Chasing Butterflies, Pleasance Dome.

I thought I’d be starting the day with a true crime story but this is in fact a work of pure fiction. Will Detective Richards unmask the serial killer known as the Butterfly Butcher, who terrorised Whitechapel in 1985? There’s no doubt that he’s certain he’ll crack the crime – but what is his unique insight? It’s about ten minutes into the play when you realise that All Is Not How It Seems – and this intriguing play asks more questions than it answers. So much so that, at the end, the audience is completely baffled as to the exact nature of the crime and the identity of the perpetrator. Well written and performed, but you might find yourself frustrated by the inconclusive nature of the ending.

The Ice Hole: A Cardboard Comedy, Pleasance Courtyard.

For originality, you have to take your hat off to this production for its sheer inventiveness and ability to recreate vast all-encompassing scenes both on land and at sea, simply by using bits of cardboard with writing on them. It’s a very clever idea, and the execution of the performance is fantastic. However, there were aspects to this production that I didn’t like at all. One of the characters spends the entire show talking in a made-up gobbledygook language and it irritated the hell out of me! I wished he’d either have talked in English or stayed silent – either would have worked better. And at something around an hour and fifteen minutes it felt way too long and became dull and repetitive. There’s also a reference to drowning migrants that really kills the vibe and mutes the laughter for the final five minutes. However, I have to say, I’m in the minority as the majority of the audience adored it and was swept up into a very enthusiastic standing ovation at the end. Skilful, and there are a few laugh out loud moments but, on the whole, for me, not particularly enjoyable.

Släpstick: Schërzo, Pleasance Courtyard.

I love classical music; and I love it when people make fun of classical music. Remember Victor Borge? He was sensational. So I had high hopes that I would adore this show; but it left me completely cold. It starts promisingly, with a good opening number and then a very accomplished task of playing over twenty tunes in the space of a minute – great stuff. There’s also a delightful rendition of Rhapsody in Blue. But then it gets incredibly self-indulgent, and I just got the feeling all the way through that the cast were trying too hard. There’s a scene where they all start whacking each other over the head with violins or whatever instrument comes to hand – I believe it was an homage to the Laurel and Hardy/Buster Keaton era but for that to work you have to establish empathy with the characters involved first, and I fear they didn’t do it – so it just looked to me like laughing at violence. Not for me, I’m afraid.

NewsRevue, Pleasance Courtyard.

I’m hugely fond of political satire so I was looking forward to seeing what this group of likeable performers would do with the current crop of news headlines. It’s an entertaining mix of little sketches and musical parodies, and, like most of these kinds of shows, it’s a hit-and-miss affair. Amongst the hits, I enjoyed the Spice Girls introduction, the Thames Water lament, and the PR company trying to rescue Philip Schofield’s career. It’s very bright, cheery and upbeat, and if you didn’t like the last sketch, there’ll be another along in a minute. This is the first time I’ve seen the NewsRevue team and I was expecting a little more attention to detail with political and celebrity impersonations. Good fun though!

Lovefool, Summerhall.

Lovefool is a superb little production that joins a moving and telling play by Gintare Parulyte with a terrific performance by Kristin Winters. Seamlessly involving recorded music and video with live action, it tells the story of Grace who puts herself through hell in an attempt to find love; and we accompany her on her journey to a delightful self-assertion in the final scene. A brave, raw, and flawless performance by Ms Winters challenges the audience to recognise their own links to the issues her character faces. Great acting, very life-affirming – one of the subtler hits of this year’s Fringe!

Weathervanes, Summerhall.

To describe this as a show with a difference is something of an understatement. When you walk in to the Lower Cafe Gallery at Summerhall, you’re relocated to a soft, hazy, contemplative landscape of plants, unfamiliar musical sounds, disconcerting lighting effects, and three gently swaying, unfolding naked dancers who blend into the landscape (and soundscape) – the weathervanes in question, I presume. it’s quite unlike anything else I’ve ever seen before, and for the first few minutes you are genuinely transported to another universe. After a while, once you’ve become accustomed to your surroundings, it doesn’t take long to conclude that you’ve probably seen enough – and although the show is scheduled to last for thirty minutes, we left after twenty – so it may well be it has a tempestuous ending that we don’t know about! Certainly curious, stylish, inventive and different.