Danny Pensive guides us through a number of Edinburgh-related topics beginning with 'P'...

Previews:

Previews are important. I did plenty of previews prior to Edinburgh and did a short run at the Buxton Fringe in July which received a couple of good reviews and a best show nomination alongside Isy Suttie, so I could hit the ground running at Edinburgh.

Positivity:

I think you have to make it your job to enjoy yourself as much as you possibly can. You are the morale officer of your own show and the people who see you. I divide my brain into two halves, the show and the business, and put the business bit of it out of my head as much as possible so I can enjoy the whole big mad festival vibe as much as possible.

Problems:

On the first day I had a power cut. Silence fell, both lights went out, the microphone failed and the room went black. Then it dawned on me that if I spoke people can still hear jokes in the dark. In a strange way this was fine.

Parrot:

The room where I'm staying for the festival is actually a child's bedroom which sounds odd but is actually very comforting. I've had no problems sleeping and there's a giant woolly parrot which stares at me from the corner of the room.

Privacy:

I do like a bit of solitude to order my thoughts and think about the show, and how it can be improved. There's not much time to do nothing, other than the day off you give yourself halfway through the run. Most of my private time is done while I'm walking the twenty minutes into town from the flat I'm staying in.

Pensive:

Other than that, I've have spent a lot of time trying not to look awkward being surrounded by comedy peers, friends and acquaintances who all have their own shows and are doing the best they can to make their show great. It can be weird, and sometimes socially awkward.

It doesn't bother me, and to some degree fuels Danny Pensive and the kind of comedy that presses my buttons. So far numbers for my show have been great, and the only real incident was when I accidentally mistook a Chinese woman for a man. It didn't affect her enjoyment of the show and now she wants to find out more about Britain, castles and bouncy castles as well.

Danny Pensive's Map of Britain is on at Just The Tonic at The Caves at 5:20pm. Listing