Edinburgh Festival Day 12: Reviews

THE UNCLES

The Uncles, a comic street-performing duo, and stand-up Eddie Izzard go back a long way. Both performed as street artists in Covent Garden almost 10 years ago when Izzard's penchant was for riding a unicycle while handcuffed. Izzard moved indoors while The Uncles are still on the pavement, battling with wind, rain and noises from a nearby building site. The Uncles break the mould of traditional street entertainment. They can ride a unicycle and spin balls on their fingers: the concluding argument when they hurl clubs like missiles at each other is breathtaking. Yet they urge the audience to 'look beyond the skills'. Their improvised banter and visual gags rival any of the impro shows on this year's fringe and diminish the notion of street theatre as a poor relation of stand-up. As their number one fan Eddie Izzard says, from his place in the audience: 'Street theatre is totally misunderstood. It's not just about juggling with seven million bananas'. Siobhan Dolan

The Wireworks, behind the Fringe Office (venue 1). 1pm. To 5 Sept (not Tue).

A LITTLE OLDER

After a serious car crash, Sandy nurses Isla, his friend since childhood, slowly back to health in mind and body. John Binnie's latest play for Clyde Unity is by turns affecting and sardonic. A series of flashbacks chronicle Sandy and Isla's friendship from their first meeting at primary school: he (played by Stephen Docherty) a retiring 'mammy's boy', she (Mari Binnie) a tyke of a minister's daughter. Performed with unfussy flair, this is a wonderful affirmation of the bonding of apparent incompatibles. Ian Shuttleworth

Theatre Workshop, 34 Hamilton Place (venue 20), 031-226 5425. 5.30pm today and alternate days to 5 Sept.

POSTCARD

A postcard sent by Patrick Dooley to his lover before meeting his doom on the Titanic fetched thousands of pounds at an auction two years ago. David Christie's play zooms back from the auction-room to the lovers' rural Irish community, fleshing out the bare facts with fascinating detail. The writing occasionally over-simplifies, but the story, with its heart- wrenching inevitablity, is always engaging. Dedicated and energetic performances ensure that, despite a few shaky moments, the production is unsinkable. Clare Bayley

Calton Centre, 121 Montgomery Street (venue 119), 031-661 9121. 3pm. To 29 Aug.

SAVAGE II: THE RETURN

Lily Savage swaggers on stage to the Waltons theme tune in a C&W outfit with gold tassles and a skirt cut from a pair of black curtains. She looks like an elongated Dolly Parton with a white poodle on her head. Sex is her number one priority . . . if she can't have a man, an alsatian will have to do. Her acid-tongued tales of shop-lifting, pill-popping and boozing are by now familiar territory ('Eldorado . . . that had me reaching for the Buckfast') but Savage is still the country's slickest drag act. It's about time she hosted a late-night TV show with balls. Mark Wareham

Assembly Rooms, 54 George St (venue 3), 031-226 2428. To 5 Sept (not 1 Sept).

BRILLIANT TRACES

A runaway bride drives frantically from her Arizona altar to Alaska. There she crashes in on the hermit- like existence of oil-rigger Harry, sitting out his vacation in a snowstorm. Thus begins an engagingly odd love story from Cindy Lou Johnson. Rosanna (Kate Bennis) feels that she may fly off into space at any moment. Harry (John Payne) has lost all his social skills and cooks her shoes by mistake. It adds up to a poignant statement about the lonely. Bennis plays Rosanna as appealingly flaky, while Payne is a bundle of fear. Weird but quite wonderful.

Nick Curtis

Richard Demarco Gallery Studio, 17- 21 Blackfriars Street (venue 22), 031- 557 0707. 1.30pm. To 5 Sept (not Sun).