THE Edinburgh Fringe is the home of the dreamer: the talented, the going-places, the deluded, the couldn’t-be-doing-anything-else. With many priced out, it still, just about, hangs together, like a forest of trees with glue-stick leaves. The threat feels existential. Organisers can’t say they weren’t warned.

For punters, the advice remains the same: skip the big names and the marquee shows, and explore the weirdness and madness that lies beneath. Take a chance and a flyer handed to you by a man dressed as a windmill. Be led to an dingy room beneath a vape shop, and see something truly amazing, or unforgettably terrible. You might never be the same again.

The Fringe comes alive after midnight, during the wee summer hours of darkness when still being out and sharing silly ideas feels mildly transgressive.

In the witching hour why not see sketch duo Grubby Little Mitts, with their disturbing 1970s themed game show, with catchphrases, gloriously awkward audience interaction, and more questions about monetary policy than you might expect.

Or pop along to ACMS (Alternative Comedy Memorial Society), a showcase of some of the best oddballs, and one that gets stranger and more desperate the later into August you turn up as all present — the hosts especially — become increasingly tired and emotional.

Late Night With Terry Wogan is another spot for “I was there” moments, as unconvincing celebrities are interviewed in character by the deceased Irish chat show king (definitely not Ben Alborough in a wig).

Prefer musicals? Step right up to Stepdads Les Mis (and more), as loveable clowns Luke Rollason and Tom Penn deconstruct pretty much everything about “putting on a show” with the help of many glorious guests — they haven’t been sued yet by ANY major long-running West End productions, not even The Mousetrap.

Talking of clowns, many in Edinburgh this year are mourning Philippe Gaulier, who died in February after decades imparting blunt wisdom about theatre and physical comedy via his “legendarily terrifying teaching style.”

Elf Lyons has a show about love; Lorna Rose Treen is bringing some beautifully observed characters old and new; and Romanian-Moroccan Muslim-Jewish clown Halima Habil has put together a beautiful, hilarious, and moving hour about home, love, migration, and the wearing of many sunglasses.

Please also see: American chaos engine Lil Wenker’s Boy King, a big, bold, and riotous sequel to her cowboy show Bangtail; glorious oddball Rob Duncan and his many malfunctioning printers; and Camilla Borges recreate her school nativity, because for some of us, it’s been downhill ever since (she played Mary).

This year’s sketch comedy acts of choice are BeHeMoth, Siblings (actual siblings), and Crybabies. Meanwhile Ada & Bron’s The Origin Of Love remains an incredible hour of stupid, very stupid, and extremely stupid characters delving deep into all these feelings we humans have for each other.

Could this be the year of the character comedian? Some stand-ups play exaggerated version of themselves, but others go further, as Sam Eley does as Basil Crumbwick, a papier mache headed goblin character who in better times would have their own late night TV show beloved and afeared by all.

Han Whyte has lured her wonderful time-travelling 1970s pornographer alter-ego Roger Prick up for his debut hour; talented writer-performer Jonathan Oldfield will be performing as an annoying West Midlands man in a towel and many other people.

There’s more. Joz Norris is WIPing as Hugh Jackman as Phantom of the Opera; the brilliant Katie Prichard is back as Elton Scone, and Rosalie Minnitt has more from her unhinged faux-Regency creation, Clementine, in a brand new show, Clementine 2.

There are, as always, too many stand up comedians at Edinburgh Fringe, but here are some brilliant ones: the radical rabble rouser Kate Cheka; Femmes of Colour legend Kemah Bob; extremely online 1990s enthusiast Soo Kempner, nascent queer superstar Alex Franklin; poet weirdo everyman John-Luke Roberts; the comedian’s anti-comic Mark Silcox; the charming Sami Abu Wardeh, the sensitive, actually Sarah Roberts; “look, no props” Charlie Vero-Martin; marvellous wordsmith Li Jin Hao, and Anna Leong Brophy, who has lots of noteworthy things to say about the overlapping concepts of womanhood, beauty, and ageing.

Once you’ve seen all of the above, report back, and I’ll give you some more tips.

For tickets see: edfringe.com