And the centrepiece is a Fidelio day on 17 Aug when, from 10am to 10pm, a relay team of lecturers, conductors, singers and ensembles will follow Beethoven’s only opera through its stages of development, including a concert performance of the initial version, Leonore, at the Usher Hall in the afternoon. The new Scottish Opera staging of the final version rounds off the day at the Festival Theatre; the whole package, if you have the stamina, costs from pounds 40 (031-557 9655)

(Photograph omitted). Best of the Fest 1-3 (Playhouse, 031-557 2590, 27 & 29 Aug). A trio of shows featuring the stars of the Off the Kerb stable: Julian Clary, Lee Evans, Jeff Green, Hattie Hayridge and Mark Thomas; then Jack Dee, Mark Lamarr, Rhona Cameron, Richard Morton and Mark Thomas again; then Jo Brand and special guests

Bib & Bob (Acropolis, 031-226 5138, Aug 19-21). Blink-and-you’ll-miss-it variety spectacular featuring Logan Murray and Jerry Sadowitz.
Arnold Brown and Why Not? (Pleasance, 031-556 6550, 24 Aug-3 Sept) Sly 1987 Perrier winner: ‘Not so much hip. more hip replacement.’Scott Capurro – Risk Gay (Southside, 031-667 7365, 14 Aug-3 Sept). Fresh from Mrs Doubtfire, the stand-out attraction in what looks like a below-strength American contingent.Alan Davies (Gilded Balloon, 031-226 2151, Fri-3 Sept).

Rising star with naggingly Izzard-esque delivery.Jenny Eclair’s Bad Behaviour Show (Pleasance, 031-556 6550, Wed-3 Sept). A miscreant with a mission: ‘If equality means more women pissing on the street, then so be it.’Lee Evans (Music Hall, 031-226 2428, 22 Aug-3 Sept). Last year’s Perrier Award-winner returns.The Fabulous Lypsinka Show (Assembly Rooms, 031-226 2428, Fri-3 Sept). Drag diva John Epperson lip-synchs his way across the USA.Marga Gomez – Memory Tricks (Assembly Rooms, 031-226 2428, Fri-3 Sept). Comedy and drama blend in unique style in this acclaimed reminiscence of a Harlem upbringing.Boothby Graffoe (Pleasance, 031-556 6550, Fri-3 Sept). ‘The only comedian in the country,’ it says here, ‘to be named after a Lincolnshire village.’ Where does that leave Roy Walker?John Hegley – Love Cuts (Pleasance, 031-556 6550, Sat-31 Aug). Winsome banjo minstrel walks a daring line between the whimsical and the annoying.Harry Hill Pub Internationale (Pleasance, 031-556 6550, Fri-29 Aug).

Hill appears with his pub band, his adopted son – the bearded, three-year-old Alan – and ‘media celebrity’ Al Murray. Not to be missed.Dominic Holland (Pleasance, 031-556 6550, Thurs-3 Sept). 1993 Perrier Best Newcomer Award winner, unfairly stigmatised as the comedian who has already met your parents.Phil Kay (Gilded Balloon, 031-226 2151, Fri-3 Sept). Ebullient and likeable Glaswegian with a hint of the young Billy Connolly about him.Mandy Knight – Some of My Best Friends are Ginger (Gilded Balloon II, 031-225 6520, Fri-3 Sept). Anti-ginge prejudice rears its ugly head.Lea De Laria – Queer Brat (Acropolis, 031-557 6969, 25-29 Aug).