AL Murray, The Pub Landlord, comedy heavyweight and putative MP for South Thanet, is to be the star attraction on the opening night of the Great Yorkshire Fringe in York.

The nation’s favourite pub philosopher will star in Al Murray: The Pub Landlord’s Saloon on July 24 in the festival's White Rose Rotunda with a second show the following night. By then, the FKUP candidate will know whether he has outwitted UKIP leader Nigel Farage for the semi-marginal Conservative seat in the South East Kent constituency on May 7.

Martin Witts, founder of the new ten-day festival, says: "I'm delighted to announce Al Murray as the first headline act. He will launch the Great Yorkshire Fringe and get the fun and festivities off to a wonderful start. He's sure to be a hot ticket and sell out fast in our intimate 400-seat venue.”

The Great Yorkshire Fringe will transform Parliament Street into a vibrant performance space with three purpose-built locations with seating capacities ranging from 400 to 60: the White Rose Rotunda, the Turn Pot and the Tea Pot.

"The festival is set to become a key event for York and the surrounding area and the city’s venues are being encouraged to become an accredited Great Yorkshire Fringe venue," says Martin. More information on this opportunity can be found at greatyorkshirefringe.com

Among the acts newly confirmed for this summer's Fringe festival are Canadian stand-up Glenn Wool, who will be previewing his 2015 Edinburgh Fringe show, Glenn Wool: Creator, I Am But A Pawn, and cheeky chappy Rob Beckett, both on August 2 in the Turn Pot. Beckett also will be the compere for that day's Yorkshire Comedian of the Year Final in the White Rose Rotunda.

Slightly Fat Features will present Variety Soup, a variety gang show for the 21st century for all the family, combining physical skills with orchestrated mayhem from July 25 to August 2 in the Turn Pot. Expect an edge-of-the-seat experience that has been called "part Monty Python, part Cirque du Soleil".

After inviting submissions from performers and promoters, the festival has booked Jim Higo and Miki Higgins: Never Mind The Pollocks on July 25 in the Tea Pot. Their "genre-busting comedy show" takes a satirical look at culture and the arts and explains why everything is rubbish, apart from their show.

"We'll be answering age-old artistic questions like 'Is there more to comedy than falling over?'; 'How can we take ballet to the masses?'; 'Who’s to blame for Mrs Brown’s Boys?'; 'Can we save the world through contemporary dance?' and many more."

You may may have heard of The Room, the 2003 independent romantic drama written, directed, produced by and starring Tommy Wiseau, routinely cited as the best bad film of all time. For the first time, this cult phenomenon with the spoon-wielding maniac and badly fitting tuxedo has been made into a parody musical, adapted by Ed Greenwood.

The Room: The Musical, presented in the Tea Pot on July 31, retells the love story between man and woman, best friend and unofficially adopted son. The candles, the music, the sexy dress, Greenwood's send-up provides a new take on Wiseau's black comedy, embracing the hapless film's memorable moments while attempting to find new meaning in places where perhaps there is no meaning at all.

The Kagools, the creation of Nicola Wilkinson and Claire Ford, will take over the Tea Pot on August 1, having grown from recurring characters in the comedy duo's sketch shows to an act in their own right. “We kept bringing them back as audiences said they wanted to see more of them," says Nicola. "Now they have their very own show.”

The Kagools will transport the audience to a weird and weatherproofed world of interactive nonsense and audience participation in a wordless adventure suitable for all ages.

These new additions join such already announced shows as Stick Man, a touching, humorous and original live-action adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s book for three year olds and upwards, from July 24 to August 2 at the White Rose Rotunda.

Henning Wehn, the German Comedy Ambassador to the United Kingdom, will perform his Eins, Zwei, DIY show, at the White Rose Rotunda on July 24 and 25; Canadian nonsense-maker Mr Tony Law will preview his new show in the Turn Pot on July 24; and serial innovator Simon Munnery will do the same there the following day.

The Supreme Fabulettes: The World Tour will visit the White Rose Rotunda on July 30, when the all-singing, all-male girl group will combine vocal harmonies with slick choreography and couture outfits as they perform signature Glee-style mash-ups of Sixties smashes and contemporary hits. The Supremes, The Andrews Sisters and Adele, among many others, will be featured.

John Hewer will star in Just Like That! The Tommy Cooper Show, a tribute full of magic, music and mirth, in the Turn Pot on July 25 and 26 on August 1 and 2, direct from its West End run.

You can visit greatyorkshirefringe.com for tickets and follow the Great Yorkshire Fringe at facebook.com/yorkfringe and twitter.com/yorkfringe, using the hashtag #funnyasowt. Tickets are also on sale on 01904 500600.