EDINBURGH 2018: Pick Of The Programme - Theatre

That time of year is upon us again! With over 3,000 of shows in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme it can be overwhelming choosing what to see, so we've selected our top picks from the theatre section.

A new Tory PM must unite his party's warring factions with his masterful plan for a final Brexit deal. Just... what was it again? Starring Timothy Bentinck, Jo Caulfield, Hal Cruttenden, Pippa Evans and Mike McShane. A new satire by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky, writers of previous Edinburgh hits Coalition and Kingmaker.

Frank returns to his small hometown and has a riot with the casual criminals, enlightened rednecks and tattoo ministers. A Southern Gothic road trip of beauty and disgust, bringing everyone down to earth, even the angels. Influenced by S-Town, True Detective and Seasick Steve. With live music, untamed characters and a snake-wielding pastor.

Robert Bathurst (Cold Feet, Downton Abbey, Toast of London) and Rebecca Johnson (The Trip, The Flood) star in this hilarious and poignant drama of a disastrous attempt to rekindle lost love. Set in a Soho Italian restaurant, Costa Award winner Christopher Reid's lyrical narrative is exquisitely intertwined with glorious animations by Charles Peattie (Alex cartoon, Daily Telegraph) in this bittersweet tragicomedy of love, loss and Chianti.

'Do you even need me here? I think you do. Actually.' Luke, Cassandra and Mary are sitting. They sit weekly for their portraits and, in a series of revealing sessions, end up sharing their funny and moving tales of love, longing and loss. Sitting is the debut play by BAFTA Award-winning actress Katherine Parkinson.

My best friends, Sarah and Emma, asked me for my sperm. This is the tale of what happened after I gave it to them. A storytelling show about love, faith and trying to do the right thing. Made with Daniel Goldman and set in the same universe as Team Viking and A Hundred Different Words for Love.

A love story, set on Preston Road, and also in space and in time. A man wakes in the middle of the night to discover that the world has stopped. Through the crack in his bedroom curtains, he can see no signs of life at all... other than a light in the house opposite where a woman in an over-sized Bowie T-shirt stands, looking back at him. Starring Julie Hesmondhalgh (Coronation Street, Broadchurch).

'Looking out over the country, this country, where I was born and raised, I wonder what's going to become of us. Because this can't be the future, can it? Everyone just... changing the rules?' Roger thinks the world's gone mad. He hates his job, his ex-wife torments him and to top it all, his girlfriend just discovered feminism. Roger's about to lose his shit. Until he discovers Angry Alan: online activist and "voice of reason"... A darkly comic new play about masculinity in crisis from award-winning Penelope Skinner performed by Donald Sage Mackay.

Queens of Sheba tells the stories of four black women who have been turned away from a night club for 'being too black' (based on the Dstrkt night spot incident of 2015). The drama focuses on the rise of Misogynoir (misogyny directed towards black women where race and gender both play roles in bias). It is the story of strong passionate women who fight to overcome the terrors of oppression in a racist and sexist society. Queens of Sheba is a journey that travels through some of the harsh realities of our time.

It's hard keeping it together when your whole life is falling apart. But the pressures of teaching, Tinder and outrageous Irish best mates are a lot to juggle, especially when you're stumbling through the maze of trying to be a grown-up. Stranger danger, heartbreak and piña coladas are on the syllabus in the hilarious debut play Pickle Jar, written and performed by Maddie Rice, the critically acclaimed star of the smash-hit Fleabag UK and international tour.

Four women, forced together as their homes are evacuated by police, squeeze into a saree shop where it doesn't take long for tensions to rise. Award-winning composition team Novasound collaborate with playwright and performer Belle Jones to present Closed Doors - a story told through music.

Three diverse artists combine spoken word, rhythm and an exhilarating live score to create this dynamic piece of theatrical storytelling. Inspired by the reality of a multicultural neighbourhood in Glasgow, Closed Doors refuses to recognise genre boundaries as it tackles questions of identity, heritage, community and isolation with rigour and heart.