The Infant, The Space at Surgeon’s Hall.This psychological thriller asks, if you can sacrifice something dear to you for the greater good, should you? God tested Abraham when He required Abraham to kill his own son Isaac; Abraham agreed to do so but, having passed the test, God pardoned them both. What would you do if you were Abraham? Montague Austin’s ambitious and thought-provoking thriller starts with an apparently straightforward police questioning of a murder suspect in 1974 Arkansas, but quickly develops into something more supernatural. An intriguing story, with some good writing and good performances, although there are some sequences where the words are quite difficult to hear. There’s an unnecessary plot twist at the end that weakens the impact of the story, but overall, it’s a curious and satisfying play. 3 stars.

Help Me! The SpaceTriplex.What’s worse than a dead body? A dead body with unfinished business! In this hugely interactive séance show, our hero Levi is suspended in limbo, unable to talk, but through the art of mime he seeks our assistance to return to life. Piecing together clues from his extensive family tree, will we help him manage to regain the power of speech? That all depends on whether we successfully enable him to connect with great-grandfather Dr Isaiah! Playing all the characters in his waywardly secretive family, Leo Lion introduces us to the arrogant Professor Dmitry, the heroic Svetlana, failed lion tamer Andrei, and little Masha, amongst others. This cleverly structured, extraordinarily creative show is a mixture of mime and clown, with a little bit of charades and game show thrown in for good measure. Advice to future audiences: the more you put into it, the more you get out of it! Amazing talent and tremendous fun. 4 stars.

All Over the Plate: A Stand-up Comedy Tasting Menu, The Space at Surgeon’s Hall.Comedians by Night bring their six-pack of comedians to the Edinburgh Fringe in All Over the Plate, described in the blurb as a comedy tasting menu. Now I’d never want to cast aspersions, and these six young people are all doing something that I could never dream of doing, so I am in awe of their bravery. That said, I’m afraid that although All Over the Plate may have some degree of charm, it’s severely lacking in comedy material. Two of the acts were embarrassingly poor; another adopted an unlikeable stage persona, one was severely hampered by nerves, and the others just didn’t have sufficient experience to make their material work. There’s no lack of effort here, which makes it deserving of an extra star, and to be fair they did raise a few chuckles. However, and it grieves me to write this, when there is such competition at the Fringe for one’s time and money, I have to say there are much better ways of spending both. 2 stars.

Dirty Money, The Space on The Mile.Desperate times need desperate remedies. When Luke finds out that a failed business venture means he owes £210 million to a man who doesn’t take no for an answer – he discovers that there is a possible way out. All he has to do is spring the villainous tycoon Venetia Byron from jail and he will take a share of her money. which will, in turn, pay off his dues. A piece of cake? To find our you’ll have to watch Dirty Money, a musical comedy by Amelie Hampshire which follows him and his motley crew of brainboxes and hapless mechanics, on their quest for fame, fortune and debt write-off. It’s a very ambitious project, with a five-piece live band – such a shame they have to sit out of sight of the audience – and some very well-written musical numbers; I particularly enjoyed the ensemble sequences. The performance standard is slightly patchy but the whole cast work hard to bring this surreal and quirky tale to life. 3 stars.

Stuart McPherson: Crisps and a Lie Down, Monkey Barrel Comedy Cabaret Voltaire.A new name to us, Stuart McPherson is a bright and positive persona on stage, celebrating his neurotypicality, happy to get a game of 5-a-side going, and appreciating the kindness of his parents, despite their faults. That makes him sound a bit of a goody-goody, which would certainly give a false impression. Confident and briskly paced, he shares his very recognisable and relatable family-based material, particularly addressing that inevitable question of do we want kids? Very funny, and with some lovely, unusual twists to familiar situations, this is an easy going hour of spot-on comic observations. Recommended! 4 stars.

Derby Day, The Space Triplex.It’s the day of the Edinburgh Derby, and Hibs fans Danny and Harris plan to watch the match with a few beers and safe in the knowledge that Danny’s pregnant wife Jade and his sister Chloe will be out of town at Jade’s parents’. But there’s a problem. Their friend Shaun had recently been killed in a knife attack, and although Danny and Harris have been questioned, police investigations are continuing. Can they pretend that nothing is wrong whilst they’re waiting for a possible knock upon the door? Without Compromise Theatre’s production of Michael Johnson’s Derby Day explores the pressures of violence in a close Scottish community, and the consequences of one’s actions, even when carried out to avenge the honour of one’s family. Powerful performances (although the female voices were a little too soft at times) and a riveting, emotional play. 4 stars.

How Can(t) I Help? Greenside @ George Street.In a former life, about thirty years ago, I found myself managing a team of unfortunate council officers whose (almost) sole task was to take complaint calls about missed wheely bin collections. You would not believe the hatred that the public can express over the phone to a poor person who can do nothing but apologise (even when it’s the member of the public’s fault, as it nearly always was.) So it was with huge empathy that I settled down to watch Holly Gow’s How Can (‘t) I Help, a day in the life of a GP receptionist. One can only imagine the horrors to which they are exposed on a daily basis and it’s no surprise that it turns some of them into savage Rottweilers. This is a fun, revealing, and strangely educational hour of pestilential manflu, stool samples, and even the occasional emergency, all told by Holly in an engaging and confiding manner. A perfect show for anyone who’s ever been on either end of the 8am call to the doctors! 3 stars.