YORK’S Burning Duck Comedy Club returns to the Great Yorkshire Fringe for three days of shows in The Basement, City Screen, York.

From Friday to Sunday, promoter Al Greaves will be presenting diverse musical, character, sketch, spoken-word and stand-up comedy performers”.

“Tickets can be bought in advance for £5 from our box office to guarantee a seat , or you can just turn up and Pay What You Want after the show,” says Al. “Limited advance seating is available and we expect these shows will sell out.”

Burning Duck’s programme opens with a Showcase gig on Friday, when the line-up will be revealed on the night. “Expect to see more established and new favourite acts, some of whom you might have already seen on radio, TV, or even winning awards at the Edinburgh and the Great Yorkshire Fringe festivals,” says Al.

Saturday’s bill comprises Edy Hurst: Hurst Schmurst at 3pm; Louise Young and Neil Harris: Big Div Energy at 4pm; Pat Cahill: Uncle Len Needs A New Part For His Hoover at 6pm.

Sunday features Sean Morley: Soon I Will Be Dead And My Bones Will Be Free To Wreak Havoc Upon The Earth Once More at 3pm; The Lovely Boys, 4.30pm; Harriet Dyer: The Dinosaur Show, 6pm; Sam Nicoresti: U.F.O., 7.30pm; The Glang Show.

In Edy Hurst: Hurst Schmurst, Hurst brings his musical comedy, loop-pedal nonsense and stand-up to answer the age-old question: “What’s the deal with Edy Hurst? Who even is he? Where am I? What?”.

In Big Div Energy, Louise Young and Neil Harris, regulars at The Stand Comedy Club in Newcastle, combine her adept social commentary with his cerebral comedy and precise punchlines.

Pat Cahill’s show will be an hour of confused neo-music hall stupidity, with earworms, knee ants and eye mice as he gives over his early evening to “a bit of singing, a bit of stand-up and a bit of dancing". “It will all mean something, but you’ll have to work that out,” he says.

Sunday kicks off with Sean Morley’s havoc-wreaking hour. "Inside my skin is a rattling beast and when I breathe my last it will emerge. Free me from the enemy within," he pleads.

The Lovely Boys are Joe and Mikey, who want to show off their jumpers and play with their toys. Anticipate "silly fun and games from this creepy couple of mama’s boys in this absurd clownish bonanza".

Harriet Dyer loves dinosaurs, hence The Dinosaur Show, wherein those who share her passion for the prehistoric are invited to "come and dip your body in her very large catacomb of chaos".

In 1998, Sam Nicoresti was abducted by aliens. Fact, he says. Now he is ready to reveal the beans and spill the truth in Sam Nicoresti: UFO, his debut show about space, alienation and dimensional string theory.

Sunday's finale, The Glang Show, is "the only anarcho-comedy utopia that has travelled back in time from beyond the heat death of the universe". "A line-up of incredibly powerful comedians will compete for your affection while traversing a landscape of interactive challenges and challenging interactions. There can only be one winner," say the performers.

Looking ahead to a hectic weekend, Al says: "I’m very pleased with our £5/PWYW shows in The Basement, presenting established Edinburgh Fringe favourites such as Pat Cahill, rising stars like Harriet Dyer, who was on Sarah Millican's new BBC Radio 4 show last week, and exciting newcomers like The Lovely Boys from Leeds. Add The Glang Show, and we definitely have something for everybody!"

Tickets for all the shows are on sale at greatyorkshirefringe.com or on 01904 500600.

Charles Hutchinson