Edinburgh programme out

The Edinburgh Fringe programme has been published today, boasting more shows than ever before.

This year, the festival boasts 2,871 shows performed by 24,107 artists in 273 venues. The number of shows is a 6.5 per cent increase on last year’s programme.

Of those, 975 – or just over a third – are in the comedy category, about the same number as last year.

Many shows went on sale early this year, continuing the initiative which attempted to alleviate the effects of the Olympics in 2012.

Fringe chief executive Kath M Mainland said: ‘By last week over 1,800 shows were onsale on edfringe.com, compared to just over 1,000 by the same time last year. But that still leaves over 1,000 being released today, a figure which in itself would be the largest arts festival in the world.’

The 392-page programme comes in at 605g, and has been printed with four covers.

Among the comedy highlights not previously mentioned on Chortle:

• Tom Basden has written a play, Holes, about the survivors of a fatal plane crash stranded on a remote tropical island – which a secret seaside location near Edinburgh will have to stand in for. The cast includes Daniel Rigby, who won a Bafta for his role in the Morecambe and Wise biopic, Katy Wix, Peep Show’s Mathew Baynton and Bebe Cave, currently appearing in the West End as the younger version of Helen Mirren’s Queen in The Audience.

• The Jim Henson workshop is producing an adults-only improvised puppet show at Assembly Hall ever night. Meanwhile, the Jimmy Saville scandal has been turned into a Punch & Judy show at Bob’s Bookshop.

• There’s a run of the new tours from Sarah Millican and Jason Manford, while Caroline Rhea, Adam Buxton, Alistair McGowan, Glenn Wool, Ed Byrne and Greg Proops are among the high-profile acts to be making a return.

• David Schneider has a one-off show in the spoken word section, called Is the Internet Making Us More Stupider?

• A compilation show called Worst Show On the Fringe promises a line-up of acts who have got one-star reviews. Enter at your own peril...

Published: 30 May 2013