Just over a month now until the Edinburgh Fringe kicks into gear and by all accounts this is being dubbed the year of the comedy newbie. To launch our series of Q&As with debut comedians, we introduce you to Ania Magliano.

^{Ania Magliano / Picture: Matt Stronge}

What’s the best bit of advice you’ve ever been given from a seasoned comic? 

On a long train journey Catherine Bohart gave me so much good advice that I’ve got a notes page on my phone of everything she said. There was so much wisdom, but a lot of it was to do with finding your own ways to measure if you’re improving as a comedian, rather than relying on external validation. She’s as wise as she is funny (VERY)!

And what has proved to be the least useful? 

Nothing springs to mind, which unfortunately means I’ll have to take sole responsibility for all my mistakes. 

Is there one thing that keeps cropping up when people talk to you about Edinburgh in August? 

People seem to like the name of my show, Absolutely No Worries If Not, which is inspired by my people-pleasing tendencies. Therefore, people saying they like it is literally ideal. 

What’s your favourite word that begins in ‘e’? 

Egg. I used to hate them, then someone made me a nice omelette and now I’m worried I’m addicted to them. I’ve had three today already. This is a cry for help.

My parents lovingly and patiently sat through ten minutes of my material about vibrators

Is there one act you absolutely HAVE to see in August? 

Picking one is so hard. Christopher Bliss and the sketch group Tarot have both made me cry with laughter in the past. Sarah Keyworth. Sunil Patel. Britney. All incredibly funny. 

Picture yourself in early September: what would constitute a successful Fringe for you? 

I have two main goals: feeling that I’ve spent a month performing a show that I am truly proud of, and not getting so stressed that I think it’s a good idea to give myself a drastic haircut using nail scissors. My hair still hasn’t fully recovered from 2018, when I decided that 3am would be the perfect time to give myself bangs. They looked BAD.

What percentage of your early stand-up performances is likely to appear in your Fringe debut? 

0%, which will come as a massive relief to my parents who, when I first did 30 minutes at the Fringe, lovingly and patiently sat through ten minutes of my material about vibrators, and valiantly pretended not to hear any of it. 

Which other new comedian do you feel a special kinship with? And do you reckon it’s reciprocated?

Chloe Petts and I have a running joke that we have one brain. We haven’t discussed the fine print of whether this is one, extra big brain or one normal brain split between two. But it was cemented when we both got Covid at the same time whilst not having seen each other for months. If a synced-up immune system isn’t a sign of reciprocation then I don’t know what is. 

Which side of your family do you get your funny bones from? 

My dad and stepdad are both very funny people, but since English is my mum’s second language, she’s often the funniest by accident. When dropping me and my friends at the train station, she offered to take us to the back platform where the train was leaving from. Unfortunately, what she said was ‘I’ll take you from the back’. Thanks mum!

What will you do to keep fit and healthy (relatively speaking) during August? 

I’m quite into boxing and high-intensity exercise, so during August I’ll make sure to dedicate one to two hours each day thinking about how I should probably do some of that soon.

Which word of six letters or more will crop up the most in your Edinburgh show?

Hmmm. If I can get away with a contentious use of a hyphen, then ‘horse-girl’. If not, then ‘Otis Paul McCartney Magliano’, the full name of the cat I bought on Gumtree during lockdown.

Ania Magliano: Absolutely No Worries If Not, Pleasance Courtyard, 3–28 August, 4.35pm.