Before Simon Munnery heads off to the Edinburgh Fringe he stops of at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre Pub, Hoe Street, Walthamstow with his show Simon Munnery Sings Soren Kierkegaard on June 23 (yeolderoseandcrowntheatrepub.co.uk). He talks to Amie Mulderrig about being naked on stage – accidentally, what makes him laugh and being compere to an empty tent. Joining him on the night is Lucy Porter.

Why did you decide to become a comedian? At what point? Did anything or anyone influence your decision to become a comedian?
I never decided to be a comedian, but after having been one for about 20 years grudgingly accept that I am. I drifted into it, then after a while the wind changed and now I’m stuck like that.

What makes you laugh?
My own thoughts primarily. Others also. My dog’s facial expressions and antics. Some of the writing of Soren Kierkegaard. All human endeavour.

You’re coming to Walthamstow soon, what can we expect? What will you be doing?
My new show is entitled Simon Munnery Sings Soren Kierkegaard. I’ve done it four times. It’s a glorious mess. I attempt to make very old translated material, that was never written to be performed, funny, now. When that fails I try again.

What inspires the material for your stand-up?
Things that happen and things I imagine. I start with an idea and pursue it as far as I can, leave it fallow for a few years then return to it reinvigorated.

How much do you adapt your material for different venues in different locations?
Hardly at all, unless something striking happens on the way there, or I find myself in Walthamstow when I always perform my celebrated Walthamstow joke.

What is the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you on stage?
I was in the Greatest Show on Legs once, and prior to the naked balloon dance finale I had been unable to inflate my balloon. The curtain went up and I was just naked with an uninflated balloon.

Do you ever get stage fright?
Yes, all the time, except when I’m on stage, of course, then I get off-stage fright, the fear of being off-stage. I’m like a bleeding yo-yo.

What was the last joke/skit that made you laugh so hard, you wished you’d written it yourself?
New Art Club’s Australian dance.

Describe the worst gig of your life.
At a festival in Tottenham once they’d sited the comedy tent so that it faced away from the rest of the festival. It had no markings to indicate it was the comedy tent, it looked like a closed tent. I was compere. The only people who could see something was happening in the tent were those taking an unusual route to the toilet. At one point I had six in the audience.

Hecklers – ignorant drunks meant to make your life a misery, or opinionated fellows designed to keep entertainers on their toes?
There’s hardly any heckling anymore, it’s so rare that one treasures every heckle. I just hope and pray that I might live long enough to one day hear a good one.

Who are you supporting in the World Cup? Who do you think will win?
I’ll be supporting FIFA this World Cup; whatever happens they’ll win.

Comedy hero?
Gerry Sadowitz, John Hegley, Malcolm Hardee, Arnold Brown – they’re the people that made we want to do it.