FRINGE BENEFITS: 5 SHOWS NOT TO MISS

Josie Long Long’s last show, Tender, featured one of the funniest accounts of childbirth I’ve ever heard. The much-loved Fringe veteran is now pregnant again – which should provide plenty of material for this work-inprogress show, which promises her usual mix of the personal and the political. Monkey Barrel (monkey barrel comedy.com), Aug 23-29

Julia Masli Winner of the coveted Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality, Masli is best known as part of the sketch troupe Legs. But this year the Estonia-born clown makes her solo debut. Judging from her delightfully weird club appearances, it’ll be something quite special. Monkey Barrel (monkey barrel comedy.com), Aug 18-22

Daniel Sloss A West End hit in the brief window between last year’s lockdowns, the Scottish Netflix star’s stand-up show Hubris mines shockingly bad-taste topics – Hiroshima, school shootings – for unlikely comic gold. Corn Exchange / Festival Theatre (edfringe.com), Aug 11-15 & 21

Ahir Shah Shah’s last show, Dots, was a fiercely intelligent, moving hour of stand-up that touched on big questions of life, death, family and religion. It sets a high bar for this follow-up. Monkey Barrel (monkey barrel comedy.com), Aug 10-15

Terrible Wonderful Adaptations High-concept theatre meets lowbrow mucking about, as a group (led by John-luke Roberts) try to adapt an unadaptable text for the stage. Previous efforts have included the itunes Terms and Conditions, the 1997 Lib Dem Manifesto and Allen Ginsberg’s beat poem Howl. Assembly Roxy Central (assembly festival.com), Aug 13