My Edinburgh: Jessie Cave on Stand-Up School, migraines and unique star ratings

Jessie Cave

I am doing 20 stand-up gigs during this festival which will bring my stand-up gig total to 34 and a half. I am thinking of it as Stand-Up School. I am not comfortable telling people I am trying stand-up because to me that implies confidence. I'm - well, I'm not.

I hit my head on my first night here, and the bolshy by-product of a migraine has meant I might not be able to see the 898 shows I have promised to see. Plus, living next to the Royal Mile equals sleep deprivation, although I didn't mind the voice of a female busker at 4.30am two nights ago. I almost leaned out the window to applaud which would have been the end of me given my balance at the moment. I must get a white noise machine.

I'm marginally more relaxed than last year. I was doing my first show Bookworm (with my little sister Bebe). This year she's in a play without me, Holes by Tom Basden. I'm jealous because she can visit the seaside afterwards.

I like seeing things and giving them stars for things non-performance based. For example, he has a 4* hair parting. She has a 3* warm smile and a 5* cold smile. If the show is questionable, it passes the time. I am trying to work out what my taste is, comedy-wise. I look up to stand up comedians who appear to be telling the truth, but I don't mind if they are lying.

Jessie Cave's must-sees

Liam Williams (The Tron, 10.20pm) is poetically funny and makes me feel sad in a happy way when I leave. Tom Rosenthal (Pleasance Courtyard, 8.15pm) has a nice colour base on his poster (he's also definitely brilliant). Aisling Bea's show (Gilded Balloon, 6.30pm) is what I am looking forward to the most. Her face is stuck on my fridge.

'Jessie Cave and Jenny Bede: Ain't too Proud to Beg', Henry's Cellar Bar, to 24 August (Free Fringe)