Edinburgh

The Edinburgh Interviews 2017: Mark Thomas

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Mark Thomas’ most recent show is an exploration of the social and political state of humanity at this point in time. The infamous award-winning satirist examines the unexpected, and often disastrous, events of last year, before laying out well-considered predictions as to where we might now be headed. Thomas will be performing A Show That Gambles on the Future at Summerhall throughout August.

1) What excites you most about the Edinburgh Festival?

Going to see loads of shows and performers. It is the biggest arts fest in the world, what is not to like? I always try and see a minimum of 40 shows every fringe, I know others see more and other see many less, but with a target of 40 it means you get and out and don’t waste time.

Other things I like: actors being actory, spotting Nicholas Parsons in a cravat, arguing performance art at Summerhall, bumping into mates in queues for shows and/or chips, drama students practising by being actory, taking my kids to a performance that is inappropriate- last one was naked mine artist with 14yr old daughter, Fruitmarket gallery, being interviewed in the BBC tent in front of an audience in cogoules, seeing Kirsty Walk filming at the Traverse, the comics wrestling match, and having tourists from Norway asking me if I am Mark Steel.

© Jane Hobson

2) What was your first Edinburgh show about?

My first time at the fringe performing was as a stand in for Paul Merton. He broke his leg playing football, ended up in hospital with a blood clot and his promoter asked me to stand in. Lots of anti-Tory stuff and sex. People v disappointed 

3) Does your comedy attract a certain type of audience?

I hope so, otherwise my audience would be comprised of people taking random chances, which after 32 years performing would be a bit shit. According to bar staff and front of house folk, my crowd tend to be ‘nice’.

4) What is the worst experience you’ve had with Edinburgh accommodation?

One festival my accommodation was  sharing a mattress with a friend on the living room floor in a flat rented by  actors, which meant we would be woken by actors in their underwear stepping over us with mugs of coffee. Once we were woken by an actor with no underwear steeping over us looking for his underwear. He went on to star in Eastenders.

But the worst was a van. I spent most of the festival smelling of diesel and sweat and was shouted at for weeing out the side door directly into a drain. Which is fair enough.

5) What is your most treasured memory of your comedy career so far?

Winning 3 Bafta’s in one evening.

6) What show will you definitely be seeing at the festival this year?

Richard Gadd, Bilal Zafar, Archie Maddocks, Northern Stage and, if Gary McNair is around, him too.

7) What do you hope to gain from the Edinburgh Festival this year?

Money and a cure for Hep C.

8) What do you imagine your last ever show will be about?

An audience participation show teaching untrained amateurs the joys of the high wire without a net.

BOOK TICKETS FOR MARK THOMAS: A SHOW THAT GAMBLES ON THE FUTURE, AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2017

The Edinburgh Interviews 2017: Charlie Baker

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© Andy Hollingworth

Stand up comic Charlie Baker’s latest show The Hit Polisher is an interesting blend of comedy and cabaret. As an ode to pop music from the 80s, 90s and 00s, there is surely something for everyone within this show. Charlie has made appearances on Harry Hill’s Teatime and the 02 Comedy Gala in recent years, proving himself to be a slick and energetic stand up performer, and he will be performing at Assembly George Square Theatre throughout August.

1) What excites you most about the Edinburgh Festival?

The opportunity to perform exactly the kind of show you spend all year dreaming of performing. It’s completely up to you what you put on stage. Also being with all your mates in a beautiful city is pretty perfect.

2) What was your first Edinburgh show about?

My first hour was a mixture of jokes songs and dancing about my life. I’ve continued the theme in every show since.

3) Does your comedy attract a certain type of audience?

A very attractive one. I get a very broad mix of ages and gender. I like that.

4) What is the worst experience you’ve had with Edinburgh accommodation?

A mouse for 3 weeks. Caught him with some chocolate, felt guilty.

5) What is your most treasured memory of your comedy career so far?

Just starting and realising I was going to be able to do it for a living was amazing. Having a very nice gig in the Channel 4 Comedy Gala at the O2 was intensely fun.

6) What show will you definitely be seeing at the festival this year?

As I have my children with me I expect to see Sarah and Duck at least twice.

7) What do you hope to gain from the Edinburgh Festival this year?

One Million pounds.

8) What do you imagine your last ever show will be about?

I think it will be a mixture of jokes songs and dancing about my life.

