"Leaving the 'Official' programme to one side"

Well, as these threads get taken over a bit by a few people whose primary interest is the fringe, thereby becoming a bit irrelevant to anyone else, I hope you'll indulge me the odd intervention... :)

Mike's friends are over from America, and I'm sure they (and anyone else coming to the festival for the first time) would want a good balance of information about both the fringe and the "official" programme.