... Excentricus Barbican Theatre At a time when the entertainment world seems to be overrun by circuses, the Montreal-based Cirque Eloize really does strike me as being something special. While not claiming to have a story, Excentricus successfully attempts a revelation of the dynamism of the circus and the interaction between its members, based on co-operation and mutual trust and, I suppose, ...

... Grease Cafe Royal Here's an interesting thing. If reduced-scale musicals are so popular on cruise ships, and in British and overseas holiday centres, could they be made to work as cabaret attractions? Live Business International, which took over cruising special ists Grosvenor Productions a few months ago, believes it is worth a try, and on the evidence of the short season of Grease at the ...

... Brendon Burns Pleasance Go see Brendon Burns, they say. He's just had a baby (well, not him exactly) but it hasn't changed him one bit. Yeah right. Male stand-up, first-time father. Seen it all before --the descent into IKEA gags and let's all make the world a safer place. But under the six-a-second expletive delivery, Bums has always ranted for a safer world, and if he's really a dad then ...

... Blanket coverage GUY MASTERSON Producer Guy Masterson says press coverage of the Fringe has changed tack in recent years-- and not always for the better It may not be entirely kosher to talk about another publication when writing for The Stage, but the issue in hand is, to my mind, perhaps the most important the festival has had to face for several years. The Scotsman reviews are hard to ...

... Craig Hill's Alive with the Sound of Music Gilded Balloon Not quite as alive as he might have liked, however, on a night when a bad throat has forced Craig Hill to cut back on the Julie Andrews Impersonations and concentrate on his audience banter. Hill has a pleasing ability to keep his material fresh. His stories of growing up in East Kilbride his flatmate Nancy forcing him to choose between ...

... Pimp Dreams Hill Street Theatre The conflict between post-feminism's demands of manhood and society's traditional ways of displaying it are deftly explored in Shaka Taylor's insightful one man play. Taylor's depiction of Theo, while at times heavy-handed, explores the pressures of 'doing' masculinity for a young, black American. In doing so, Taylor maturely addresses heroism, drink, sex and ...

... Straight As a Line Randolph Studio There is a moving, understated love story being played out in an Edinburgh basement every night. It ends in tragedy, but hey, life's Luis Alfaro's piece is a beauti fully-played two-hander, the kind of production that the venue excels in, sensitively directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera and enhanced by Robert 'Bobby' Fromer's superb lighting design. Cherene ...

... Saved by Sex Gilded Balloon Neurotic Margi and dim-wit Barry are forlorn siblings yearning for family life. Their life together con sists of bickering, neediness and mutual irritation. There is a sit com feel to the show authored by Caroline Burns Cooke. However, the plot thickens when various sinister circumstances begin to drive the siblings into paranoia. Margi has a particular attach ment ...

... William Sutcliffe's New Boy Pleasance Russell Labey's adaptation of William Sutdiffe's novel is funny and well performed. Although we are constantly aware that those on stage left their blazers and ties behind a long time ago, they manage to sweep us along with their schoolboy charm. The latter is particularly true of Barry (Leon Parris). Never has a lower-sixth former been so sexy. From his ...

... Stunning cast needs more to do Traverse Shetland Saga Live music has become something of a motif to recent Traverse Theatre productions, instantly establishing a sense of place. And so it is in Sue Glover's new play, with Paul Johnston's excellent tunes and elegant refrains given a bold onstage rendition by Annalie Hayward and bringing a sense of the wildness of Shetland to the stage. It is ...

... The League Against Tedium: I Am, I Will Meadows Theatre It takes a brave or foolish man to tempt the fates the way Simon Munnery is doing in his new show. He makes quite an entrance on the top of a customised Ford Transit, wielding a computer key board like a guitar. Framed by a fast-moving multimedia backdrop fizzing with lines and images, he proceeds to attack the Internet revolution in ...

... All That Mullarkey Gilded Balloon It is not every day a comedian finds vicious critic (me) and vicious magi cian (Jerry Sadowitz) at either end of a pew, faces grim, arms folded in defiant 'so make me laugh' mode. Well, Neil Mullarkey got me pissing myself (and I swear out of the corner of my eye I caught a flicker of a smile from Jerry). It is a simple enough formula: Mullarkey lures you into ...