AS AN art form, comedy relies heavily on irony. Fitting then, that when the Edinburgh Fringe Festival programme is launched on Thursday the biggest single producer of comedy will be a local comedy club that exists independent of the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, a new event within the Fringe which is billing itself as being "bigger than Glastonbury".

The Stand, one of Edinburgh's year-round comedy venues, has announced it will double in size for this year's Fringe festival, producing 36 acts across four stages.

Among the big four venues that make up the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, the Assembly Rooms, the Gilded Balloon, and the Underbelly are all producing slightly more than 20 acts themselves. The Pleasance is producing 12.

Yet The Stand's expansion and its refusal to be part of the new festival has provoked a debate about the future of comedy at the Fringe.

Tommy Sheppard, the club's owner, said the Edinburgh Comedy Festival was "bogus", "unnecessary", "divisive" and had "disaster written all over it".

"The Edinburgh Comedy Festival doesn't exist," he said. "It's purely a marketing exercise by four of the venues. And its not a festival in any meaningful sense of the world.

"Nobody listed in the programme knows that they're there. They haven't been asked to take part. Loads of comedians will be taking part in the Fringe but won't be part of the festival because they're not in those venues.

"So it's really quite a ridiculous name. That's why I preface it with so-called'. There will be trouble in paradise over this. Watch this space."

Stewart Lee, one of the Fringe's longest-serving and most popular comedians, agreed with Sheppard. He was offered a slot in the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, but is taking his Fringe show to the Stand for the first time this year. It is a move he described as "a happy coincidence", considering the formation of the new Edinburgh Comedy Festival.

He said that most comedians weren't told about the new festival, and "it might make financial sense, but it is still thoughtless and rude".

"Anthony Alderson, who's in charge of the Pleasance, said all comedians would welcome it because all comedians thought they participated in the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in all but name anyway," he added. "And that's certainly not the case. Everyone I know, and I know the best people, feels like they are delighted to participate in a cross-discipline festival where you get to be alongside people from all different performance backgrounds. There's a lot that stand-up can learn, so it's daft to bracket it off."

Charlie Wood, co-director of the Underbelly, said the Edinburgh Comedy Festival was needed to bring in more money and ensure the future of comedy at the Fringe.

He also hit back at The Stand's claim to be the biggest producer of comedy and at Lee's criticism of the whole enterprise.

"I think you'll find that Sheppard is entirely wrong," he said. "Among the four of us, we are producing at least twice as many shows ourselves than The Stand is. All in all, the Edinburgh Comedy Festival has in excess of 300 comedy shows. So I don't think he can say he is the biggest producer of comedy. That's simply not right."

He added: "Comedians like Stuart Lee were paid in excess of £40,000 for three weeks' work last year. On the one hand, he can say he's pleased with that. On the other hand, he shouldn't bite the hand that feeds him."

Wood added that he hoped there wouldn't be a backlash from comedians towards the new festival and that they would understand it made financial sense.

"It has to continue to be sustainable," he said. "We take risks, and it's a vast expense. Our four venues cost something like £3 million to run each year, and that's four separate businesses taking a risk every year. It appears to me what some people are saying about the Edinburgh Comedy Festival is we shouldn't reduce the risk. But a major way to do that is through sponsorship."

When details of the new festival were revealed in March, it emerged the new festival hoped to raise £1.8m in sponsorship, including a big-name title sponsor. However, last night it was confirmed no major sponsor has signed up for this year's festival, although three businesses are interested.

It was also feared the Edinburgh Comedy Festival would break away from the Fringe, but last month Jon Morgan, Fringe director, said he had personal assurances from each of the four venues this would not happen.

Appearing with Lee at the Stand will be former Perrier winner Daniel Kitson, Jo Caulfield, and veteran Scottish comedian Arnold Brown. Meanwhile, Ruby Wax and Joan Rivers are among the Edinburgh Comedy Festival highlights, with Ed Byrne and Jason Byrne and chatshow host Clive James.