Based in Edinburgh's swanky New Town, the Assembly chain rolls out a high-profile annual programme across a prestigious portfolio of venues. TV stars, international theatrical troupes, and musicals tuning up for their West End run - all have made their Edinburgh appearances here. And, while you might see a show you don't like at the Assembly... it's unlikely you'll find a truly bad one.

It's hard to say which is the Assembly's premier venue: its original home in the Assembly Rooms on George Street, or its recent offshoot in the Church of Scotland's magnificent Assembly Hall. There's a link-up, too, with the Queen's Hall, one of the city's few year-round music venues.

To many minds, the Assembly is the birthplace of the modern commercial Fringe - for which it's praised and pilloried in roughly equal measure. True enough, its big-ticket acts do command big ticket prices. But you get what you pay for: the venues are well-managed, the box office picks up within three rings, and the crowded programmes always - well, almost always - run to time.

Venues in the Assembly chain