PIP UTTON says: "I believe if we all individually try to make a difference, then the accumulation of all that effort will make an enormous difference."

And it's a good job he's so driven - otherwise, the angry heckling he has come to expect as part and parcel of the one-man show in which he resurrects the spirit of Hitler and makes a direct link with the bigotry underlying modern society, might by now have got too much for him.

"I sometimes have people walk out or call me things like 'racist bastard'. I had one woman get on the stage to argue with me," says the actor, who has won rave reviews for Adolf, a show he devised and wrote himself and has now been touring with for 14 months.

"But if people hang on to the end of the play, they will realise what the message is. And, I have to say, I have not yet had anybody come up to me after the show and say any of those things." Adolf is a rare example of political theatre - and an exceptionally brave endeavour in an age where the main concern of most theatres is "bums on seats".

Based on actual speeches made by Hitler, the performance sees Utton re-enacting the Fuhrer's final hours before he commits suicide in his Berlin bunker.

"He's in his bunker and he's saying farewell to his troops and followers and telling them how to carry on after he's killed himself. He describes how to control people and the way to get power."

Utton believes the play, which Radio 4 arts review Kaleidoscope described as "the must-see show" at this year's Edinburgh Fringe, carries an important message for today's audiences.

"I do feel very strongly about intolerance and racism and sexism. I feel we allow it to creep into our everyday lives without being aware of what we are doing. We should always be on our guard."

Pip Utton stars in Adolf, at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton tonight. For tickets and information, call the box office on 023 8034 4515.