Demetri Martin's Perrier Award-winning comedy show is a very funny, thought-provoking look at a childhood fixation with puzzle books and wordplay that becomes a ludicrous adult obsession.
Demetri spoke to BBC Four about his Edinburgh experience and unusual preoccupations.
BBC Four: You won the Perrier Award on your very first trip to Edinburgh. How did you enjoy your stay?
Demetri Martin: It was great but exhausting - I had never done that much performance. I'd also bought a bike when I first got there for about £40 and Edinburgh is really hilly. It was downhill going home but every morning I had to ride up hill to get to the Assembly Rooms. When I got home to the States I had lost 14lbs. I'll have to go to the Festival as many years as I can just to lose weight.
BBC Four: The show revolves around your obsession with words and puzzles. Where did that come from?
DM: My family have a diner in New Jersey - it's a typical Greek-American situation - my uncle and grandmother both work there. I was also forced to work there throughout high school. I didn't want to but they wouldn't fire me. I was just this horrible employee who sulked a lot. Between that and being bored in my classes I entertained myself with these puzzle books. It was an escape. Especially in classes, it looked like I was being diligent but really I was writing down puzzles in my note book.
While writing this show I came to the conclusion that it was a way to feel successful. I was a small kid who wasn't good at sports or with girls. Puzzles were a contained world of problem solving with a definite end point. I think writing jokes has supplanted the puzzle stuff but even now I go through periods when I'll just start writing a palindrome.
BBC Four: Have you set yourself any new challenges recently?
DM: The thing I do in the show with rearranging the words on the beer bottle and turning them into poem - I was going to try and do that with the Declaration of Independence or the US Constitution but I think I've bitten off more than I can chew. One thing I've learnt - and doing my show has been a great teacher of this - I'm at my happiest when I'm doing things that seem to have no direct application to my career or my success. It just forces me to be process focussed and not worry about whether I'm going to get a TV show or how many gigs I have.
BBC Four: You made the trousers you wear in the show. How's the sewing going?
DM: I haven't sewn in a while. The horrible thing is that my sewing machine was broken and I went out on a few dates with this girl. I don't know how it came up but she ended up lending me hers. I then went away and didn't call her when I got back but I still have her sewing machine. So I now have a sewing machine in my apartment that is a monument to my ineptitude. A sewing machine is supposed to hold things together but it's torn us apart. Every time I see it upsets me. I know I have to apologise. Perhaps I'll sew her something that says, "Sorry".
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