As co-founder of the Five Pound Fringe, Lisa Keddie is one of the forerunners in the movement to try and return the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to its roots. With costs escalating year-on-year along with the number of shows, audiences are having to shell out vast amounts to enjoy the Fringe experience.

It was this predicament that led Lisa and founder of Best Medicine, Jon Briley, to collaborate on the Five Pound Fringe. The premise was simple; all shows would be a fiver, regardless of the profile of the name involved. As a result, audiences could afford to see a handful of shows each day, tasting a wider variety of acts without breaking the bank.

"The Five Pound Fringe was set up in 2009 as a positive solution to the growing feeling that Fringe tickets were getting too expensive," Lisa told us. "We run three venues (The GRV, The Tron and Belushi's) as part of it, but any show whose tickets are £5, full price, for the full run can be part of it. This year there are over 70 shows that you can see for a fiver."

"Both Jon and myself, who I run the venture with, come from a background of producing comedy shows on the Fringe. We were very confident in the quality of the work we were bringing but had begun to feel - like many of our peers - that £9+ for tickets, especially for acts who have little public profile, is too much for an audience member to, essentially, take a bit of risk on. We figured we could sit about and moan about this, or do something. So we did something."

The audience's verdict was unanimous last year. Upwards of 70 shows enjoyed strong houses throughout the Fringe in 2009, with names such as Robin Ince, Tom Basden, Richard Herring and Mark Watson pledging their support and lending themselves to shows during the programme.

The founders were awarded a ThreeWeeks Editors' Award, whilst Lisa was named by The List as one of the most culturally important people in Scotland. The Five Pound Fringe was also credited for helping to reduce the overall ticket price by 17% (knocking £1.62 off the average ticket price), and Lisa and Jon hope to go even better this year with a new line-up of shows that once again includes Herring and Ince alongside exciting new names such as Henry Paker, Elis James, Ivo Graham and Alfie Brown.

"It did better than we could have ever expected - it was an absolute joy," Lisa continued. "Audiences and performers really got into and behind it, and we ended up selling 17500 tickets within the two venues we ran last year, which is a lot of people to entertain! We were also given a ThreeWeeks Editors' Award for Innovation, so that was lovely."

The diverse programme offered up by the Five Pound Fringe also sheds light on some of the more interesting show names. Does Lisa have a favourite?

"Gosh, it's difficult to say... I am a fan of a good pun, so Life of Si: Si Harder does make me laugh - and I saw a preview of the show the other night that did the same, so that's always good!" she adds.

Having seen versions of some of the shows earlier this year, Lisa is confident the 2010 programme will be another rewarding addition to the wider Fringe, with something for everyone.

"I have seen a lot of previews so far and the quality of work is outstanding," she explains. "I saw a lot of very early versions of shows during the Leicester Comedy Festival and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product of them."

"I think Henry Paker's show will be amazing and I can't wait for Elis James' second outing - he was one of the biggest success stories of last years Five Pound Fringe. Mark Allen's show, which is all about slowing down, is going to be wonderful, and I'm always excited by James Sherwood - he had my favourite joke of the entire festival last year.

"I'm also really looking forward to Tom Webb and Paul Sweeney's double header - they are two of my favourite new acts around and I think both will do splendidly. I must stop now as I will just mention everything because I genuinely am excited by it all!"

Another success last year was the launch of The Lunchtime Club which was the Five Pound Fringe's own comedy showcase of some of the brightest talent to emerge. Having showcased Joe Lycett and Ivo Graham to name but two, with the former going on to secure the Chortle Student Comedian of the Year title and the Chortle Best Newcomer award, and the latter the So You Think You're Funny? title, it certainly has weight behind it!

"Myself and Jon both have a real passion for new talent and giving up-and-coming acts a chance to showcase themselves, so we decided to put on this show to do just that," Lisa says. "We audition new acts throughout the year, watch people at new act nights and generally keep our ear to the ground as to who's breaking through and put five of them into this showcase. Trust me, it's a difficult decision to make, but I think we pick well. The guys this year are amazing - they literally are the future of British comedy and you'd be a fool to miss seeing them now for a mere fiver."

British Comedy Guide thinks audiences would be missing a trick if they don't experience some of the brilliant shows the Five Pound Fringe has to offer, and you can do so for a fraction of the prices at venues elsewhere. If comedy is your thing then the Five Pound Fringe and its venues should be your home through August.