BOOK TICKETS FOR CHARLIE BAKER: THE HIT POLISHER, AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2017

The Edinburgh Interviews 2017: Lost Voice Guy

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© Caroline Briggs

Lee Ridley, aka Lost Voice Guy, has cerebral palsy, which for him means he has a lack of speech. From a comedy point of view, this has allowed him to confront the stigma surrounding disability from an angle that is far more interesting for audiences to see. His blasé approach to the attitudes of others towards his disability, teamed with his dark sense of humour, makes for a deliciously funny combination. Lee is performing at The Stand throughout August.

1) What excites you most about the Edinburgh Festival?

I think the thing I actually enjoy most about the festival is the fact that I get to hang out with all my comedy mates for a month. Because you only see each other every few months on the circuit, it’s pretty nice to have everyone all in one place for a change! I know I should probably say that the thought of performing to hundreds of people excites me, and of course it does, but I enjoy the social side of the festival just as much.

2) What was your first Edinburgh show about?

My first ever Edinburgh show was called Voice Of Choice, and it was basically a biographical show about my life so far, and how I ended up being a comedian despite not being able to speak. That was five years ago but I’m still quite proud of the show. 

3) Does your comedy attract a certain type of audience?

I’m not sure really. Because I’m disabled and I talk about disability issues a lot, I do think that I get a lot of disabled people coming to my gigs (if they can access the venue anyway…). But other than that, I haven’t really noticed a certain type of person turning up. I seem to attract all sorts, which I think is a good thing. 

4) What is the worst experience you’ve had with Edinburgh accommodation?

It might not be strictly to do with Edinburgh accommodation in the normal sense, but I was stuck in a hospital bed for three weeks during my first year at the Fringe. Basically I got pneumonia about two weeks into my run so I had to stay in an Edinburgh hospital bed while everyone else was packing up and going home. That was quite a nightmare! 

5) What is your most treasured memory of your comedy career so far?

It would have to be when I supported Ross Noble at The Stand in Newcastle. Not only is Ross my comedy idol, but Newcastle’s Stand is my favourite venue to play. So to have both of those things together was awesome. It was definitely a dream come true. 

6) What show will you definitely be seeing at the festival this year?

I’m a massive fan of Gein’s Family Giftshop so I’m looking forward to seeing what they have in store for us this year. Hopefully it’ll be something very dark and very wrong. 

7) What do you hope to gain from the Edinburgh Festival this year?

I think a better question would be what would I hope not to lose. I’d quite like not to lose thousands of pounds, but I doubt I’ll get that wish! To be fair, I’m with The Stand who really look after their acts, so it isn’t as bad as it could be. If I can break even I’ll be very happy.

8) What do you imagine your last ever show will be about?

Imagine if medicine had advanced so much that they actually found a way to give me my voice back, and my last show was just me telling jokes with my own voice like any other comedian. That would be both amazing and devastating at the same time. I mean I’d be able to talk, but I wouldn’t have an unique selling point anymore!

BOOK TICKETS FOR LOST VOICE GUY: INSPIRATION PORN, AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2017

The Edinburgh Interviews 2017: Ben Van der Velde

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© Andy Hollingworth

Ben Van der Velde is a stand up and podcaster who has been working this year with Barry McStay to produce a brand new podcast entitled Worst Foot Forward, as well as being resident MC at The Good Ship comedy club. Van der Velde’s latest Edinburgh show, Sidekick, is an ode to the underdog. He is performing his free show at the Laughing Horse @ Espionage throughout August.

1) What excites you most about the Edinburgh Festival?

The consistent smell of hops in the air. Giving American tourists incorrect directions. Seeing which street performers are still alive after another year.

2) What was your first Edinburgh show about?

My first show was a damnfool idea that – once I’d had it – I had to follow through on. I got the idea into my head that people weren’t writing enough letters anymore, so turned myself into a human chain letter and senT myself to some long lost friends and got them to pass me on to someone they’d not seen in ages. I ended up travelling to Ireland, Luxembourg, Kent, plus a few other places and almost ended up in Belarus, before running out of money/bottle/sanity.

3) Does your comedy attract a certain type of audience?

So far I seem to be able to make everyone from teenagers to nanas laugh. I remember doing a gig in rural Yorkshire a few years ago and at the end a flat-capped old man came up to me and said “I didn’t understand much of what you said lad, but that that I did was very funny.” That’s always stuck with me – I’m pretty confident if you stick me in a room with a bunch of fellow humans I’ll get some laughs out of them.

