Jimmy Carr, Sheffield City Hall

EVEN if you've never seen Jimmy Carr's live stand-up before, his (numerous) TV appearances prepare you for the fact that seemingly nothing is a taboo subject for his comedy.

Live, it's absolutely clear this is the case. From the events of 9/11 to amorous advances to animals, nothing seems to escape his scattergun approach to gags that have the audience taking it in turns to laugh, cheer, applaud and gasp in shock.

Sometimes his rapid fire delivery as he reels off the one-and-two-liners can be exhausting; there are times when you feel like you're trapped in front of a relentless firing squad.

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What he is best at is audience involvement, and it's clear that's what he enjoys most, feeding off the punters voraciously, an unstoppable machine firing back insults to hecklers with all the ease of a crack SAS soldier.

The wisecracks are so thick and fast that a brief moment of sincerity – when he tells of his admiration for the comedy genius Johnny Vegas – almost wrong-foots you, as you wait for the punch line that never comes.

It's moments like this, when he steps briefly out of comedy character, that you glimpse a rather likeable human being behind the onstage Jimmy Carr persona. But, before we get too used to that idea, he's cracking the near-the-knuckle gags again. And the audience is laughing and gasping again. He's back here on March 14.

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