The Stand has announced its first batch of Edinburgh Fringe shows. Among the highlights this August are Katherine Ryan, Simon Munnery, Stephen K Amos, Mark Watson, Paul Sinha, Alun Cochrane and Mitch Benn. There will also be a return for past Stand favourites such as Gavin Webster, Seymour Mace, Martin Mor and Jo Caulfield, and sets from rising stars such as Andrew Doyle, Michael J Dolan, Dana Alexander and Lost Voice Guy.

Salt ‘n’ Sauce Promotions, the company behind The Stand Comedy Club, will also be putting on gigs again at The Assembly Rooms and in St Andrews Square. Stewart Lee, Stewart Francis and Tom Stade will be at the Assembly Rooms alongside performances of ‘The Missing Hancocks’ – previously lost sitcom scripts performed by Kevin McNally.

There will also be kids shows, music-based shows and talks. Spoken word events will include Jon Ronson discussing his new book on public shaming, plus Ricky Tomlinson, Owen Jones and Rodney Bewes chatting about his time as a Likely Lad.

More shows will be announced in May. Tickets for the above shows go on sale at 4pm today (Tuesday). See www.thestand.co.uk and www.arfringe.com for purchases – all sales are online only until further notice.