Brett Goldstein discusses Burning Man, Mr Men and why he loves the Scottish accent.
Tell us about your Fringe show
My show is called Burning Man and is a love letter to stand-up. It attempts to solve an existential riddle using Mr. Men, drugs, sex criminals, fame and the Burning Man festival.
Best thing about the Fringe?
The fact that all your favourite people are there for a month.
Worst thing about the Fringe?
The fact that all your least favourite people are there for a month.
How many years have you been coming to the Fringe?
12 years.
Favourite Fringe venue?
Spiegeltent but only for dancing.
Best Fringe memory?
My last show ended with a vow to give up porn. A man came up to me in London months later, and said, "Because of your show, I gave up porn and I feel so much better for it." If you can make one man stop w**king....
Best heckle?
"Why are cubes?" shouted an audience member on acid at me in the desert. Difficult to answer.
Craziest on stage experience?
Doing a play set in a hotel room. The door to the room opened five minutes into the play. A little person wandered in, walked on to the stage, looked around, then walked out again. We weren't allowed to reference it. The man was just lost. The part that made it more weird is I had just said the line, "It was like a David Lynch dream" at which point he walked in. The audience definitely thought it was part of it. The play made no sense to them anymore. There was still two hours to go.
What’s on your rider?
Water. An old Columbian woman who sits in the corner learning English. Three sherbet dip dabs. One old fifty pence piece, the big ones. Twelve nomads. A young boy singing A Day In The Life while sweeping up. And a wham bar.
How do you wind down after a show?
If the show's gone well, I have a drink and eat something terrible from Scotmid and try to find some fun. If the show has gone badly, I have more drinks and eat worse food and try to find someone to hold me.
What do you love about Scotland?
The accent. I find it very sexy.
What do you like about Edinburgh?
It's cool and the people are open and arty and they love a hill here.
What’s the most Scottish thing you’ve done?
Walked past someone playing bagpipes without retching.
What kind of jokes do a Scottish crowd seem to respond to?
All kinds actually. They are into diverse things. Some like surrealism, some like wit, some like observational. It's almost like they are human beings. I have come to the conclusion that they may not be that different from us. I wouldn't want to be left alone with one of them, but still...
Favourite joke?
"There's a black fella... a Pakistani and a Jew having a drink in a nightclub. What a fine example of an integrated community." Bernard Righton (John Thomson)
Brett Goldstein will perform at Pleasance Courtyard on August 11-16 and 18-31.
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