Etcetera ***

Etcetera is an experimental piece of puppet theatre from Eastern Europe. As the show begins, the stage is filled with tables and lifeless and expressionless cloth dolls draped upon them and lying on the floor.

Then, three black-clad women take the stage and begin to circle the puppets, choosing one after another and bringing them to life. Without words, each puppet begins to move and acts out a small vignette, ultimately leading to the doll's doom. Some are hung by ropes they are unable to escape; others strapped to a bicycle wheel; even a tiny child puppet doesn't escape its fate.

By the end of the performance, each doll is taped up to a black backdrop, and they hang there, now even more lifeless than they began. The puppeteers, like Greek Fates, have toyed with them and now melt away once more into the darkness.

Although a little overlong and at times obtuse, Etcetera contains enough visually striking imagery and poignant moments to ultimately impress.

The Return of the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre ***** (and a half)

For the uninitiated, The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre is, as the name would imply, a one-man comedy show with the performer hidden behind a Punch & Judy style booth whilst he acts out a routine using socks with googly eyes stuck on them with both his hands. In a falsetto voice.

I saw this last year and loved it, although I thought part of that may be the novelty. I can happily confirm that this stands well to a repeat viewing, especially as all the material is new. Taking the conceit that they are trying to impress TV execs in the audience, the socks spend an intentionally shambolic and hilarious hour ripping through sketches and routines both scripted and improvised.

It opens with the theme tune ("I'm a sock, I'm a sock, you wear me on your feet not on your cock") and finishes with an extremely funny version of King Lear (featuring the three daughters, Gonorrhea, Ronald Regan and Cordelia Smith...). In between, we are treated to everything from their Christmas special ("and an iPhone not in a pear tree") to a special guest appearance from Kraftwerk...

Inspired lunacy, then, and what is impressive is that after a couple of minutes, you are totally bought into the idea that these socks have a life of their own - and it's only when the performer gets up from behind the stage at the end of the show that you remember this fast-paced and hilarious mayhem is all the work of one man - a man who has spent the last hour performing a double-act with himself in a high-pitched voice.

They were the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppets. And so was him. And so was he.

The Elephant Man ****

The Elephant Man is a moving and accomplished one-man production of the story of John Merrick, most notably made famous by the David Lynch movie.

The actor does an excellent job in not only portraying the tortured prisoner of his own flesh Merrick, but some of the ancillary characters, such as the freakshow proprietor, and the surgeon who befriends and takes care of Merrick in the last phase of his life.

Using props such as tailors dummies, hospital screens and a trapeze to excellent effect, the performer takes us from moments of humour and vaudeville to episodes of deeply moving emotion and drama. None of this feels forced, and it is to his credit that he captivates throughout, even though the sound of the fan in the small, stuffy theatre threatened to drown him out at times.

A tragic tale, excellently told and with just the right balance of emotion and mood - this is an easy show to recommend.

The Terrible Infants *****

I've never seen a show quite like The Terrible Infants before. Five performers - three male and two female - dressed like vaudeville circus performers, use music, puppetry and props to tell several original Roald Dahl-like morality tales. 

The story of Tilly, the girl who tells so many tall tales she grows a tail, runs through the performance and is interwoven with other, self-contained stories, such as Thingamiboy, the boy who wasn't there; and Tom, the lad that ate his mum - you kind of get the gist of where they're coming from here.

The whole is performed in a completely charming manner with a childlike glee and delight expressed by the players and some effective and at times haunting music played throughout. Even some problems with one of the microphones being used didn't dampen proceedings, and the Terrible Infants succeeded in transporting us all back to our childhood.

Given the subject matter and the family-friendly nature of the production, I was surprised not to see many children in the audience - though I suppose that goes to show we all still nurture that child within us, and delight in a stylish and bewitching show like this to bring it to the fore again, even for a short while.

Footsbarn's A Midsummer Night's Dream *****

Travelling theatre company Footsbarn's performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream takes place on a big top erected on Edinburgh's Calton Hill.

Featuring an international cast of players, the stylish production takes place on and around an apron stage, with a quartet of musicians providing live medieval style music off to the side. 

Costumes and set are all visually pleasing, and are used to good effect to evoke the ethereal atmosphere of the forest at night. The actors are all wonderful in terms of timing and comedy, and you can tell this is one of the plays that the company have spent their 35 years of existence honing to perfection.

Special mention should go to the actor who plays Bottom (and Lysander - most of the troupe take on dual roles during the performance), whose facial expressions and comedy timing suit the performance perfectly. Also to the Japanese actress who plays Titania, flitting between English and Japanese to memorably portray the faerie mysticism of her character.

Part bawdy and burlesque, part stylised and physical, you can imagine this is how Shakespeare was performed back in Elizabethan times. As the performers circle the stage, dancing slowly whilst the musicians play a madrigal, the true spirit of Shakespearean theatre is conjured up before us and casts us all under its spell.

Children of the Khmer *****(*)

Another show which deserves more than five stars, Children of the Khmer is one of the most stunning, uplifting and moving shows I've seen this year.

Incense fills the air as you file in to the church hall in which this takes place, immediately setting the atmosphere and mood. Then, each holding candles, the young troupe of male and female performers come on stage whilst live traditional music and singing play behind them. Then, after a simple yet beautiful temple ceremony, the show proper begins.

Elegant and evocative temple dances, joyous and uplifting drumming, masked dance routines between monkeys and birds, traditional folk dances - each segment of the show is as stunning as the last. Wearing gorgeously colourful traditional costumes, the young performer look energetic, happy and - most notably during the temple dance - beautiful.

Towards the end of the show, two of the performers hold a large white sheet onto which a video is projected, explaining the background of the youths we have just spent a memorable 50 minutes enthralled by. Most with parents and family killed in past conflicts and living in poverty-stricken condition, they are all members of a school which tries to teach youngsters the tradition and culture of their country, to ensure it is not forgotten. Based on the performance, they have been taught well, as the dancing, music, singing and attitude of the troupe is faultless.

At the end, the entire company line up at the exit and create an uplifting cacophony of drum and cymbals, each one bowing and saying thank you to us as we file past them. Impossible to leave without a smile, then - and equally hard to not be immensely touched and uplifted by the whole performance.

Chess *****

Chess is an ancient Chinese legend performed in a stylised and physical manner by a Taiwanese theatre group new to the Edinburgh Festival.

Telling the tale of two warring generals sparring for the love of a beautiful queen, the cast adopt costume and movement reminiscent of Peking Opera performance, moving gracefully and in exaggerated fashion around the stage.

Costumes are stunning, and the onstage choreography is fluid and visually striking. Performed mostly without dialogue, there is however some English narration provided by an attendant maidservant and the traditional Chinese percussionists who sit at the side of the stage, providing live accompaniment to the unfolding action.

Performances like this are special in that they give a glimpse into another culture and style of theatre that is otherwise hard to find. And when done with such grace, beauty and style as this production, the sense of wonder and magic is complete. Based on this show, I hope the company return again next year, and once again open a door into another time and place for us fortunate enough to step through.