RELATIONSHIPS can be a difficult thing to navigate; they are very much a two-way street with a lot of compromise.

But when one breaks down, things can sometimes get messy, there is a mourning period and on occasion a backlash.

So, what is the best way to deal with a break-up? Well for comedian John Robins it is talking about it on stage for an hour.

The Bristol-born stand-up’s crucially-acclaimed show The Darkness of Robins has seen him win the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award for his candid solo show.

“My life fell apart and I won an award for talking about it,” jokes the 35-year-old.

“All my stand-up shows have come from moments of crisis, confusion or exasperation. When the relationship I was in ended it wasn’t like I immediately got out my pen and paper, but it was obviously going to feature.

“The radio show that I do with Elis [James] has really helped me find my true comedic voice, one that’s quite self-flagellating and at ease exploring my own failures.”

Being so open and vulnerable as a solo performer can leave any comic open to criticism, but for Robins – who has earned the mantra of London’s saddest DJ – he produces angst-ridden comedy at its finest.

He continues: “I knew when I wrote it [the show] that it wasn’t going to be about my relationship, it was going to be about my reaction to the relationship.

“It’s not a bitter break-up show; it’s a no holds barred self-examination. It’s a guy who hates himself but can’t stop laughing at that.

“I think it’s important that men feel they can lay themselves bare emotionally. If you say to someone, ‘this is a show about mental health,’ I think they tend to clam up and go, ‘But that’s not me.’

“Whereas if you say, “I went to Ikea and had a panic attack because I couldn’t decide what chest of drawers to get,” they go, “I know exactly what you’re talking about, I had a similar situation with a cheese grater"."

As well as wowing crowds on the road, Robins has had recent appearances on Mock The Week, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled and Russell Howard’s Good News, which have all helped bolster his reputation as one of the most exciting comics on the circuit right now.

Robins will bring The Darkness of Robins to the Haymarket on Sunday, 8 April.

For more information and tickets visit anvilarts.org.uk.