Dan Nightingale: The Eleven and a Half Ill-Conceived Edinburgh Shows of Dan Nightingale

So then, tell us about your show?

I’m doing a show of all the ideas I had for shows. It’s called The Eleven and a Half Ill-Conceived Edinburgh Shows of Dan Nightingale and it will be brilliant. It’s about genre, style, and the fashion of comedy at the Fringe. It’s also about my stupid life.

How have your previews been going?

It’s been an emotional rollercoaster of a preview run, but we’ve got there. In theory, you don’t want it to go well in the development stage. You want to experiment as much as possible, and of course that means you can get things wrong. Worth it, though.

How are you going to keep it fresh for the full three weeks?

I think it’s a show I’m going to enjoy doing. I like it, and I’m hoping that’ll keep it seeming fresh. It’s fun to perform and, hopefully, to watch. Doing a dour, serious theme must make the run seem like hard work.

Is it ultimately worth coming to the Fringe?

Yes, because it’s a chance to play to the most comedy savvy crowds. Drunken people in Bolton of a Friday evening get pretty boring.

Do you have a guaranteed, surefire flyering technique?

Get a good flyering team of young people, full of life and hope and energy. Bless them.

What’s your health regime for the Fringe?

Less booze, more sleep. If possible.

What’s the worst mistake people make at the Fringe?

Loads of booze, no sleep. Silly people.

Last year’s Fringe was all about the London riots. What major news event do you think will force you to hurriedly rewrite your 2012 show?

I don’t really do news related comedy. You’ll get pretty bored of hearing the word ‘Olympics’. Snore off.

Do you pay your taxes?

Good God, ssssshhhhhuuuuuttttt-uuuuuppp.

What was your favourite joke when you were a kid?

A really long-winded bit of word play about a man working in a zoo. It was annoying.

Where does the half in your show title come from?

There are a few halves. Some of the ideas were so bad they couldn’t even be labelled as full ideas.

What are the key ingredients to a good Fringe show?

I guess you’ve got to be interesting without losing the funny.

They say there is a thin line between genius and madness – so how thin is the line between brilliance and idiocy?

I’d like to think it’s a fine line, just to make me feel better about being an idiot. I’m happy, though. I’m a happy idiot.

Who else are you hoping to see while you’re in Edinburgh?

My Auntie Christine. She lives in Glasgow.