Globe-trotting Aussie comedian Yianni Agisilaou has many a festival under his belt and at this, his fifth Edinburgh, he is performing two shows (one for free). Yianni looks back at his first and worst Edinburgh nights.

My first

"My first Edinburgh gig was in 2002. It was at the Gilded Balloon as part of the Free Beer Show (which Ed vets may remember as the gig where – unsurprisingly – you got a free beer with your ticket.) Perhaps more interestingly the Free Beer guys told me that they often ran 'Free Joint Show' gigs in their native Oxford (if any police are reading, the seven-year criminal statute of limitations has expired on that plus I'm 99.9% sure that internet comedy interviews are classed as hearsay, yes, before I was a comedian I used to be a lawyer.)

"I remember the gig was in a quintessential Edinburgh sauna (Billiard Room?) and I asked the audience whether I should make the gig even more 'dangerous' by wearing my thick winter jacket whilst doing the gig.  As we all know, all audiences subconsciously want nothing more than to see a Tommy Cooper moment and my offer was taken up with great gusto. 5 minutes later I was faint-headed but it wasn't the adrenaline rush from storming the gig. I ended up wussing out and disrobing. Very enjoyable gig though and it gave me a real taste of the anarchy of some Edinburgh gigs."

My Worst

My worst Edinburgh gig?  Well I hesitate to say 'worst' but last year I performed my solo show MP3Some to three people. There's always the temptation to pull a gig when the fingers on your left hand outnumber the audience but I figured (1) it's still an hour's stage time, (2) if you can do it to 3 people you can do it to anyone and (3) Three tickets sold is £15 less Edinburgh debt! (yes incredulous punters thinking 'surely they're raking it in?!', it DOES get to that point).

Like a drunk guy who against all odds achieves erection, but subsequently disappoints, I can say that all things considered, I put in a very good performance. I got a handful of audible laughs which any performer will know is pretty good going for an audience that can fit in a smart car. I can say with a fair degree of certainty that the two people who spoke English really liked it. Luckily for the non-native speaker, I was wearing a rainbow T-shirt and there was a lot of colour and movement.

I can’t say that I didn’t feel pretty deflated afterwards. I did, and resolved to ‘DO something!’ God knows if I did or I didn’t, but what definitely happened was that my expectations got revised downwards so that the next day’s audience of 17 felt like I was headlining Glastonbury. I’m not being funny now. I’m much better than an audience of 3. If you’re in Edinburgh, come and see me. I've set a precedent. Even if it’s just you, I will do a private show.

Yianni Agisilaou's They &!@% You Up: Greek Parents is on at 10.15pm at Just the Tonic at the Caves. Click here for booking. His free show, The Universe: A User's Guide is on at 7.15pm at Cabaret Voltaire.