Pleasance Dome
5 - 31 Aug (not 17, 24), 2:40pm (3:40pm)

We admit we're going out on a limb with this one: a brand-new piece of theatre from a little-known company, featuring puppetry, music and "lots and lots of boxes".  But the concept's intriguing; the performers already have a trophy-cabinet of awards; and the word on the grapevine is good.

Set in the future, but based on a true story from the present-day, A Stroke of Genius centres on a bizarre real-life plan to seed a future generation of geniuses by capturing Nobel Prize winners' DNA.  A hundred years into the future, the script imagines, a rural English librarian uncovers the existence of the sperm bank - and becomes desperate to have a gifted child of her own.  In Darwin's anniversary year, the play hooks into the zeitgeist; it promises a "riotous dark comedy" based on genetics, eugenics and the very future of humankind.

PIT Theatre's last outing to the Fringe was a few years ago - but they picked up an impressive clutch of awards back then, including one from locals' favourite magazine The List.  What's more, respected website FringeReview sung the praises of a short preview segment from the new show.  Their reviewer Skye Crawford highlights particularly the fascinating use of projection, cast onto the piles of cardboard boxes which form the minimalist set.

All in all, this show has greatness in its genes; we're looking forward to seeing it in Edinburgh.