Pierre Novellie discusses anxiety, The Goon Show and why there are no good heckles.
Tell us about your Fringe show
It's a stand-up show about anxiety but not in an overwrought way.
Best thing about the Fringe?
It's like moving to "comedian town" for a month, so you feel a bit more normal and you see your peers far more, socially.
Worst thing about the Fringe?
The booze will wreck you over the month!
How many years have you been coming to the Fringe?
This will be my sixth Fringe.
Favourite Fringe venue?
I've always been a huge fan of The Tron - and Queen Dome in Pleasance.
Best Fringe memory?
Answering an audience member's phone for him and chatting to his boss.
Best heckle?
There aren't really any good heckles. I've spent all year preparing an hour show and it sometimes overruns so we really don't have time for nonsense.
Craziest on stage experience?
Doing Late’N’Live and stage-fighting a professional wrestler that I had brought on stage.
What’s on your rider?
A black coffee and a beer.
How do you wind down after a show?
Debrief over beers.
What do you love about Scotland?
The landscape and the friendliness of the people.
What do you like about Edinburgh?
The food!
What’s the most Scottish thing you’ve done?
I went to a family reunion in the Orkney Islands years ago on the old family farm, it was great and I got to meet various extended branches of the family.
What kind of jokes do a Scottish crowd seem to respond to?
They seem to really enjoy dry humour and very self-deprecating stuff. The Home Counties seems to think it has first claim on those qualities but I don't think they respond in the same way at all.
Favourite joke?
Anything from the Goon Show.
Pierre Novellie will perform at Pleasance Courtyard on August 11-17 and 19-30.
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