POET, stand-up or actor? Not even Tim Key himself can decide who he is.

“Well it depends who I’m talking to,” he says. “I like to think I’m unpigeon holeable, but I’m probably not.”

Certainly, when it comes to awards, you can safely say he falls neatly into the comedy bracket having picked up the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award for his 2009 show.

A mixture of poetry, talking, flights of fancy, film and occasional interaction with the audience, the show is now finally making its UK tour debut, arriving at the Colchester Arts Centre next week.

Tim explains: “I had quite a bit of work lined up after Edinburgh, so I never got around to touring it. The show did a brief run in London and I’ve performed it in Australia, but this is the first time I’ve been able to take it on the road in the UK.

“The last time I was in Colchester was right at the start of my career back in 2002.

“Then I was a rather uneasy stand-up. It took me a while to find what I liked doing, but now I’m really happy with it.”

Tim has gradually carved out his own poetic comedy niche appearing on such shows as Charlie Brooker’s Newswipe, Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better on BBC Radio 4 and Tom Basden’s BBC Radio 4 play Party.

Most recently he has been working with one of his comedy heroes, Steve Coogan for his new online series of shows featuring failed TV presenter Alan Partridge, called Mid Morning Matters.

Tim says: “That job was absolutely crazy.

“Sitting in a room with one of your comedy heroes is one thing.

“Sitting in a room with them as Alan Partridge was just mad and brilliant all at the same time.

“Working ridiculously close with him in a soundproof booth virtually for the whole day, you can definitely learn a lot. It was a real treat.”