Ticket sales treble after Fringe venue jumps gun

• Comedian Kevin Bridges is on the bill at the Fringe

A major new venue for the Underbelly programme and a move to start selling tickets early for headline shows have been credited with the box office boom.

The Underbelly, which started selling tickets in March, was criticised for jumping the gun and selling tickets ahead of the official Fringe launch last week, but has been backed by some promoters for helping Edinburgh compete with festivals across the UK.

It emerged last week that there had been a 17 per cent hike in the number of shows being staged at the Fringe – reaching by far the highest total in its history. A string of new venues have been created this year, while the much-loved Spiegeltent is making a return in partnership with Assembly Theatre.

Shows by comedians John Bishop and Danny Bhoy, and dance act Flawless, plus musical Five Guys Named Moe, starring Clarke Peters of The Wire, have been among the biggest sellers for Underbelly, after tickets were released weeks in advance.

Underbelly has this year taken on the 1,000-seater McEwan Hall, which is expected to reinforce the Bristo Square area – where the promoter has its huge "Udderbelly" temporary venue – as the Fringe's busiest hub.

The festival's biggest promoter, Assembly Theatre – which will also be creating a huge new venue this summer – has also reported sales running ahead of last year. It has sold about 13,000 tickets to date.

An antique Belgian mirrored tent – or Spiegeltent– will be installed in West Princes Street Gardens as part of Assembly's first expansion for five years.

Underbelly director Charlie Wood said: "We have sold loads more tickets than at the same point last year and our sales are running three times ahead.

"The new venue has a lot to do with it, as we have a lot more shows on sale, and some of them went on sale early, but we would still be up 25 per cent if we didn't count the McEwan Hall."

William Burdett-Coutts, artistic director at Assembly – which boasts Simon Callow, Alan Cumming, Frank Skinner, Chris Addison and Alistair McGowan among its headline acts – said: "I know we are definitely ahead of last year, including the shows at our new venue, and we've sold 13,000 tickets, most of which were after the official Fringe launch last week."

Anthony Anderson, artistic director at the Pleasance, said: "The good news is that we are well up on our ticket sales from this time last year, but it is very early days. The big shows are doing well, and the well-known TV comedians are producing a good advance, as expected.

"What is also encouraging is that sales across the theatre and comedy programme are equally well up on last year."

Last year a record 1,859,235 Fringe tickets were sold – 21 per cent up on the previous year.