4) What is the worst experience you’ve had with Edinburgh accommodation?

I’ve been pretty lucky generally. In 2006 I didn’t find any accommodation and ended up sort of squatting in a mate’s flat who was putting on a production of ‘Top Gun: The Musical’. Waking up in my tiny corner of the hallway most mornings to hear Maverick and Goose loudly practising singing The Danger Zone was quite a low point.

5) What is your most treasured memory of your comedy career so far?

It’s a little thing, but early on in my career I was resident host for the Free Beer Show at The Cellar in Oxford. They got huge names down there and would pack their basement venue out. I got to compère for Reg Hunter and absolutely everything I riffed worked – the crowd were playful, daft and I could have stayed on for hours. After I introduced Reg, as he came on stage he whispered some secret magic words of encouragement in my ear and thanks me for setting up the room for him. He won’t remember, but it was a real, eye-opening “holy shit I can do this!” moment. After the gig he thanked me again and said I was welcome to any of his material. So get ready for 10 minutes about why people often mistake me as Benjamin, King of the Blacks.

6) What show will you definitely be seeing at the festival this year?

I was blown away by Fin Taylor last year and his preview at my club, The Good Ship, was bang on the money in April, so that’s a must-see. John-Luke Roberts is always fantastic too, I think he’s the master of what the Fringe should be – super clever, super silly and often challenging and uncomfortable, all in the same joke.

7) What do you hope to gain from the Edinburgh Festival this year?

A cult following who will be willing to drink my Kool-Aid safe in the knowledge that they’ll wake up at an amazing gig I’m playing on the other side of a comet.

8) What do you imagine your last ever show will be about?

I think it’ll be a brave call-to-arms to the survivors of the 2024 Brexit Wars to band together and form a new alliance under the leadership of Victoria Derbyshire and a cockroach/Keith Richards/Sandi Toksvig mutant hybrid.

BOOK TICKETS FOR BEN VAN DER VELDE: SIDEKICK, AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2017

The Edinburgh Interviews 2017: Cally Beaton

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© Rebecca Need-Menear

Cally Beaton’s new show Super Cally Fragile Lipstick is an introspective look at her own current life situation, embracing the notion of fragility and showing how being fragile doesn’t detract from being great. Cally will be performing at Just the Tonic at the Caves throughout August.

1) What excites you most about the Edinburgh Festival?

Getting away from kids/cats/neighbours/London/grown-up responsibilities for a whole month. And seeing how many days (hours) I can go before starting to consider prescription medication.

2) What was your first Edinburgh show about?

Cat Call last year, written/performed with fellow comic Catherine Bohart, was about womanhood either side of the age of 40. I was 47, Catherine was 27. And I’m really happy for her. It’s great to be young, talented, beautiful and going places. Yup… really, really happy for her.

3) Does your comedy attract a certain type of audience?

It’s pretty broad. I do often get women, and men, in a similar life phase who say it resonates with them but I’ve had lovely (and on occasion not so lovely) feedback from pretty much all ages. Well, to be clear, I’d say it’s more suitable if you’re 16+. Someone brought their 11 year old son along, despite my warnings about some of the content, and I could see the years of therapy lining up ahead of him… At least he knows where the clitoris is now. Never too early for a guy to be told about that.

4) What is the worst experience you’ve had with Edinburgh accommodation?

A friend came to stay with me for a couple of nights – to sleep on the sofa in a very small one bed flat. He had just omitted to mention he’d be bringing his wife, 2 year old and baby along too…

5) What is your most treasured memory of your comedy career so far?

A conversation I had with an autistic teenage fan, the same age as my autistic son, who after coming to the show every day for a week and finally came up to tell me that, after years of feeling like a loser at school, the show had made him feel like a rock star. That was some good sh*t, right there. He told me he hated it if I changed anything though – it needed to be the exact same show every day. That, and doing QI!

6) What show will you definitely be seeing at the festival this year?

James Acaster’s trilogy. The grand master of the Edinburgh show format.

7) What do you hope to gain from the Edinburgh Festival this year?

I have a story that I want to tell – and I want to tell it this year while it means something to me. After only a couple of years doing stand-up it’s courageous (some might say idiotic) to be doing my debut hour but hey – getting my story out, crafted as best as I know how, with a few people coming to see it and liking what they see, will send me back home with a mission accomplished. That, and drawing attention to the plight of the ginger menopausal trying to break into comedy, arguably a little belatedly in life. Or maybe everyone else just gets into it early.

