FELLOW comic Stewart Lee calls clever Canadian chap Tony Law “the sherpa of stand-up".

If you have seen Law on Have I Got News For You on BBC1, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle and The Culture Show on BBC2, Russell Howard's Good News on BBC3 or 8 Out Of 10 Cats on Channel 4, then you will know what Lee means.

Law is taking his “absurd, loud and ridiculous comedy” all over Britain in March, bringing his 2012 Edinburgh Fringe show, Maximum Nonsense, to the Hyena Lounge Comedy Club in City Screen’s Basement in York on Sunday; The Library, Leeds, on Monday; the Fruit Space, Hull, on April 14; and the Milton Rooms, Malton, on April 17.

Originally one hour long, Law’s show has upped the level of “maximum”, now that it is divided into 45-minute halves, “beefed up with new material that I’ll be working on for the next Edinburgh show”, reveals Tony.

Why has he called it “Maximum Nonsense”? 

“Because you have to come up with a title, so I knew there would be nonsense and I thought I better it make to the maximum,” says Tony, before defining his version of nonsense in a show where everything is “a little louder”.

“Nonsense? Well, I don’t know! That’s the thing: lots of jumping around, shouting, ranting and raving and hopefully getting a laugh. Silliness mainly, with a bit of an art installation and some video projections as well.

“But the show is vaguely socially political underneath…and it’s also a little satirical. Hard to explain really.”

Tony gives the show an historical element too. “I’ve got some Viking material in there. I imagine being a Viking. That’s my angle,” he says.

And yes, he has visited the Jorvik Viking Centre, here in York. “I sure have been there. I always go in and look at the swords. Been there twice,” he says.

Tony always builds his material from improvisation, taking the chance each night to “go off track in the middle” to keep the show exciting and find out where it takes him.

He also does short sets, maybe 20 minutes, around London at comedy gigs such as the Old Rope new material nights on Mondays at The Phoenix in Oxford Street, adding five minutes of fresh silliness each time to build up for his Edinburgh summer run.

“Silliness seems to be the simplest form of comedy but it’s not. It’s got a right high rate of ‘miss-ability’, which is terrifying, but it’s more terrifying not to have new stuff. You’ve got to be brave,” says Tony.

He savours the element of surprise. “That’s my favourite part of comedy: to be surprised by a gag. If you think a joke’s going in one direction, but then the comedian switches it, that’s what I love,” he says.

Does Maximum Nonsense have a serious point beyond the silliness? “If there’s a point to it, then lovely. I keep my meaning there, but not on the surface,” says Tony.

“It takes a little mining to find it and hopefully people will think about it afterwards, and decide that ‘maybe it was not just silly; maybe it was about love or whatever too’.”

Tony may be Canadian but he has lived in Britain since the age of 19, having come here initially “just to travel around after l left studying because I wasn’t that bright”.

“One thing led to another and I’ve now been here for 23 years; married, with two children,” he says.

He first dipped his toe in comedy waters in the late 1990s and turned full time in the early 2000s, becoming a headline attraction over past four years: a Law unto himself, you could say.

Followers of the Law school of nonsense will be awaiting his 2013 Edinburgh show keenly. “That’s the plan; a new show for this summer,” he says.

Does he have a title? “Not yet, but you’ve got me thinking about it.”

Tony Law presents Maximum Nonsense at Hyena Lounge Comedy Club, Basement, City Screen, York, on Sunday at 7.30pm. Doors open at 7pm.

The Saturday Night Lounge bill this weekend features Alex Boardman, Jason Cook, Allyson Smith and Caimh McDonnell; doors, 7.15pm, start, 8pm.

Box office: hyenalounge.com or 0871 902 5726.