COMEDY fans can enjoy a ‘slice of the Edinburgh Fringe’ over two weekends in Otley next month.

The Courthouse is welcoming four top comedians as they prepare to take their shows to the Scottish capital in August.

The Edinburgh Preview Shows will be held over two nights when the audiences will be treated to two full-length performances per evening.

First up will be Matt Forde and Hayley Ellis on Friday, July 5. Matt Forde is the presenter of Unspun and has appeared in The Royal Variety Performance, Mock the Week, The One Show and Question Time.

Manchester comedian Hayley Ellis is a regular MC at gigs around the country and has become a regular sight gag contributor for the Russell Howard’s Good News TV show .

She has also appeared on MTV’s Why aye love Geordie Shore and Comedy Set Lists for Virgin television.

The second Edinburgh Preview event will see Ahir Shah and Steff Todd take the stage at the Courthouse on Friday, July 12.

Ahir Shah, a double Edinburgh Comedy Award ‘Best Show’ nominee, is one of the fastest-rising comedians of his generation whose intellectual brand of stand-up features a blend of philosophical inquiry, political vigour, and jokes.

Ahir has performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the Adelaide Fringe and Just for Laughs Montreal, as well as having toured in continental Europe and India.

He has also performed stand-up on The Now Show (Radio 4), Stand Up Central (Comedy Central), and Live At The Apollo (BBC 2), and regularly contributes to The Mash Report.

Steff Todd, meanwhile, is an award-winning comedian and impressionist from Yorkshire who has gained worldwide attention with her viral impressions of stars from reality TV and pop culture, ranging from the Kardashians to Love Island, The X Factor and many more.

She has recently supported Iain Stirling, Sara Pascoe, Rob Delaney and Dave Gorman and performed at the Edinburgh Fringe 2018 as part of a double bill of stand-up, 2 For Joy. Steff will be making her solo show debut with Reality Check at this year's Edinburgh Fringe.

Both Otley shows start at 8pm. A Courthouse spokeswoman said: “Each night you get to see two full length comedy shows for just £7 as a little slice of the greatest festival on earth comes to Otley!

“Almost every major comedy act of the last 25 years made their name in Edinburgh - you could be watching the next big thing.”

To buy tickets visis www.otleycourthouse.org.uk, call (01943) 467466 or pop in to the Courthouse, on Courthouse Street.