It's that time of year: venues, artists and other festival keenos are starting to announce their Edinburgh Fringe programmes. Gilded Balloon are the latest ones to reveal what tricks they've got up their sleeve for August, and there are some exciting new venue news from them to boot.

This year, the National Museum of Scotland and Gilded Balloon have joined forces, and 18 productions covering adult and children's theatre, comedy and music will take place at the museum on Chambers Street. There's also a pop-up bar inside the venue, a full-functioning box office, and an outside bar selling bevvies to ticket holders and non-ticket holders alike.

It's not just NMS that has been scooped up the GB lot: the Counting House will be running an alternative model, which aims to help smaller performers present their work at the Festival. Under a Pay What You Want arrangement, audiences can either buy a ticket in advance, or go to a show and pay whatever they want at the end.

Here, we pick six shows from the programme that we're pretty excited about seeing.

The Animotion Show by Maria Rud
Russian artist Rud paints live to original music, written and performed by David Heath and DJ Dolphin Boy.
Gilded Balloon at the Museum, Wed 3–Sun 14 Aug, 6pm.

Rory Bremner Meets…
The impressionist and comedian hosts one-off chats with a variety of guests.
Gilded Balloon at the Museum, Sun 13–Fri 19 Aug, 9pm.

Night at the Museum
Comedians from around the world do an improvised set based on genuine artefacts from the museum.
Gilded Balloon at the Museum, Tue 4–Sat 13 Aug; Fri 19 & Sat 20 Aug; Fri 26 & Sat 27 Aug; times vary.

Michael Morpurgo's King Arthur
An adaptation of Arthur: High King of Britain, written by acclaimed novelist Michael Morpurgo.
Gilded Balloon at the Museum, Wed 3–Mon 29 Aug (not Tue 16, Mon 22), 2.45pm.

The Fabulous Punch & Judy Show
An adults-only spectacle, describing itself as a 'hysterical, murderous live action romp'.
Gilded Balloon at the Counting House, Wed 3–Mon 29 Aug (not Tue 16 & Tue 23).

Amy Howerska: Smashcat
An hour of unfiltered comedy from the funny lady.
Gilded Balloon at the Counting House, Wed 3–Mon 29 Aug.