**********

So tomorrow it begins, the month-long laugh-fest that is the Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. New material, old material, its all being flung into the epic maelstrom which sees hundreds of thousands of punters take their seats to be, well, entertained. The choices are vast, from well-established veterans to bright-eyed kids making their first step up from the ten-minute warm-up slots. I mean, making people laugh for an hour is no mean feat. To help the punters decide what to see this August, the Mumble has made the following selection of shows which are well worth a look.

**************

Fourth in Australia’s Got Talent, with over 400 sold out shows. This inspirational old Aussie takes a wicked, wicked look at old age, grabs it by the throat and makes a mockery of it. Australia’s Got Talent Irish Judge, Brian McFadden, comments ‘a class act, hilariously funny, National Treasure’. Australia’s Got Talent Judge, Danni Minogue, ‘it’s dirty, it’s smutty and we love it, a true Australian gem, original, warm, fantastic.’ He has packed out venues from Sydney to Perth and mesmerised TV audiences everywhere, gives you true blue fair dinkum belly laughs.

***********

Malcolm Hardee Award nominee and Best Show Winner Buxton Fringe 2014, in the first of a trilogy of new solo shows for 2015. After a chance encounter with Doctor Emmett Brown, Nathan realises there is only one thing that has really changed over the last 30 years. It isn’t flying cars. And it’s about to ruin all of our lives

***********

The award-winning comic’s story-telling show on how to find outrageous nightly adventure on a budget of £5. Set in the shady underworld of 1990’s Soho, London, it contains scenes of an explicit sexual nature. It’s a storytelling show about storytelling – using it as a way to get a social life. Creating scenarios in illegal drinking-dens beneath sex shops. Realising that the bigger the story you tell, the more people – such as international music legends and Tony Blair – want to believe it.

*********

Irreverent. Unnerving. Pointless. Following their sell-out show K.I.S.S. which toured the Camden and Brighton Fringes, and fresh from storming London Sketchfest 2015, four Edinburgh debutants bring you a sketch show unlike no other. Recently released from the funny farm, an institute for the unhinged (not actually) in Oxford, Laughing Stock combine fast-paced, witty dialogue with physical tomfoolery and musical ineptitude to bring you their very own brand of idiocy. Have you a penchant for the peculiar and a predilection for polo necks?

**********

Canadian Caroline Bierman coined the phrase ‘ONEymoon’ and reinvented a long standing social convention. This celebration was nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award, Best Solo Show. Audiences join Caroline as her family and friends toast her unusual day and get a sneak peak at her vacation and rise to fame. Rapping. Dancing. Speeches. Your presence is gift enough. Christel Bartelse is a Canadian Fringe Veteran.

**********

Apples are the most important fruit in the world: think the Garden of Eden, the discovery of gravity, the advent of computers! Join Joe Hart (So You Think You’re Funny? finalist 2014 and Tickled Pig champion 2014) on his debut solo show. Prepare for a hilarious ride through the history of the world, according to apples.

*************

Anthropology graduate Joanie Little is stuck working as a barista. Much like Jane Goodall did with chimpanzees, this upbeat Miss studies her available subjects: the customers of her coffeeshop ‘jungle’… hilarity ensues

**************

A show for anyone who ever felt a little bit different growing up… Ballroom dancing is not the only humiliation heaped on a young Saikat. There’s public poetry, catechism, and no one getting his name right, ever. Join Saikat as he dances precariously through his dual identity childhood, torn between the familiar sights of Birmingham and the mysteries of Bangladesh. Meet werewolves in the playground, nuns in the corridors and tangerines in the dancehall… The play takes a humorous look at what it means to be British from someone who had to learn the hard way.

*************

Can comedy change Western misconceptions about Islam? Join Aatif as he makes his Edinburgh Fringe debut with a show that drew critical acclaim and packed houses to the Leicester Square Theatre in London.

***********

From the creators of Boris and Sergey comes a one man show featuring
puppetry, physical comedy, and mime. In this hilarious, absurd and often
magical show that juxtaposes themes of loneliness and belonging with joy
and exhilaration we are invited to witness one man’s quest for a friend.
Pathos, dark humour and Victorian aesthetics combine to create a wonderful
and mysterious backdrop to a poetic and surreal journey

**********

Join award-winning character comedian Joe Rowntree for the rare and wonderful specimen Morgan Berry: Pet Bereavement Counsellor. Rabbit Specialist. Born in Barnsley, raised in Africa – Bafrican! The car wash is in trouble. Morgan must save it. Can his online course in Pet Bereavement yield dividends and stop it from going Watership Down.

****************

It’s Only Words is a first for the Edinburgh Fringe – a comedy show in Chinese for people who don’t speak any Chinese at all! This unique debut from comedian Louise Reay is based on the idea that only 7% of communication is verbal. Come and experiment with the remaining 93%! You’ll understand it, but you won’t know why. It’s Only Words plays with the audience’s preconceptions about humanity and communication through a mix of clowning and stand up.

********

Come see the birth of a true modern jester, a voice for the people. The Man is a punchy and surreal atomisation of the shadowy controlling forces that shape our modern world. A lone vigilante, The Man ploughs through sacred cows like an allegorical abattoir, doing for preconceptions what battering rams do for doors