Trygve Wakenshaw seems to have a thing about the sea. And he's got some very interesting ideas for his own comedy night. But can he really perform two shows each day?

1. Tell us about your career so far. Are you happy with where you're at?

Like the overnight success I knew I would be, my career as a comedian blossomed into fruition about ten years after I started working towards being an actor/director of independent comedy films in New Zealand. I never made any comedy films. But I did attend a film and television production course. During that overnight in which success is made I directed theatre and acted in it and tried to produce and publicise it. I performed as roving entertainment at food expos. I had a weekly local access television show with the glamorous Barnie Duncan as my German conceptual artist brother.

I worked backstage in theatre as a technician occasional lighting designer and more often chippy. I trained at clown school in Paris and just as I was applying for a job as a travel agent I started making a solo show at the end of 2010 called Squidboy to prove whether I was to be an actor or not. It was a big success followed two years later by the even bigger success Kraken and suddenly, overnight as I was dreaming about how to make my latest show NAUTILUS, I was a success.

I am happy to be on stage. I am happy to travel the world to be on stage. I have other happiness also. I'm about the happiest I could be right now.

2. Describe your show in exactly 23 words.

NAUTILUS. Difficult third album. Similar to Kraken. Lighting costume. Mime props. Old jokes. Comedian. Chicken. Vegan. Political. Scenes from a world I made.

KRAKEN. The sellout success of last year's festival blowing the minds of young theatre makers and making people laugh a lot. Mime. Comedy.

3. Why are you putting yourself through this famously stressful experience?

Because I am very good at it. I enjoy it. I don't find it stressful.

4. Any cunning plans to get more punters in?

Present a really brilliant show that people struggle to explain to their friends other than "oh my God, then he comes out of this mime sauna but it wasn't even a sauna!??! Oh man, I can't explain it, you have to see it. I nearly pissed myself".

5. How much money do you think you'll lose/make this year?

I hope to make enough to consider purchasing a house.

6. What's your weirdest past Fringe experience?

Someone walk out of the show last year. As they walked out, they picked up and cocked a mime shotgun and fired it at me, turned to the audience and yelled "have a good night folks" and left.

7. What other shows are you hoping to see?

Juan, Two? (Barnie Duncan), Heidi O'Loughlin - A Woman Talking, Faye Tracey, and anything listed by Rhum and Clay as their picks of the Fringe. I have made their list my own.

I'm mostly a fan of wandering into any old thing that's going on rather than "top picks". Sometimes it's a beautiful disappointment. Top picks are always performers that you know are good and the only way they might disappoint is by being average. I don't want to see any average.

8. If you took over programming a venue, what would you perfect line-up of comedians be?

I would have a theme and only acts who did an entire show vaguely related to that theme could play. The theme is Under the Sea...

10am - Jim Carrey does an hour of fish impersonations and jokes.

11:15am - Joanna Lumley, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders host a daily Q&A session while standing in individual paddling pools.

12:30 - A young troupe of improvisors who call their show FINprovisation.

1:45 - Julien Cottereau stars in a devised clown piece about turtles.

3pm - Sara Pascoe performs anything she wants because she's brilliant.

4:15 - Eric Davis, Spencer Novich, Thom Monkton and Barnie Duncan perform together in an absurd clown variety hour called Slippery When Wet.

5:30 - James Thieree gives an intimate performance of his new show Le Grande Bleu. Soundtrack performed by Meow Meow.

7pm - Gravity and Other Myths perform a circus show set to the music of Wet Wet Wet.

8:45pm - Double bill: Shipwreck! Tina Fey and Rowan Atkinson do battle in a series of hilarious sketches around "fish out of water" situations.

10pm - Laura Davis, Cat Bellamy, Kathryn Hunter and Clare Bartholomew perform together in an absurd clown varitey theatre hour and a half called Gills on Film.

12am - Under the Sea-themed Back to the Future school disco party where every hour we "step into the DeLorean and travel from 2015 to 1985 to 1955 and beyond!" with all great dance tunes and special direction from Robert Zemekis!

9. Name the one person you'd rather not bump into during the festival.

Philippe Gaulier. I find him very intimidating.

10. Why should audiences pick your shows over the 1,700+ other comedy offerings at this year's festival?

Because I am a very talented performer.

'Trygve Wakenshaw: KRAKEN' is at 6pm at Underbelly, Cowgate on 6-11, 13-16, 18-23, 25-30 August. Listing

'Trygve Wakenshaw: Nautilus' is at 10pm at Pleasance Courtyard on 6-11, 13-16, 18-23, 25-30 August. Listing