home Counties and being a little bit uptight, I'm just being exactly who I am."

Start 8pm, Tickets £16/£14.