The Edinburgh Festival draws ever closer - and while we'd love to have guessed what Doug Segal thinks about it, we had to ask him. Because, unlike him, we're not mind-readers...
Pitch your Edinburgh show in 25 words or less.
Winner of Best Cabaret at Brighton Fringe teaches audiences to detect lies, implant suggestions and read minds with laughs and a rock and roll attitude.
Your best Edinburgh moment?
Either the day when, five days into my first-ever Edinburgh run, I realised I was the number one show on Edtwinge. Or, having had to turn people away every night, someone showing me the queue for returns on my last night stretching down the stairs and across the courtyard.
And your worst?
I did a late-night showcase which turned out to be one of those late-night zoo, act vs crowd gladiator-style ones. The compere wound the audience up just before introducing me, the first heckle was from the house band who played loudly all the way through my set. It was totally the wrong environment for an act like mine. At the point I left, the act after me was telling a punter in graphic detail how he'd had sex with his mother while the punter threatened to cut the act's throat.
You've got one hour free in Edinburgh - what do you do?
Sleep. Oh dear god, sleep. I'm doing up to three appearances a day with my own show and guest spots. Any time not performing will be spent sleeping.
Which Edinburgh landmark/venue/place would you give a five star review to?
The Gilded Balloon - the spiritual home of all things funny at Edinburgh.
Give us a secret Edinburgh tip!
The Mosque Kitchen does really cheap, really good curries and is one of the few central Edinburgh eateries I've found that's still open when I finally finish whatever midnight showcase I'm booked into.
Deep-fried haggis or deep-fried Mars bar?
Haggis - I'm a savoury man. I've actually never tried either, but a Scottish friend described deep fried Mars bar as being a poor man's profiterole. I believe it is possible to have any organic matter you desire deep fried on request in Edinburgh's many chip emporiums.
Kilt or trousers?
Trousers. I've got the legs for a kilt but there's no Segal tartan.
Arthur's Seat or Arthur Smith?
I've never seen Arthur's Seat. I have seen Arthur Smith. The latter is very good. The former requires a lot of walking - so I'm going with Arthur Smith's Seat.
Complete this sentence: “In Edinburgh, I will be mainly...
...reading minds and influencing people.”
Doug Segal’s show How To Read Minds and Influence People is at 19.00 at the Gilded Balloon, 2-27 August. Find out more and book tickets here.