Jeff Green: Forest Arts Centre, New Milton and Nuffield Theatre, Southampton

JUST as Halley's Comet is supposed to portend doom and disaster on a grand scale - the Battle of Hastings, the start of the First World War, Crossroads finishing etc - an eclipse is a virtual guarantee that comedian Jeff Green will pop up in New Milton.

The day after last year's once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse - which he spent entertaining sky-watchers in Cornwall - he played his first gig in the New Forest town.

That in itself was an experience almost as strange as the much-hyped cosmic conjunction.

"I had to drive up from Cornwall and arrived in New Milton in the dark. There was this marquee in the middle of the village square, where I was supposed to be performing.

"I had no idea I was going to be doing my act in a big top. I felt like some kind of strolling jester."

But he admits the audience was "fantastic" and says he is looking forward to his return visit - this time in the slightly more conventional setting of Forest Arts Centre (and, by spooky coincidence, just days after another eclipse).

Green, who says he is more often recognised by his voice (slightly high-pitched and squeaky, though fortunately not on a Joe Pasquale scale) than his boyish but apparently forgettable face, kicks off his latest UK tour at Forest Arts on January 19, with a date at Southampton Guildhall to follow on February 19.

Like most of the Ben Elton generation of comedians, Green's comedy is of the intimate, confessional kind, the laughter arising from recognition rather than being a kneejerk reaction to obvious "Here's a good one"-type jokes.

"It's the first time I've done this new material since Edinburgh, so it will probably be all over the place," he said.

"It's difficult coming up with new material. I've plundered my family background and relationships, but you have to do that if you want it to come from the heart.

"You won't get that resonance with your audience if you don't know what you're talking about."

This is probably due to the fact his stage persona is less exaggerated than many of his contemporaries'. You'll certainly see more Jeff Greens than Eddie Izzards propping up the bar at your local.

"For me, it's been a slow ascent because I want it to be. If you want it badly enough, you'll go and change your name and make yourself unique and memorable.

"If you look at the comics who have made it quite big, like Jack Dee, Jo Brand and Lee Evans, you can describe them all in two words. I don't think you can describe me in two words."

Smart is one word you might use to describe Green. At the behest of his agent, a sharply-tailored suit has replaced the casual on-stage garb.

"People pay good money to come and see you, so they expect you to look smart.

"I saw Stan Boardman in a show and he looked like he'd just come off the golf course. I was a bit

disappointed.

"I thought, 'I wish you'd made a bit more of an effort for us'."

n Green can be seen at Forest Arts Centre, New Milton on January 19 (box office: 01425 612393) and Southampton Guildhall on February 18