Dave Hughes has always had a way of turning the minutiae of life into a hilarious, relatable anecdote.

Take his supermarket shopping habits, for instance.

“I’m still torn between the large box of Nutri-Grain at the supermarket being $3.50 and the small box being $4.90 and buying the large box – even though we’re on holidays and it’s only going to be two days and my wife is going to get angry at me for the large box, not the small box – but I can’t walk away from the value of the large box of Nutri-Grain being cheaper than the small box of Nutri-Grain.”

Hughes pauses, then laughs at himself. “Seriously, those things tear me apart. I just can’t fucking do it. I can’t buy a small box of Nutri-Grain that is more expensive than the big box. They’re tiny moments in my life but that shit ends up in my show.”

Hughes is speaking from his car, having soundchecked ahead of a gig and ducked back home to iron a shirt. He’s on his way to start his drivetime radio shift with long-time broadcasting partner Kate Langbroek. The pair have worked together since 2001, but Hughes’ comedy career dates back further than that. His first show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival was in 1996, having started stand-up three years prior, and right from the beginning ‘Hughesy’ was a hot ticket. Ultimately, nothing has changed – only the size of his venues around the country has continued to increase.

When he first started in comedy, Hughes was a laid-back country boy navigating a new life in the city, writing material about being on the dole. Now his touring seasons and media profile have led him to become one of this country’s most successful stand-ups. Given how far he has come, what is the rich and famous Hughesy talking about in his new show, Sweet?

“Just personal stuff. The money doesn’t make much difference to me,” he says, and then gives the Nutri-Grain example. “The amount of money I’ve got in the bank, or don’t have, or whatever – it’s still my life and anyone’s life. I’m being honest.”

That honesty extends to candid revelations about his wife and three children. Hughes has just built a new house that might get a mention, as could his experience hosting Australia’s Got Talent. “Whatever goes on in my life will end up onstage,” he says. “I never have an order, I don’t know what order I’m going to roll out my stuff.”

Having switched from the breakfast radio shift to drivetime in 2015, Hughes has been able to concentrate more on his stand-up. “I genuinely focus on my stand-up much more than I used to – much more. And consequently, I’m enjoying it much more. I really do feel like I’m giving audiences really good value at the moment, because I feel that I’m maximising my shows in terms of funniness, basically,” he laughs.

Dave Hughes appearsat the Enmore Theatre onFriday April 29 in his show Sweet, as part of Sydney Comedy Festival 2016.

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