COMEDY

Stewart Lee

Lee warms up material for his autumn tour, If You Prefer a Milder Comedian Please Ask for One. The Stand, Aug 5-30

Julian Clary: Lord of the Mince

He’s back on stage and, at 50, Clary promises to offer just as much smut as ever. Uderbelly’s Pasture, Aug 22-30

Rhys Darby

Best known as Murray, the manager in Flight of the Conchords, the Kiwi comic shows himself to be an excellent stand-up in his own right. Udderbelly’s Pasture, Aug 6-15

Kim Noble Will Die

Noble’s show, a multimedia suicide note, is like nothing you’ll have seen before and guarantees to shock. Assembly@George Street, Aug 25-30

Edward Aczel

A marketing manager who has been performing stand-up in his spare time since 2005, Aczel has become known for his brand of “anti-comedy”. Underbelly, Aug 7-30

Richard Herring: Hitler Moustache

The TV regular reclaims Chaplin’s moustache for comedy. Underbelly, Aug 6-30

Ricky Gervais: Science

Gervais kicks off his fourth stand-up tour with a one-off 3,000-seat date. Expect the usual un-PC observations and a routine picking apart the story of Noah’s Ark. Playhouse, Aug 25

Simon Amstell

The acerbic ex-host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks has left the show to spend the summer working on his stand-up material, so expect great things. The Bongo Club, Aug 14-30

Laura Solon

The character comedian’s Edinburgh debut won her the last Perrier Award in 2005, and she has since been heard in her own Radio 4 series and seen on Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse’s sketch show. A star on the rise. Assembly@George Street, Aug 6-30

Frank Skinner’s Credit-Crunch Cabaret

Direct from a sell-out run in the West End, the Brummie veteran’s bash mixes up stellar comedians, musical acts and variety performers, all threaded together by the comic everyman’s great ad-libs. Assembly@George Street, Aug 14-16 & 18-30

Pajama Men

A new sketch-comedy show from the duo who combine physical skill, quirky character- play and narrative complexity. A real joy. Assembly@George Street, Aug 6-30

Alistair McGowan: The One and Many

McGowan returns to live stand- up with a new show — his first at Edinburgh for ten years — and also performs a Noël Coward tribute, with Charlotte Page, at the Assembly@George Street every afternoon. Assembly@ Assembly Hall, Aug 6-31

Rhod Gilbert

The Welsh comic returns with a new show, a mix of bile and flights of fancy in which he builds up a raging head of steam. Pleasance Courtyard, Aug 5-31

The Five-Pound Fringe

Acts such as Robin Ince and Mike Wozniak perform at the Tron and the GRV, with all tickets a fiver for the entire season. Find out more from www.fivepoundfringe.co.uk

Shappi Khorsandi: The Distracted Activist

The talented Anglo-Iranian comic has been gathering momentum since last year’s Edinburgh show — could this be the year she breaks through to the big time? Pleasance Courtyard, Aug 5-31

THEATRE

The Last Witch

Rona Munro’s latest play tells the story of the last witch to be burnt in Scotland in 1727, accused of using sorcery to heal animals, summoning the winds and charming fish out of the sea. Royal Lyceum, Aug 23-29

Faith Healer/The Yalta Game/Afterlife

Three plays by Brian Friel: the story of a modern shaman; an adaptation of Chekhov’s Lady with the Little Dog; and an imaginary encounter between characters who have escaped from Uncle Vanya and the Three Sisters. King’s Theatre, selected dates from Aug 15 until Sept 5

Faust

The National Theatre Radu Stanca Sibiu from Romania present a promenade production. Lowland Hall, Ingliston, Aug 18-22

The School for Scandal

Cal McCrystal directs Lionel Blair in a revival of Sheridan’s great tale of love and deceit in 18th-century London. Pleasance, Aug 5-31

Pythonesque

See John Cleese’s first audition and a series of Python-inspired sketches as Roy Smiles tackles the creation and evolution of the Monty Python team. Udderbelly’s Pasture, Aug 8-31

