Daniel Foxx is on a mission to convince us that all the pop-culture villains we loved to hate in our youth were secretly gay: Jafar and Captain Hook for two. Catty men with jewels in their hats dressed in plum? Join the dots. His other job is as a musical theatre writer and, at various points, the bleach-blonde songster with the devil horns slides behind his electric piano. From there he regales us with Disney-esque show tunes about why it’s evil to be gay, why it’s gay to be evil, and why straight men over 35 want to be Bond.

The themes and style of Villain may not exactly scream originality, but Foxx’s delivery is mostly pitch-perfect, his piano fingers are lithe, and his jokes are funny enough to carry the whole thing off. Moreover, at the show’s emotional core is material about the casual homophobia of early-noughties school life, delivered with a straight(ish) face, that reminds us why the themes being broached here are still relevant, even if cultural discourse around identity has moved on. As a teenager, the young comic recalls, he was spat at, pushed down the stairs, and more.  

Things, amazingly, never get heavy among all the cathartic recollection. But neither does Foxx style everything out with gags, as if it had all been some big camp adventure. This is a proper funny show with hidden depths.  

Daniel Foxx: Villain, Pleasance Courtyard, until 27 August, 7.05pm; plus 18, 26 August, 11pm, 19 August, 10.50pm.