And On Your Left... Ruth Bratt

A small, intimate room in the Pleasance Dome provides the setting for Ruth Bratt to launch herself into this hectic, character-based comedy show. A veteran of the Fringe, she puts her knowledge of Edinburgh to good use, treating the audience to an imagined tour around the city in one of it's distinctive open-topped buses.

This unlikely setting provides Bratt with all the fodder she needs for her show, with characters ranging from the screeching harridan running the tour to a breast-obsessed Edinburgh shopkeeper and an ex-spy from Russia who now sells jacket potatoes. It's as chaotic as it sounds, but there's magic to be had.

It's Bratt's vocal expression and likability which make the show work. The material is tightly constructed and slick, and a lot of thought's gone into each section as well as each segue. What really raises this above the standard of the average Fringe performance is Bratt's personality which illuminates each of the characters she portrays in a different way. Sometimes bitingly critical (regarding Americans) and sometimes melancholy (regarding bees) she commits fully to each performance, and it works.

Hit with character after character, the audience is kept in a state of near-constant laughter, with straight-up humour peppered with moments of dark social commentary. There's a good evening to be had here, and although there's a sadness to the ending which doesn't quite hit the poignant note sought, Bratt is nonetheless well worth the admission fee and an hour of your time.