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The last 12 months have been pretty good for Andrew Lawrence, seeing him going from fairly unknown comedian to a nominee for last year’s Best Newcomer award at the Fringe. He returns for his second Fringe with Social Leprosy for Beginners and Improvers, a guide on how to get people to avoid you, because, as Andrew puts it,pPeople are everywhere, and they can really fuck you off.

Although not as strong as last year’s debut Fringe appearance, Andrew’s stage presence and his ability to expel colourful language which manages to both offend and amuse at the same time holds the audience in his grip the entire time he is onstage. Some people may be disappointed to know that he has dropped most of the musical element of his act in favour of more narrative (the one tune he does sing during the show is more of a ditty than a song), but the show still delivers the kind of laughs that you can’t help but feel you shouldn’t be having.

With many shows this year at the Fringe claiming to offend and shock, this show delivers just that under a cloak of unexpectability, and demonstrates once again the humorously dark brand of comedy that Andrew is becoming famous for producing.

Andrew Lawrence – Social Leprosy for Beginners and Improvers is at the Pleasance Courtyard from 8.30pm

This time last year it was obvious that Pappy’s Fun Club were going to be legitimately entitled to charge for their show. Having stormed the Free Fringe with an accomplished show performed on a stage little bigger than a shoe box, the troupe’s imagination was patently bigger than the venue they were sharing. Thankfully there’s no such problem this year.

After having assembled such a collection of memorable characters (oh dear God, for the day this lot replace Little Britain), the group have bravely decided to write an hour of all-new material. Unfortunately the quartet’s discernible chemistry isn’t quite enough to carry them through what appears to be a relatively disappointing first half hour. The first few sketches don’t quite hit their mark (though the group’s Bob Dylan sketch is almost worth the price of admission alone just to see Matthew Crosby ‘on’ drums) and the group occasionally play the chaos just the wrong side of am-dram. But then things kick up a notch and the depth that has only been scarcely hinted at is revealed, much to the audience’s inevitable delight.

The finale is one of the most inventive things you’re going to see on the Fringe all year, cleverly orchestrated and betraying the illusion that that Pappy’s Fun Club is just a well-tuned shambles. A special mention should also be made of Tom Parry’s ‘Taxman’, a character of such giddy comedic carnage that he threatens to steal the show.

It seems that change is good after all. Pappy’s Fun Club is the kind of caper in short supply at the Fringe, a healthy antidote to your common-or-garden-variety sketch show.

Catch the show at the C Soco, 4.30pm daily.

Anyone looking for a frenetic hour-long dash of hyperactivity look no further than Kirsten O’Brien’s one-woman show, Confessions of a Children’s TV Presenter. Right from the off, Kirsten’s infectious enthusiasm wastes little time in winning the audience over as she takes the crowd through a potted history of her career. One thing’s for sure, you’ll never view the barren wasteland of children’s television in quite the same way again.

Although the material amounts to little more than a series of admittedly highly amusing anecdotes (her Brian Blessed impersonation is truly a sight to behold), the boundless fervour O’Brien exhibits lends the show an endearingly organised chaos. Although one can be sure that Kirsten has more stories than her hour will allow, it will be interesting to see her develop fresh material for next year now that the credit has been used up.

A lot of critics are going to point to the morbid curiosity of seeing Kirsten O’Brien out of her natural habitat as a reason for the constant difficulty in getting tickets for this show. However, the simple fact is, while some shows are content to drown in making their point, Kirsten’s first solo effort is simply exuberant fun from start to finish and sometimes on the Fringe, that’s really what you need.

Confessions of a Children’s TV Presenter is at the Pleasance Courtyard at 2.10pm

Comedy shows based entirely on musical parody generally can tend to lie between one of two places. One is a good place, the other is, well, not such a good place. Mitch Benn thankfully falls slap bang into the former category.

Returning to Edinburgh with his band the Distractions for the first time in three years, the star of BBC Radio’s The Now Show and Jammin’ hosts this two hour rollercoaster of a show with a selection of well-observed musical parodies, taking on worthy targets like West End musicals, generic boy bands, The Smiths and a certain posh Army boy-cum-musician who can’t be named.

Performance wise, the show holds itself together well, with Mitch and his band filling gaps between the song with ad-libs and stand-up. Add to this special guest performers, who have to write an improvised song during the interval based on audience suggestions, a foxy flame-haired bassist and Macbeth sung in the style of Eminem and you can see why – despite there being a number of musical comedians at the Fringe this year – this one sticks out slightly more than the rest.

Mitch Benn Music Club is at the Underbelly Cow Barn from 11.15pm

Lucy Porter wants to find love. Sounds simple enough, but the problem is that unlike in the old days, men don’t just ride in and sweep you off your feet anymore, you have to wear the right clothes, say the right things and ideally try not to embarrass yourself by singing songs while washing up.

In this, her sixth solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe, Lucy takes us on an exploration of the troubles of romance in the 21st Century, from meeting the right person to the all important question: just what is love?

Having already established herself as a Fringe favourite, Lucy Porter again delivers a gag-filled show that is universally funny to all who watch it. Although fairly unambitious, the show provides an hour of charming whimsy, which regardless of whether you are married, in a steady relationship or someone who is constantly running low on toilet paper, you can’t help but smile at.

Lucy Porter’s Love-in can be found Pleasance Courtyard at 7.50pm