5

	Hill Street Theatre (venue website) Theatre 8 - 30 Aug (not 10, 17, 24), 7.10pm (8.40pm) Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory

Once, years ago, a friend of a friend asked me if I wanted to come and see George Dillon perform a one man show. ("He gets naked," she said.)  I didn't know who George Dillon was, but, for some reason, I eagerly agreed.  I loved the show for the same reason George Dillon has been wowing audiences ever since: his performances are transporting, subtle, spellbinding and human.  I had been meaning to see George Dillon again ever since... and finally, last night, I did.

3.5

	Bedlam Theatre (venue website) Theatre 6-28 Aug, 8:00pm (8:40pm) Reviewed by Richard Stamp

Thank goodness The Wake is only 40 minutes long; my poor brain would have fried if I’d seen any more.  Not, I stress, because the time dragged (on the contrary, it was over in a flash), nor because it’s badly acted (it’s anything but).  No, it’s just that The Wake is really, really, really fast and has a really, really, really complicated plot – demanding almost as much commitment from its audience as it does from those on the stage.

4.5

	Gilded Balloon Teviot (venue website) Theatre 4-30 Aug (not 10, 17, 24), 5:30pm (6:30pm) Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory

What's the worst thing you can imagine happening to you?  How about your young son being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer?  And what's the best?  Winning an Oscar?  In this show, which is based on real events from Mackichan's life, pretty much both these things happen to her.  Well, actually, she wins an Emmy not an Oscar - but as she points out in a glorious, unapologetically self-centered section of the show, an Emmy is really better.

3.5

	Pleasance Courtyard (venue website) Comedy 10 - 30 Aug, 3:30pm (4:30pm) Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory

Sadie Hasler is a talented actor and her show's premise - to bring to life famous women from history and learn the truth about their lives - is very promising.  I settled into the tiny Pleasance Cellar ready to really like this show…

3.5

	Pleasance Dome (venue website) Comedy Until 30 Aug, 6:15pm (7:15pm) Reviewed by Craig Thomson

A recent conversation with a nun caused Roisin Conaty to consider the course of her life, and indirectly led to this highly enjoyable hour.  In this show, she considers with the audience what we can each of us be: Hero, Warrior, Fireman, Liar.

3

	The Stand Comedy Club (venue website) Comedy 6 - 30 Aug (not 16), 6:40pm (7:40pm) Reviewed by Trystan Davies

All aboard!  Or, in this case, maybe not.  The Edinburgh tram plan is stalling, but the city's comedians are in full flow.  The question is, how strange can things get?

4

	The Zoo (venue website) Dance and Physical Theatre 6 - 30 Aug (not 11,16,17,24), 4:45pm (5:35pm) Reviewed by Richard Stamp

Were you led blindfold into the theatre for the opening scene of this play, you might still guess it’s called The Harbour.  The lights are blue; the backdrop’s draped with nets; fishing crates fill the centre of the stage.  Three seafarers stand, more than a little menacing, anonymous in their matching oilskins.

3

	theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall (venue website) Theatre 6-7, 9-14, 16-21 Aug, 10:10pm (11:00pm) Reviewed by Richard Stamp

“S1L3NC3 contains strong scenes of visual harm!” warns a solicitous poster, as we head into a blacked-out room at Surgeons’ Hall.  Hmm.  What it actually contains, as the film censors would put it, are scenes of mild peril: if it all went wrong, the worst that would happen to our fearless mind-reader is that he’d drink a glass of absinthe and staple his own arm.

4

	C soco (venue website) Theatre 4-21 Aug, 4:35pm (5:35pm) Reviewed by Richard Stamp

When Wendy took Peter’s arm and flew off to Neverland, what happened to the people she left behind?  That’s the question posed by this strikingly original play, which combines an intriguing script with a strong physical performance from a talented young cast.  And – just as all ancient fairy tales contain a core of menace – so the answer, when it comes, is dark.

3.5

	C central (venue website) Theatre 5-30 Aug, 8:30pm (9:20pm) Reviewed by Richard Stamp

Short, bitter, and cynical, Tales From The Blackjack is a biting insight into the workings of a casino, penned by a former croupier and delivered with the speed and force of a jackhammer.  Each of its three short stories tells the tale of a gambler… and for most of them, of course, the dalliance with the blackjack table doesn’t end well.