Both the Pleasance and Just The Tonic have fired the starting gun for Festival season, having unveiled their first wave of acts for this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Topping the bill for Just The Tonic is Daniel Sloss, who’ll hit the Fringe with a work in progress show. 'Expect nerves, notes onstage and a lot of laughs, but please don’t come expecting a slick, finished show,’ states a press release, in what will be a rare chance to catch a large venue-filler like Sloss in an intimate setting. 

Joining Sloss on the bill is Craig Hill with his new show Wait ‘Til You See My Entrance!, which will find the perennial kilt-wearer performing his usual brand of cheeky asides and observational comedy. 

Finally, Connor Burns will perform Gallus, the follow-up to last year's major hit 1994, which mined raucous material to successful effect. Our critic wrote of 1994, ‘And while he’s a solid club comic to his core, he’s meeting the Fringe’s expectations of a narrative by taking the familiar harrumph of older generations that things used to be better in their day, comparing the number-one music singles of formative points in his father’s life to those of his own.’  

Also announced from Just The Tonic is their unique comedy experience Comedy In The Dark, which books A-list comedians to perform in a pitch black environment, reframing the experience of stand-up in a novel way. Past acts have included Sarah Millican, Nish Kumar, Jon Richardson, Shaparak Khorsandi and Greg Davies. 

At the Pleasance, seven high-profile shows have been announced, starting with Las Vegas headliner Tape Face, who'll perform his uniquely lithe take on physical comedy, mime and silent stand-up to mark 20 years since his first appearance at the Fringe. 

Returning to the Pleasance after a successful run last year is Miriam Margolyes & Dickens: More Best Bits, in which the 84-year-old thesp and purveyor of talk show magic discusses her love of Dickens in a combination of performance and unique anecdotes. Each show will end with a Q&A session, letting Margolyes loose in typical unfiltered fashion. 

Also on the bill is Trainspotting Live, an immersive theatre piece based on Irvine Welsh’s perennially popular novel, which returns after eight sell-out runs; Just Touching The Base, a new workplace satire from rising comedy duo Wankernomics; Paul Merton & Suki Webster’s Improv Show, returning for another dose of surreal sketches; Getting Triggy With It: Matt Parker Does the Maths, in which the New York Times best-selling author gives maths a ‘good doing’; and Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, an Olivier-award winning show made up on the spot. 

Both venues will add more to their line-ups as Festival season draws nearer. Until then, tickets for all shows are available from the Just The Tonic and Pleasance sites. 

Main picture: Troy Edige.