Orphans

Paines Plough brings the latest play by Dennis Kelly, a psychological thriller that kicks off when a couple’s quiet life is interrupted by the arrival of a blood-stained relative. Traverse, Aug 1 & 8-29

Morecambe

A salute to one of Britain’s best-loved comedians, played by Bob Golding.Assembly@Assembly Hall, Aug 6-31

A British Subject

The journalist Don Mackay’s play is based on personal interviews with Mirza Tahir Hussain, who went to Pakistan from Leeds at the age of 18 and was sentenced to hang for allegedly murdering a taxi driver. Pleasance Courtyard, Aug 5-30

My Darling Clemmie

Hugh Whitemore’s Winston Churchill marital memoir, in which he declares that “my most brilliant achievement was to persuade my wife to marry me.” Stars Ronan McCullough as Churchill. Assembly@George St, Aug 6-31

Stand by Your Van

With a plot involving a TV competition to win a van, this one satirises people’s slavish desire for fame. Based on a story the director Paul Bournce read in The Times. Pleasance Courtyard, Aug 5-31

Doctor Whom? My Search for Samuel Johnson

David Benson offers his take on the life and work of the great know-it-all. Assembly@George Street, Aug 22-31

MUSIC

The Edge Festival

A great line-up running through August from David Byrne (Aug 8) to Faith No More (Aug 25; sold out — get online and open wallet for a ticket) to Magazine (Aug 30). www.theedgefestival.com

Edwyn Collins

Three nights from a national treasure. Assembly@Assembly Hall, Aug 20-22

Tom Tom Crew

Supercharged collision of aerialism, beatboxing and full-on flips. Udderbelly’s Pasture, Aug 6-31

Jack Bruce/Robin Trower/Gary Husband

The songwriter of Cream, a Hendrix-influenced guitar maestro, a hotshot drummer and Marshall amps straining at the leash. Jazz-rock pyrotechnics are possible; Sunshine of Your Love probable. Queens Hall, Aug 5

Bryn Terfel

The mighty bass-baritone sings a collection of British songs, both classical and folk, with the pianist Malcolm Martineau. Usher Hall, Aug 23

Fair is Foul, Foul is Fair

The avant-garde composer Giorgio Battistelli’s Macbeth- inspired piece for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus. Sir Charles Mackerras also conducts masterpieces by Haydn. Usher Hall, Aug 26

OPERA/DANCE

St Kilda

Archive footage, Gaelic folk song, electronic music and acrobats combine to re-create the bizarre story of an abandoned Hebridean island, once home to a people that lived on seabirds and their eggs. Festival Theatre, Aug 15-17

Il ritorno d’Ulisse

Monteverdi’s Homeric opera, reconfigured as the vision of a dying man in Johannesburg, and retold with puppetry by the people behind War Horse. King’s Theatre, Aug 23-26, not Mon

The Return of Ulysses

Picking up on the official festival’s homecoming theme is the Royal Ballet of Flanders with this production set to music by Purcell and, strangely, Doris Day. Playhouse, Aug 21-24

KIDS SHOWS

Sketch Show 4 Kids: Because I Said So

From the company of Comedy 4 Kids, a new, full-length sketch show promising to be hilarious for all ages from 6 and over. Underbelly, Aug 6-30

Room on the Broom

Tall Stories (The Gruffalo) return with an adaptation of another Julia Donaldson picture book, the story of a witch with a broken broom. Suitable for ages 3 up. Pleasance Courtyard, Aug 5-31

Private Peaceful

Michael Morpurgo’s story of a young soldier awaiting a firing squad at dawn is likely to sell quickly. Suitable for ages 8 up. Udderbelly’s Pasture, Aug 6-31

Fringe box office: www.edfringe. com 0131-226 0000 International Festival box office (most classical, opera and dance): www.eif.co.uk 0131-473 2000