Tragicomic touch of gold
0 Cave reveals the devastating emotional significance of Netflix
stage in the form of soft furnishings – this is a Jessie Cave show, after all, and imagination and illustration are of the essence. Her reaction to the ending of the relationship with Alfie, her conversations with him, her tiny flurries of frustration
and her attempts (failed) to “go girl” and be a power woman are enthralling and the kind of bittersweet funny that is really difficult to do this well. The emotional detail is comedy perfection: how many times do you see someone before you are “seeing” them, the commitment level of a box set and the devastating emotional significance of Netflix and Whole Earth Peanut Butter are all balanced on the tragicomic knife-edge she dances along.
Her developing relationship with the 24-year-old, Alfie’s exponentially expanding haul of conquests, an actionpacked trip to Paris and the joy of anklets lie alongside some wholly unexpected revelations from her past, a pregnancy scare and some final moments that had the entire room misty-eyed, on a bed of the most perfectlywrought comedy scripting you will see performed anywhere. The Break-up Show has been a trope in Edinburgh comedy since Sarah Millican exploded on the scene with the story of her divorce. It has reached its apotheosis in Jessie Cave’s touching, hilarious hour. KATE COPSTICK
Until 26 August. Today 2:25pm. Summerhall (Venue 26) JJJ
Delir is leaving Edinburgh on a train, heading for Beachy Head, with one purpose – to throw himself off. Sophie is on the same train heading for York, where she will find out if she will develop the hereditary disease which has devastated her father. For every decision, there is an infinite number of possible outcomes, but how much is predetermined?
Tortoise in a Nutshell’s Jim Harbourne has created a play with songs which seems to tick all the boxes for whimsical, storytelling theatre: poignant human stories; philosophical concept; references to natural phenomena (whales and photons); harmonium, for that vintage sound.
It’s all charmingly and adeptly performed by Harbourne and Kirsty Eila Mcintyre, albeit with a tendency to tell rather than show. But the very real suffering of both characters seems somewhat at odds with the tone of musical whimsy. Their back stories reveal more and more loss and pain. People crushed by such sadness have every right to challenge notions of fate and choice, and a poetic comparison to a whale or a photon might not be expected to make them feel any better.
SUSAN MANSFIELD
Until 26 August. Today 7:45pm.