8) What do you imagine your last ever show will be about?

Womanhood either side of the age of 90. Obvs.

BOOK TICKETS FOR SUPER CALLY FRAGILE LIPSTICK AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2017

The Edinburgh Interviews 2017: Geoff Norcott

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Geoff Norcott is well known for being one of the only openly right-wing stand up comedians performing at the Edinburgh Festival. His latest show, Right-Leaning But Well-Meaning, is another politically charged show that is sure to spark some heated discussion, and that can only be a good thing. Geoff is performing at the Underbelly, George Square throughout August.

1) What excites you most about the Edinburgh Festival?

As a fresh faced forty-year-old man, I could go there a boy and come back a star.

2) What was your first Edinburgh show about?

About teenagers. Though that was pre-Yewtree and way less weird sounding then than now.

3) Does your comedy attract a certain type of audience?

People who agree with me and people who don’t. I think I prefer those that don’t. A reluctant laugh is a great noise. I also admire them for coming to see something outside of their echo chamber. Though there is often a lot of tutting.

4) What is the worst experience you’ve had with Edinburgh accommodation?

I always live in the same flat in Leith. All these ‘socialist’ comics, they live in the fancy Meadows. They love the working classes but god forbid they should ever bump into one. Me? Every time I go down Leith walk I bump into working class people. Then they bump into other people. Because they are drunk.

5) What is your most treasured memory of your comedy career so far?

Standing onstage at Camp Bastion in front of three thousand troops, knowing that my knob gags were helping win the war on terror.

6) What show will you definitely be seeing at the festival this year?

‘Marcus Nickelthorpe’ – He’s 82 and does observational stuff about being old. It’s really depressing apparently but when you come out you also feel really buzzed up about the fact you’re not 82.

7) What do you hope to gain from the Edinburgh Festival this year?

Modest gains really: regular panel show guest, medium sized national tour, sit-com, validation, the nightmares stopping…

8) What do you imagine your last ever show will be about?

I already know this. It will be called ‘I was so shit at comedy I had to go back to teaching’.

BOOK TICKETS FOR GEOFF NORCOTT: RIGHT LEANING BUT WELL MEANING, AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2017

The Edinburgh Interviews 2017: Harriet Braine

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© Claudia Marinaro

1) What excites you most about the Edinburgh Festival?

I’m most excited about seeing loads of shows. I want to see some completely new faces, even though I know I’ll probably end up going to see friends’ shows mostly. I’m also most excited about seeing my Edinburgh people, from when I used to live there. Also the art galleries are amazing, I have a few favourite restaurants I’m excited to go to… basically everything apart from doing my show.

2) What is your first Edinburgh show about?

It’s about visual art, and the artists behind it, like Picasso, Monet etc. It’s a very silly musical show where I make fun of artists but kind of worship them at the same time. It’s also a little bit about me, but in previews so far I haven’t really ‘opened up’ yet. I prefer playing characters, doing semi-offensive accents and my mouth trumpet. Seriously, if I could do just an hour of trumpet impressions I would.

3) Does your comedy attract a certain type of audience?

It tends to attract a slightly older audience (which is ideal, no mucking about, good bucket etiquette), usually fairly cosmopolitan, lots of different Euro nationalities, usually quite a few LGBT. Everyone has some connection to art, even if they hate it, so I find I attract a very varied audience.

4) What is the worst experience you’ve had with Edinburgh accommodation?

I’ve had no bad experiences because I’ve always stayed with my friends who already live there and have their lives sorted out! My worst hypothetical nightmare would be having to sleep on a floor with other people in the room. I like my own room to cry in.

5) What is your most treasured memory of your comedy career so far?

Winning the Funny Women Stage award last September was an incredible night. It goes hand in hand with doing a comedy gig with Nish Kumar and John Lloyd at the Victoria & Albert Museum. John called me a genius. That is a treasured memory in the cheesiest sense.

6) What show will you definitely be seeing at the festival this year?

There are so many… But Jan Ravens: Difficult Woman is a must see for me. She was doing impressions for us backstage at the Funny Women Awards, I was completely in awe of her and still am.

7) What do you hope to gain from the Edinburgh Festival this year?

