Anyone who saw Daniel Kitson’s 2012 Fringe sell-out, about a writer writing a play about writers writing another play, will agree that the show-within-a-show format has grown serious legs in recent years. This year Patch of Blue Theatre stride out with their latest take on the genre to showcase the UK premiere of quirky US Broadway musical hit [title of show].

A fun-filled feat conceived by real-life pals Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell in 2004, it brings together musical theatre and real life as two guys write a musical about two guys writing a musical. For actress and West End theatre star Carley Stenson, the originality of the script, not to mention some great tunes, made the chance to join the line-up irresistible. ‘I’d done Elle in Legally Blonde and played the Princess in Shrek, but this just felt so different from what I’d done, or seen, before.’

With a new cast in place for the UK run, Stenson is hopeful it can emulate the show’s stateside success: ‘It’s nerve-racking, but hopefully the Edinburgh audience will love it as much as I do.’

Assembly Checkpoint, 226 0000, 3–26 Aug (not 12), 3.10pm, £10.50–£12.50 (£8.50–£10.50). Previews 1 & 2 Aug, £8.50.