STEWART Francis promises his head will not explode on Sunday night. The Canadian comedian is known for cracking out the best one-liners around, but in such rapid and brain-spinning succession that a whole show might be too much, so he does slow down a little.

“Yes, I think my head might explode – and the audience’s too,” says Stewart, talking, as it happens, at a sensible pace and without any of his customary razored-down wordplay.

So the show will mix the favourite frantic puns, rattled off in quick-fire fashion, each one cleverer and dafter than the last, with other comic routines to vary the pace.

Here is a typical Francis quip, as aired on TV shows such as Mock The Week or on tour with Ricky Gervais, as support act on his autumn Science tour… “Is my wife dissatisfied with my body? A tiny part of me says yes.” That joke, like all those he performs, will have been tried out first on his wife. “All my jokes have been Helen-approved,” says Stewart. “And the ones she’s not so sure about, she says ‘Perhaps you should try that out on stage’.”

And is she a good guide? “Oh yes, she’s the funniest person I know. In fact, we just sit around and make each other laugh, which is nice.”

Asked if he is funny in person, Stewart says that people seem to think so. “My wife says I am funnier when I’m not performing. She likes what I do on stage, but she says I am funnier off stage.”

With all those finely honed wisecracks to approve, Helen must be kept busy. Stewart says that in general he confines himself to thinking up two or three new jokes a day, although he can produce more under pressure.

Here is another typical Stewart Francis joke – a throwaway remark, indeed: “The other day, in the park, I was wondering why frisbees look bigger and bigger as they get closer to you. And then it hit me.”

Although Stewart, 50, is from Toronto, he left Canada for career reasons, because there are more opportunities to be funny over here. He has lived in England for two years, and is keeping busy. His tour, which takes in the Hyena Comedy Lounge at City Screen York, on Sunday, has been arranged to build on the increasing number of television appearances.

As for Gervais, Stewart is full of praise. “I’m a big fan of his work and I’m a bigger fan of the man,” he says.

The future holds more touring, perhaps at 1,500-seat venues with Gervais alongside smaller haunts such as the Hyena Comedy Lounge. More acting work would be nice, says Stewart, who appeared in a popular sitcom in Canada called An American In Canada.

He’s never been to York before, only passed through on the train. He will be getting off the train on Sunday, his pockets stuffed with puns, one-liners and comic observations.

• Tickets: 08707 583 219 or online at hyenalounge.co.uk