Some cool fans. I love talking to my audiences about art, and everything really, geeking out with like-minded arty folk. I’m not that fussed about reviews, but I know the machine needs feeding… so I hope to gain a couple of stars.

8) What do you imagine your last ever show will be about?

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone’s last show ever… they always come crawling back. Also in the future there will be holographic comedians doing shows, so I plan to create a few holographs of myself and keep going forever. My holographic shows will be deeply philosophical and partly in French. I will have found a way to make that funny by then.

The Edinburgh Interviews 2017: Urzila Carlson

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Urzila Carlson is a New Zealand-based comic who is incredibly easy to warm to. Although she is making her Edinburgh debut this year, Carlson has already won Best International Show at the Sydney Comedy Festival, to name just one. She will be performing her latest show, First Edition, at the Assembly George Square Studios throughout August.

1) What excites you most about the Edinburgh Festival?

I’m looking forward to hanging out with all the other comics, I’ve already had a look at who will be there and I’m already fan-girling just thinking of who I will get to hang out with and potentially work with.

2) What is your first Edinburgh show about?

It’s about the shit we put up with that we don’t have to! It’s about long distance travel, other people’s bad habits and the pressure we feel to say that craft beer is great and indie rock bands are awesome.

3) Does your comedy attract a certain type of audience?

No not really, it’s a pretty mix bag coming through the doors usually.

4) What would be your worst Edinburgh accommodation nightmare?

My worst nightmare in any situation would be filth. I can’t deal with filth, I’m a compulsive cleaner* and filth would just not be ok with me, that’s why I’m bringing my family and we’re sharing accommodation rather than share with other comics.

*Not diagnosed.

5) What is your most treasured memory of your comedy career so far?

It would have to be performing at the Sydney Opera House. There have been so many though!

6) What show will you definitely be seeing at the festival this year?

My brother from another mother Nazeem Hussain’s show.

7) What do you hope to gain from the Edinburgh Festival this year?

A lot of experience, stage time, endurance, how to deal with disappointments and processing alcohol in huge amounts.

8) What do you imagine your last ever show will be about?

I’ll probably be talking about how my hover car blew the roof off my neighbours floatation dome and the grandkids playing with my Oscar that I got playing Melissa McCarthy’s long lost twin that grew up in Africa and goes on a journey to discover her true self and her family that she never knew she had… it will be an award winning show… I’ll talk about my dead dad too.

BOOK TICKETS FOR URZILA CARLSON: FIRST EDITION, AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2017

The Edinburgh Interviews 2017: Aatif Nawaz

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Aatif Nawaz is a comedian who isn’t afraid to challenge mindsets by delving straight into taboo issues and offering his own side of the story. He is bringing his latest show The Last Laugh (following his previous two shows, Muslims do it 5 Times a Day and AATIFicial Intelligence) to the Edinburgh Festival. Aatif will be performing this free show at the Newsroom throughout August.

1) What excites you most about the Edinburgh Festival?

I could tell you it’s the world’s biggest arts festival. I could tell you it’s about the opportunity to test my new show in front of the strongest, most comedy-savvy audiences. I could tell you it’s an inspiring environment. But you want the truth don’t you?

Honestly? There’s a halal kebab shop in Leith that’s open 24 hours and they always throw in a deep fried mars bar. All for a fiver! A FIVER!!!

2) What was your first Edinburgh show about?

In 2015, I took my first solo show to the Fringe: It  was called ‘Muslims Do It 5 Times A Day’ (I know. That’s really clever innit?). The show was about my life as a muslim man in what was becoming a more islamaphobic atmosphere around the world.

3) Does your comedy attract a certain type of audience?

Guardian readers and Daily Mail readers. But not Times readers. That’s a nut I’ve yet to crack…

4) What is the worst experience you’ve had with Edinburgh accommodation?

It’s one I bring on myself every year. I’m a creature of habit. So I stay in the same place in Leith every year. And it’s a really nice place with really nice flatmates. Everyone is considerate and tidy. It sounds pretty great right? Well here comes the caveat: It’s on the 5th floor and there’s no lift. And on any given day at the Fringe, I’ve probably walked anywhere from 5-10 kilometres. So a steep five-story staircase isn’t something I have wet dreams about. Particularly when I have to lug 5000 flyers up them on day one.

On the plus side, my calves are always in great shape…

5) What is your most treasured memory of your comedy career so far?

