Dug Campbell
Incognito
★★★★☆ Earnest
The Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group brings Nick Payne’s Incognito to the Assembly Roxy in a production packed with lightning-fast transitions and versatile performances.
Amadeus
★★★★☆ Intimate
Edinburgh-based Strawmoddie theatre company bring Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus to the Pianodrome in a powerful examination of the jealousy of mediocrity in the face of genius.
Going Postal
★★★★☆ First Class
Strawmoddie’s Going Postal, their fourth production of a Terry Pratchett novel adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs, is delivered with all due care and attention to detail at the Pleasance Theatre to Sunday.
Dangerous Corner
★★★★☆ Absorbing
The Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group’s production of J.B. Priestley’s Dangerous Corner, upstairs at the Assembly Roxy until Saturday, is a tense affair, well staged and compelling.
Around the World in 80 Days
★★★☆☆ Enjoyable
Arkle’s Around the World in 80 Days, at the Royal Scots Club in Fringe Week Two, is a straightforward piece of family-friendly theatre. Inventive and committed, it has its drawbacks, but is always fun.
Macbeth & Dunsinane
Macbeth: ★★★☆☆ Speedy
Dunsinane: ★★★★☆ Bloody
A Necessary Cat have done it again – bringing a powerful double helping of a Shakespeare starter and Shakespeare-adjacent main course to the Fringe in which the whole is better the sum of its parts.
The Fastest Clock in the Universe
★★★★☆ Febrile
EGTG drill down deep into the vicious heart of Philip Ridley’s The Fastest Clock in the Universe, in a production at the Assembly Roxy which never goes quite where you expect it to.
Cyrano de Bergerac
★★★★☆ Unexpectedly touching
There is an almost wilfully uneven quality to Arkle’s Cyrano de Bergerac at the Hill Street Theatre, but – eschewing much of the heroic bombast that is usually associated with the play – it manages to be convincing and affecting.
Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather
★★★☆☆ Well-turned
Amidst the noise, rituals and trappings of pantomime and Christmas, Strawmoddie’s take on Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather provides a welcome parody of our seasonal excess, at the Pleasance Theatre to Sunday.
Chalk
★★★★☆ Well observed
The UK premiere of Walt McGough’s Chalk from the Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group, upstairs at the Assembly Roxy, lacks a little in apocalyptic intensity – but convinces in its evocation of human relationships.
