Wow. I reviewed 18 shows.

That's 3,600 words.

I haven't quite kept track of what he did and didn't print. (Liar.)

But I'm pretty sure he didn't print this one. So I've pasted it in here for your delectation.

My least favourite show of the Fringe. The show where the girl took her pants off. Well, not quite off as she stood for most of the show with them stretched between her calves.

Of course it's possible that I'm just not intellectual enough to understand the depths of the presentation.

But if that is the case, I'm happy to settle for my well-known state of ignoramusness.

Amusements

Summerhall

12 - 26 August, 5:45pm

Amusements is an ambitious show; an exploration of the nature of pleasure in an over-indulged and so arguably desensitised twenty-first century society. So far, so interesting. The production promises an immersive experience delivered to the audience through headphones. Also interesting. But all of this promise sadly didn’t quite deliver.

The production begins with a spare set, strewn with a few tantalising props. A piece of grass, a pair of high heeled shoes. Lights up on an extremely pretty blonde girl, Lara Solana Arana, in a red dress cradling a microphone. And she commences a discourse - to the accompaniment of an incredibly carefully crafted soundscape including some pre-recorded text from Sleepwalk Collective - on the sensory highlights of her life to date.

As an example of theatre that reaches out and tries to involve you, the audience, directly in the production, this show could be worth seeking out.

But as a show, this production is hampered by an absence of a coherent narrative: instead, we have a theme. Arana speculates as to whether nature or sex offers the greater gratification. By the end of the piece, I didn’t much care.