Sobremesa, Gilded Balloon Patter House.

Sobremesa – the noble Spanish art of chatting around the dinner table after a meal. What could be more relaxing?! Well, that depends on your dining companions and the secrets they keep. Agnes Perry-Robinson’s Sobremesa sees sisters Alma and Billie celebrating Alma’s 30th birthday, and Billie has brought her new boyfriend, Jamie, to meet her. Billie and Jamie are nauseatingly loved-up, but Alma is not convinced that Jamie is quite the decent chap he purports to be… An engrossing tale develops around the dinner table, and you’re never quite certain of the motivations of Jamie and Alma, with innocent Billie caught in the middle. Excellent performances, especially from Alejandra Deane as Alma; it’s a well-paced play, with intriguing characters and a very good story, that just perhaps goes on a tad too long in the final denouement. 4 stars.

Broke and Fabulous in the 21st Century, Gilded Balloon Patter House.

Money’s too tight to mention sang Simply Red decades ago. And not much has changed over that time for the likes of besties Lexy and Petunia, who have to sustain their fabulousness on minimal incomes. The distraught Petunia has man problems, in that she hardly ever sees Jake and when she does, he is indifferent; Lexy, on the other hand, has been seeing Tom, and his problem is that he is falling in love, which he really doesn’t want to do. Tom, on the other hand, earns good money and turns up for sex whenever he wants it, so life is treating him fine. However, all actions have consequences… Dale Robertson’s Broke and Fabulous in the 21st Century concentrates on 24 hours (or so) of these three people, and successfully portrays their financial insecurities, their sexual complications, and reliance on drugs and alcohol. It works best when it reveals their quieter hopes, truths and dreams; the larger-than-life Petunia brings to mind the excesses of Absolutely Fabulous’ Eddie and Patsy, which is entertaining until it starts to pall. Three confident performances, especially from the writer Dale Robertson as Lexy, the only character whom we really feel we get under his surface. The drive to incorporate worthy quotations from the Ancient Greeks felt perhaps a little pretentious, and the twist ending is telegraphed a mile off, but, overall, it’s an entertaining and energetic performance, if occasionally a little over-frenetic. 3 stars.

Crocodile Rock, Gilded Balloon Teviot.

Andy McGregor’s Crocodile Rock is the story of Steven McPhail, an insecure lad from sleepy Millport in Great Cumbrae Island, who knows that he doesn’t fit in but doesn’t altogether understand why until one day the charismatic Henry Thomas walks into his life. Although their association is far from a happy-ever-after story, it leads Steven to the realisation of who he is and, with a little help from a visiting Country and Western musician (bizarre, what?), gains the confidence to live life his own way. A crowd-pleasing, joy-giving performance by Darren Brownlie, as he presents Steven’s story as a sung-through musical; he has a great voice and an effervescent stage presence which radiates rapport with the audience, and it’s no surprise that Crocodile Rock is one of the big successes of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. 5 stars.

Steffan Alun: Windows, Hoots @ The Apex.

Steffan Alun spent a lifetime preparing material for last year’s Edinburgh debut, which means he’s only had eleven months to prepare for this year’s follow-up, Windows. But fear not, as he has crammed a shed load of comic observations into his new show, which is primarily concerned with the difference between outward appearance and inward substance, and the search for individual identity. He reflects on how the clothes we wear are designed to express how we want others to see us; consequently, you can have carte blanche to judge people on the train, say, by how they dress or behave themselves. En route, we learn about how one can have different memories of a house one once lived in, the various motivations behind taking part in pub quizzes, and how we present ourselves on Instagram – beware, Steffan will be particularly judgy in this instance. Put the wrong flag on your profile, and he’ll treat it like… well… a red flag. He has a splendidly assertive onstage presence, with a gloriously expressive voice raised on laverbread so that no R is ever left unrolled. His material is intelligent and thoughtful, encompassing many different threads, and all elegantly structured and chock-full of laughs. Most definitely One to Watch. 4 stars.