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	Gilded Balloon Teviot (venue website) Comedy 1-26 Aug, 10:40pm-11:40pm
Recommended for age 16+ only.

Few Fringe shows do what they say on the tin as comprehensively as the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre.  It’s a ramshackle Punch and Judy show, on a miniature tartan-clad stage – played out by two socks with squeaky voices, and ping-pong balls for eyes.  There’s rivalry, ribaldry, and some quite appalling puns, plus a few songs performed on a teeny-tiny guitar.  And if the thought of all that doesn’t tickle your funny bone… well, you’ll be in for a very long hour.

Happily though, most people seem to find the Socks pretty darned hilarious – and if you’ve any doubts about whether you’ll agree, you can always check out the extensive back-catalogue on their YouTube channel.  Comedy critics see the funny side too, with a metronomic procession of 4-star Scotsman reviews marking their previous appearances in Edinburgh.  Chortle, in another 4-star review, described the act as “endless comic gold” – before posing the question, “how on Earth does [it] turn out to be so good?”

We don’t know.  But there is something indefinably compelling about all this socky silliness, and this year’s horror theme – we’ve been promised zombies! – is another rich seam to mine.  Do note the 12+ rating (think of words which rhyme with “sock” and you’ll have an idea what to expect), but there’s a family-friendly alternative, Chunky Woollen Nits, in the kids’ section of the programme.  Verily, the Joy of Socks can be shared by all.