Ask any comedian what they enjoy most about stand-up and they invariably say the ad-libbing. It’s the bit that keeps them on their toes, ensures things stay fresh and helps them interact with their audience. But only up to a point. The vast majority are happy to then return to the script, which is, after all, much safer territory.

But not for Adam Hills, one of Australia’s favourite comedians, who is pushing the boundaries on all fronts with his latest tour Mess Around which he describes as: “No script, no plan, no idea.”

Of course it’s actually a genius idea, and you wonder why no one’s thought of it before, because it also meant Adam didn’t have a to write a whole new show.

“I used to do an hour of stand-up and 15 minutes of ad-libbing and then realised I was enjoying the ad-libbing most because the audience knows it’s off the cuff and reacts really well. So when someone asked about the next tour I said I’d be back but without the script, and it went from there,” Adam laughs, as if he can’t believe it himself.

“But I’m still not entirely at ease with it,” he adds. “It’s like being an MC, but extending the banter for an hour. So you just have to open yourself up to it and hope the audience does the same.

“And I do still feel like the man in the band going it alone rather than the guitarist who’s forgotten his guitar.”

So how much audience participation is required? “I just walk on, take a look at the front row and decide who’s got an interesting face because I think everyday people are just as fascinating as celebrities. So if you don’t want any attention, sit at the back,” he grins.

“Take last night – I asked a couple in the front row their names and it turned out they were called Adam and Eve,” he laughs. “Of course everyone thought it was a stitch-up because we got such a good response but it was a great show. And it’s so refreshing, because when I’m standing in the eaves waiting to go on, I have nothing in my head and it’s a nice state of mind.”

I bet his fellow comedians are spitting in envy as well, considering the first night sold out at the Sydney Comedy Store and Adam was then offered a TV show off the back of it. “I was speaking to Rich Hall about it and he asked how I kept it going for an hour and raised his eyebrows and I thought if I can do something that surprises Rich Hall I’m on the right track,” Adam says.

As for what to expect, that depends on the night. In Norwich Adam got two men up on stage singing I Would Walk 500 Miles, while in Birmingham the audience voted on the best names for an Armenian punk band made up of garden gnomes. I guess you had to be there, but with people watching the shows on YouTube from as far away as Kenya and Florida, Adam knows he’s onto a winner.

“I use quite a lot of tactics to keep the narrative going, but I’m having so much fun just going out there every night, seeing what happens and seeing how far I can go with it.”

What people don’t know is that Adam is a massive TV persona back home and hosts his own music trivia show, spending six months Down Under and six months here. So does the commute slow him down? “I’m much better known in Oz,” he admits, “and the TV show has really taken off, so after this I have to go back which I find really hard because I want to be here. I love it in the UK,” he admits. “It’s got the best comedy circuit in the world right now and it’s a real privilege to be part of it. But Oxford is the end of the road for now,” he sighs.

Maybe for the show but I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of Adam Hills.