Pierre Novellie on politics and his Fringe show

"God no," says Pierre Novellie, when asked if comedians are cool. "Cool people generally aren't very funny. Because to be really cool you need a veneer. Like Clint Eastwood."

As much as Eastwood might be cooler than a comedian, Novellie wouldn't want to be stuck on a train with him. "He's a cool guy but he's not funny. You wouldn't want to hang out with him for ages – but he is cool."

Bringing his third show to the Fringe, Pierre Novellie is Cool Peter builds on a strong foundation established by his debut hour The Mighty Peter and the yet mightier sophomore show Anxious Peter. Yet we cannot help chat about his debut show to an extent, rather than the one he's bringing to the Fringe.

Both shows now sit within a very different political context; remarkable, given Novellie isn't really a political comedian at all. He just thoughtfully folds a wide perspective into his work. In The Mighty Peter, a certain routine which seemed flippant and unthinkable at the time – indeed, that's what made it funny – has become horribly prescient in the political climate of 2016 in the UK.

"I did have a weird flashback," says Novellie. "That bit where I talked about how it was so hard to get guns and all these criminals are going to have to get homemade ones."

Born in South Africa, Novellie moved to the Isle of Man as a boy. In his stand-up, he uses this very slight 'outsider' perspective to great effect. For example, in his debut show he explained why he had no real opinion on Margaret Thatcher (a view that's provocative to both her admirers and detractors alike), demonstrating that the UK's circumstances in the 80s were relatively less complex when compared to other parts of the world.

A joke about guns landed because it was so far removed from the British reality; after the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, by homemade gun, "the idea is no longer abstract whimsy, it's become real. 

"South Africa has its fair share of militaristic, far-right movements", he adds, "and I think the UK is very far from that level, far from some awful disaster."

We're speaking just before the Brexit vote, and within a few days the whole conversation could seem from another political era. But, looking at the transcript after those few days, it was apparent Novellie was focused on rather different aspects of the Leave campaign than had already come to dominate the post-Brexit conversation.

Claims about how much money could go to the NHS on the side of a bus was not the first thing to catch Novellie's attention: "Let's be honest, the Brexit people say 'if we leave the EU we can be nicer to the Commonwealth', but as a Commonwealth citizen you think: 'Well, you don't really mean that do you? You mean being nice to New Zealand and to Canada.'

"I don't think they mean Africa and India, I don't think people on the Brexit side would be happy with more Indian and Black people turning-up. So, it's all a bit disingenuous. I'm resolutely pro-remain."

In his new show, Pierre Novellie is Cool Peter, there is going to be a routine about the referendum. Of course, at the time he adds, "depending on what happens. It started out with no real politics, it was just about having two passports. I remember what it was like, going to the naughty queue at the airport: we've got our eye on you."  

However, despite some of his past and present material being swallowed by events, Novellie's new show promises his intelligent and thoughtful insight into what 'cool' really is, just as he probed so many different aspects of anxiety last year.

What's more, 'anxiety' and 'cool' are not so unrelated, at least when handled by Novellie: "Anxiety and depression come together and part of the show is based on the tongue-in-cheek premise that if it's cool to be laid back about stuff then being depressed must be one of the coolest things around – you don't have to get out of bed."

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Pierre Novellie is Cool Peter, Pleasance Courtyard (This), 3-28 Aug (not 15), 9:45pm, £6-10.