QI's John Lloyd returns to the Fringe | Announced as Underbelly launch their programme

QI's John Lloyd returns to the Fringe

Announced as Underbelly launch their programme

QI creator John Lloyd is to return to the Edinburgh Fringe with a live version of his radio show Museum of Curiosity – one of the new shows revealed as Underbelly announces its festival line-up today.

Lloyd – who had a hit with his anecdotal show Liff Of QI last year – will appear with his Radio 4 sidekick – or 'curator' – Dan Schreiber and daily guests including Jimmy Carr and Phill Jupitus.

Underbelly, which started 14 years ago in two small theatre spaces in Cowgate, will this year host 136 companies in 16 venues.

As Chortle revealed yesterday, one of the highlights is the return of Whose Line Is It Anyway? as an unofficial stage show with Clive Anderson, Colin Mochrie, Greg Proops, Stephen Frost and Josie Lawrence.

Other bigger shows include:

Susan Calman's new show, Lady Like, described as 'a reassuring hour spent with the woman her neighbours call "the mad cat lady"'.

• Frisky and Mannish return with Just Too Much a new hour of comedy mashups 'packed tighter than Robin Thicke's crotchal region'.

Abandoman: Ireland’s hip hop improv return with a four piece band, for their biggest show to date. Join them at the Hot Desk for the greatest musical party in Edinburgh.

Will Adamsdale: The 2004 Perrier winner returns to Edinburgh with a show about borders: 'Borders over land, borders across time and even borders down the side of the pieces of paper'.

• Australian absurdist Sam Simmons with his latest show: Death of a Sails-Man. Read our review from Melbourne.

• Another Melbourne hit, the Barry-award nominated Kraken, a physical comedy from Gaulier-trained clown Trygve Wakenshaw, who formerly created Squidboy Read our review from Melbourne

Russell Kane's Smallness – the show he performed in a tiny venue last year returns to the Fringe's biggest venue, the 1,000-seater McEwan Hall for three nights only. He will also be making his theatrical debut (again as previously reported) with ‘dark monologue’ called The Closure Of Craig Solly, in which a psychotic gangster tries to justify his vile actions to the audience.

Fascinating Aida latest show, Charm Offensive. Review

Outside of comedy, the Underbelly will also be reviving 2013's most popular show, the club night Hot Dub Time Machine.

The 'big four' venues – also including Pleasance, Assembly and Gilded Balloon, will be officially launching their joint programme tomorrow night. Between them the consortium will have 625 shows in 75 venue

They have also announced a tie-up with the Times newspapers, which means the brochure will be distributed in the Sunday Times across Scotland and the north of England on May 25.

Published: 12 May 2014

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