Demetri presented his one-man-show 'If I' at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2003. The Perrier Award winning show is based around his obsession with puzzles, and takes a look into what made the comedian what he is today. He explains, 'I wrote the ... show while I was there, not even knowing that I'd do it at the festival. One ting led to the next, and I found myself performing the show 25 nights in a row."(1)

He was invited to the festival by comedy agent Hannah Chambers and it was his first trip to Europe. He therefore, like most people in America, had no understanding of the weight of the Perrier Award he was soon to win, stating " At first, I thought they gave out a bunch of Perrier awards every year. People were talking about it, but i was just happy they were coming to see the show. I remember riding my bike the night before and thinking it would be cool to win it just so I wouldn't ever have to be in it again." But he did win, and he continued to return there each year with a new routine, such as 'Spiral Bound', 'These are jokes' and 'Dr Earnest Parrot Presents'. However he at first found the idea of the festival difficult because "it's hard turning comedy into a contest. Maybe you like one style more than another, but it's not necessarily better, it's just different."(2)

Demetri's obsession with puzzles came from reading puzzle books to entertain himself at school and while working in the family diner (see biography). In Demetri's analytical way, he discovered "while writing this show ... that it (puzzles) was a way to feel successful. I was a small kid who wasn't got at sports or with girls. Puzzles were a contained world of problem solving with a definite end point."

Brain Logan (from Guardian) describes the show as consisting of 'two parts confessional to one part comedy.'(3) Which it is. As Demetri describes it in the show, it is "a story about when one mans obsessive analytical mind goes too far and turns on itself." The show is about the 5 different definitions of the word "if" and how they apply to Demetri's life, 'I'. A very philosophical show mixed with some solid comedy.

Episode 1:
The first meaning of 'if' - 'In the event that'
Describes how Demetri became addicted to puzzles and his idea about his future.

Episode 2:
The second meaning - 'although pissibly, even though'
Demetri reminisces about moving from doing tto puzzles to creating them. He creating 3D cross word puzzles which went down, across and back, and he claimed were "three ways to say, 'I'm lonely.'" He desrcibes how he would set himself challenges such as writing with his left hand and reading the dictionary and learning every word in ten block chunks. The episode also includes his hilarious list of "useless talents" (appearing at 5.20), his hand sewn pants (8.35) for the purpose of the show and his beer bottle poem (0.45).

Episode 3:
The third meaning -'whether'
Demetri discusses his time in law school, dropping out and "what happens when you remove the plan ... You're left with a guy who like anagrams and doesn't have a job. Sweet, that's a catch."
An excellent example of Demetri's ability to create palindromes.


Episode 4:
Fourth meaning - 'used to introduce an exclamatory cause, indicating a wish'
Demetri explains how he started categorising his life, using a point system to becaome a better person, asking himself "can using my time better, lead to being more productive?" He describes this time as a "breakthough slash breakdown."


Episode 5:
Follows his journey of using the point system for 27 weeks and the 'analysis of the analysis' of himself. The maximum possible score per week was 35, and he averaged 11, failing his own little test.

Episode 6:
Fifth meaning - 'a possibility, condition, or'
Demetri discusses what his life would have been like had it taken a different course and concludes with the equasion that I= 'if + if + if....) / Time

Watch 'If I' on YouTube.com -
Episode 1 (9.01 mins)
Episode 2 (9.05 mins)
Episode 3 (9.04 mins)
Episode 4 (9.04 mins)
Episode 5 (9.02 mins)
Episode 6 (3.17 mins)


References
(1) Independent Interview, 17 August 2004 - Read full article here
(2) Find Articles, 8 August 2004 - Read full article here
(3)BBC Four Interview, 25 August 2005 - Read full article here