I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stage with many of my comedy idols. That moment where your heroes become your peers feels like a massive accomplishment. Also, walking off stage at the Watford Palace Theatre to a standing ovation after my first major TV set. I still think about that from time to time. It makes me smile…

6) What show will you definitely be seeing at the festival this year?

Aside from my own fantastic show you mean? Well there are so many acts I love – last year, in addition to performing my own 60 minute show 24 times and doing another 48 sets, I managed to see another 38 shows. And I loved almost all of them. I fear if I began listing them for you now, you’d run out of bandwidth and storage space for your website and would have to upgrade your plan to one that allows more storage. And I’m a considerate guy. So I won’t put you through that..

7) What do you hope to gain from the Edinburgh Festival this year?

I’m hoping someone will come along to my show and think  ‘Damn – he’s so good, why don’t I cast him in a British remake of Better Call Saul I was planning…’ or something along those lines.

I think of the Fringe as comedy bootcamp. I develop a new show, perform is 20-odd times to varying audiences and then that’s my set, my show, my material for the next 12 months.

8) What do you imagine your last ever show will be about?

It might be this one. Maybe. It’s called The Last Laugh and it’s about how I took a non-traditional route as a stand-up comedian. They told me it wouldn’t work. They told me I wouldn’t be successful. They told me I wouldn’t last. Well, here I am. Back again. For a third year in a row. And a third show. And it’s on at 11:15pm. So, in a literal sense, I may well be having the last laugh…

BOOK TICKETS FOR AATIF NAWAZ: THE LAST LAUGH, AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2017

The Edinburgh Interviews 2017: Stuart Goldsmith

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Stand up and Comedian’s Comedian podcaster Stuart Goldsmith‘s show craftsmanship just keeps getting better and better. Like I Mean It won Best New Show at the Leicester Comedy Festival earlier this year, despite still being unfinished, so it looks as though Goldsmith is set for another brilliant year in Edinburgh. Stuart is performing his free show at the Liquid Room Annexe throughout August.

1) What excites you most about the Edinburgh Festival?

The chance to feel like a normal human being for an entire month, as everyone around me lives my life: thinking, talking, eating and breathing comedy! And the “macaroni pie”, which is unavailable in the real world.

© Matt Crockett

2) What was your first Edinburgh show about?

It was called “The Reasonable Man” in 2010, and it was about realising I’d spent my whole life trying ever so hard to be alternative, but despite my best endeavours I was actually (depressingly) normal.

3) Does your comedy attract a certain type of audience?

Nice people! I’m incredibly lucky – I almost never get heckled, and anything people do shout out tends to be encouragement. At a recent new material night a heckler shouted “yeah – seems like a ‘bit’!”

4) What is the worst experience you’ve had with Edinburgh accommodation?

Oooh, probably when I stayed in a suspiciously cheap rental place in Haymarket, which turned out to have no lock on the door and effectively a bunkhouse where people wandered in and out all day. I had a watch stolen which had just been given to me by my then girlfriend. Still, I was too cheap to fork out for decent accommodation despite enjoying at the time a street-performer’s pre-boom income, so you buy cheap you buy twice, or whatever people say. “You pay peanuts you get your monkeys stolen”. Something like that.

5) What is your most treasured memory of your comedy career so far?

Well I’ve been lucky to have a few sparkly show-off gigs, but bringing my baby onstage at the final performance of last year’s Edinburgh show (which had been all about him) was hilarious and heart-warming and better than Wembley.

6) What show will you definitely be seeing at the festival this year?

Andy Daly. He’s an American improviser who did the world’s best piss-take of standup comedy. Search “Jerry Ahearn Standup” on youtube and cry laughing. He’s at the Gilded Balloon in an improv show and we shall become best friends.

7) What do you hope to gain from the Edinburgh Festival this year?

I’d like to come out of it with some money, a finely-tuned tour show that’s ready to take on the road, and these days due to the sobriety of fatherhood, some actual un-fogged memories for once! I don’t drink at the festival anymore, and i’m staying in a house with dear friends and two other babies, so we’re going to have wholesome super-fun and go swimming and hang out at play-parks and it’s going to be all squeaky cle- AAAAAAAAARRRGHHHHHHHH.

8) What do you imagine your last ever show will be about?

I try to do every show as if it’s my last, yeah? Because I’m an incredibly pretentious wanker.

BOOK TICKETS FOR STUART GOLDSMITH: LIKE I MEAN IT, AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2017