Assembly treats Fringe fans with early tickets release

TICKETS for the Assembly Fringe programme are being sold two months before the official programme launch.

Details of dozens of acts have been unveiled within days of the deadline for securing a spot in the Fringe guide passing.

Underbelly has already put several shows on sale months in advance.

Many of the shows unveiled on the Assembly website are for the new George Square arena, which launches this year.

The line-up will include Jerry Sadowitz, Jonathan Watson, Sarah Millican, Andy Parsons and Dave Gorman.

The theatre section will feature two new shows from Guy Masterson - Shylock and The Diaries of Adam and Eve, while the daytime cabaret show Best of the Fest will relocate from Princes Street Gardens to George Square.

A spokeswoman said: "Assembly has a reputation for bringing the best established and new talent to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

"As a spring treat we are thrilled to be able to offer a taste of our 2011 programme with a limited number of early bird tickets to a selection of shows."

A spokesman for the Fringe said the event was not as strict on insisting on an embargo as it had been in previous years.

He added: "Everybody wants as much exposure for their shows as possible, for some people this means putting tickets on sale earlier than the Fringe programme is released."