Cryptic crossword No 3,397

Across

1. One-time Edinburgh Fringe Perrier Award essentially secured by lines of writing with artistic value (8)
2. Say Spelling Bee question (7)
3. Rose d'Or (rendered at the end of century) becomes rusted (8)
4. Papers are seized by principal character in totalitarian government: it has your name written on it! (1,1,3)
5. Aurally recognise Man in Chair (6)
6. Symbolic League members abruptly interrupted key focus of historical pitch regularly (9)
7. Taskmaster whizz in seventeenth series originally nailed tense surprises (6)
8. A pity about accountant, Weatherill, ultimately being abnormal (8)
9. Pair of youths primarily invested in Braithwaite's environs take care (3-3)
10. Grotesque pen and toad characters used by writer (7)
11. White Horse Theatre (chiefly going around East Germany touring creative works) gets hindered (8)
12. Family help acting duo to acquire uniform (2,4)
13. Capital leaving Les, miserable chump, to tap into Sartre's core for a fresh start (5)
14. Jolly old Claudius unleashed Roman soldiers into our nation initially (9)
15. After bumping off relative, David's admitted to base hospital ward – that's obvious! (7)
16. At home, Edward and Tubbs principally state resistance to motion (7)

Down

1. Contrarily, bulk of Alice in Russialand's opening frames depleted Chorley's paint (7)
2. Pop's anxious about newsagent's closing in Spent, perhaps (4,5)
3. Reception expressing love for Art's final cast gets cut off (9)
4. They offer PC support in Whitechapel (4)
5. Go on the town with the League (5)
6. Hidden decoration conceals doom (3)
7. Dead funny despite prompts (9)
8. Aston nit upset when Oscar chucked Snappy (7)
9. Admit screening succeeded like death warmed up (5)
10. Lead part in She Stoops to Conquer projects (7)
11. Inside No. 9's rubbish! (3)
12. During exchange, a German's impatiently longing (5)
13. On vacation in Benidorm, Mick endlessly cycled round without glimpse of ladder for mount! (5)
14. Overlooking terms, Bretton Hall violated promise (9)
15. Tolerant at first, track nine vacuously bored Sedaka on reflection (7)
16. Meeting in which books bearing information are received by European spy (9)
17. Charlie Hull's beyond restraint on account of stress (9)
18. Incite Georgie left and right with closures of `au reservoir' (4)