ANY reasonably bred human being knows that in polite society one does not mention politics, money – especially if you have none to speak of – and religion.

Mitch Benn never got the message, so draw your own conclusions.

After penning an ode to IKEA, touching upon national identity in the lively ditty You Hate Britain and protesting against the Iraq conflict in Happy Birthday War, he is set to tackle the most contentious of the Verboten Three — religion — in his new tour Don’t Believe a Word.

“There is stuff about religion and that’s probably going to upset some people,” he admits unrepentantly.

“But in this country it’s hard to cause controversy, though, because no one really cares. That’s one of the best things about Britain,” adds the comedian slash musician cum radio performer moonlighting as a sci-fi author (he evades simple labels).

Like most of his contemporaries, or so he assures me, Mitch Benn “got side-tracked into” comedy. A Spanish and French student at Edinburgh University he fell in with its arty, theatrical crowd and became one of the original members of the now storied improv troupe, The Improverts.

“That’s what got me into stand-up in the 90s and I incorporated funny songs in there from day one. It never occurred to me not to,” says the 45-year-old Scouser.

Growing up “surrounded by music”, his stature (he was the tallest child around) made him the perfect candidate to play double bass in his school orchestra. As the age of 15, though, he gave up the cumbersome instrument for a more manageable and hip guitar.

It is not until his fateful year abroad, or as he sees it, university-enforced Canadian exile, that he honed his signature blend of satirical songs and comedic interludes.

“I had been living in Spain all year and then they told me – I didn’t decide – to spent the summer of 1991 in Canada. It was somewhere I could speak French. The guy who brought improv to Edinburgh uni was a Canadian guy and I basically went and found his old improv buddies at this comedy club in Montreal and ended up doing open spots for lack of anything better to do. And that’s been it.

I always knew I would end up doing something like this, whether it be something to do with musical theatre or writing and performance. The thing about stand-up is that it combines all these. It was the obvious solution.”

Churning out songs for BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show and his own tours, he has learnt to embrace any whim, idea or titbit of current affairs coming his way. Some tunes have endured, others have faded away.into the ether - he is well aware this is the name of the game If the titles are anything to go by – The Church of Santa, You Wouldn’t Say that about the Muslim – his latest show’s fresh repertoire promises some lasting gems.

While mostly vivisecting religion, Don’t Believe a Word also explores scepticism, glossing over the countless hours Benn has whiled away taking ‘loonies’ to task online.

“It’s my scepticism show. I just thought ‘What do I waste time on?’ and I realised the thing I waste the most time on is arguing with religious loonies on Twitter. I can’t help it. I don’t mind people expressing their beliefs, what I don’t like is when people misrepresent mine.

“I keep getting sucked into these arguments. So the show is about not believing stuff until there’s a good reason for you to believe it – evidence. There is also stuff about homeopathy and astrology. It’s fairly harmless. I think I’m fairly even-handed in my criticism of everything,” he adds.

For the first time in his career, the topic prompted him to reconsider his liberal use of satirical songs.

“Oddly enough I thought it might be more chat than music, one of the less song-heavy ones, but when I came to write it I thought that if anything it needed more music because a lot of it is me trying to make points and you can make more interesting and entertaining point with a tune.”

Benn has now added author to his growing CV with the publication of the first two volumes of Terra, his sci-fi trilogy.

His penchant for the genre can be traced back to his obsession with Doctor Who growing up. He was a member of Doctor Who Appreciation Society in the 80s, has written a song warning his relatives never to disturb him during an audience with the Doctor (understand every Saturday night during the season’s run) and he even showed great powers of prediction when he tipped Peter Capaldi as a great choice before he was even cast for the role.

“I am a massive Doctor Who fan,” he corrects a throwaway comment suggesting he is merely ‘ a fan.’

“When Peter Capaldi was announced every British actor over 40 punched the air. We thought that ship has sailed. But all of us middle-aged men are back in the game.”

Don’t Believe a Word will come to the Arts Centre on October 18 at 7.30pm. To book call 01793 524 481 or visit swindontheatres.co.uk.