Although Soho is sadly (and strangely) lacking in venues, there's new energy in the London cabaret scene at the moment. One of the bright sparks is Tim McArthur, a lively and wickedly funny 27-year-old cherub who has gathered interest on both sides of the Atlantic. New York's HX Magazine called him a "cabaret cutie." But New York can't have him. He's ours! Tim is a busy man, but he spared a few moments to chat with us between gigs.

Tim's main focus right now is the Mardi Gras Arts Festival, two weeks of music, theatre, comedy and poetry that he's programming at Lauderdale House in Highgate. He'll also be compering several of the shows, as well as the Classic FM stage at Mardi Gras itself. These events are sandwiched into his busy schedule between performing his one-man show at Pizza on the Park last week and producing a new play called When Harry Met Barry.

The past year has been a whirlwind that started last September when Tim took his one-man show to Manhattan for a ten-day run. "I arrived on September 10th," Tim says, "then watched firsthand the horrific attack on the World Trade Center the next morning." Three days later he was asked to go onstage as planned and reopen the venue. "I did lots of media interviews, not necessarily about my show, but about being an English performer stuck in New York and how we in England deal with terrorism." He remains deeply changed by the experience. "People came up to me afterwards and said, 'Thank you so much for making me laugh. I've wanted to laugh all week.' If that's the reason why I was in New York, then it was worth it."