Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 26. Chapters: Paul Merton, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Joan Rivers, Clive James, Michael McIntyre, Jerry Sadowitz, Omid Djalili, Dylan Moran, Roy Walker, John Hegley, Five Guys Named Moe, Pleasance, Imran Yusuf, Underbelly Limited, Rhona Cameron, Craig Hill, The Gilded Balloon, Jav Jarquin. Excerpt: The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (The Fringe) is the world's largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Scotland's capital during four weeks every August. The Fringe mostly attracts events from the performing arts, particularly theatre and comedy (which has seen substantial growth in recent years), although dance and music also figure significantly: in 2009 35% of shows were comedy and 28% were theatre. Theatre events can range from the classics of ancient Greece, William Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett to modern works, and in 2009 37% of shows were world premieres. However, there is no selection committee to approve the entries - it is an unjuried festival - so any type of event is possible; the Fringe often showcases experimental works which might not be admitted to a more formal festival. In addition to ticketed events included in the programme, there is an ongoing street fair, particularly on the Royal Mile. The organizers are the Festival Fringe Society who publish the programme, sell tickets and offer advice to performers from the Fringe office on the Royal Mile. The Fringe 2009 sold 1,859,235 tickets for 34,265 performances of 2,098 shows in 265 venues, over 25 days, for an average of over 74,000 admissions and 1,300 performances per day. There were an estimated 18,901 performers, from 60 countries. John Bishop performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Fringe started life when eight theatre companies turned up uninvited to the inaugural...