Metro

Reekie * * * *

If you’ve had enough of watching Fringe shows in airless black boxes, try this one for size. On checking in at the big red bus parked on the Meadows, you’ll be given an MP3 player and a map/programme, then waved off for your own private promenade listening to what could be likened to a semi-experimental radio play, written by Scottish writer/performer David Leddy.

While ‘Reekie’ refers to Edinburgh’s traditional soubriquet of Auld Reekie, don’t expect some kind of alternative walking tour – although the exasperated American character itemising everything that’s wrong with the Fringe provides a nicely acerbic touch as you pass through the crowds. The central voices are those of two women, recounting and reflecting on a diversity of experiences, anxieties and aspirations. These voices are then mixed with music and sound effects. As technically ambitious, absorbing and rewarding drama, the result scores higher than most Fringe shows I’ve seen and, being an audience of one strolling through the city, proves a deliciously disconcerting combination.