The appeal to this show lies in the concept. Take two casts, two crews, two directors, two venues and one play, and see what happens. The play is a new piece, Geronimo, by writer Lucy Kirkwood, with this first version removed from her and produced by an independent director, Matt Addicott, at the Pleasance Courtyard. The second version will open next week in the Bedlam directed by the writer herself. This is a theatrical experiment to determine the artistic differences between these two different modes for staging a play.

The play itself centres on Theo (Catherine Ireton) as she discovers her husband, Ben (Alessandro Conetta), has been having an affair with his secretary. With the stress of this discovery and before they have a chance to discuss their future together Ben suffers a stroke. In recovery Ben has lost the ability to speak and write and can only offer his distressed wife a single meaningless word. It is about coping in this world with no words and the role of wife versus carer.

With the potential to be an interesting exploration of the human psyche and its ability to cope under stress, this production is a disappointment. The too-young cast fail to convince as the older characters they seem to be portraying, thus any sense of believability is completely lost, leaving the audience open to notice the irritating performances of the individuals. It’s not that the show wasn’t trying to be theatrical; it just failed in its messy execution, and leaves an audience empty with its soulless characters, and going-through-the-motions direction. The only real saving grace is that this is a two-part theatrical experiment, something different to be experienced, and it’s only sad that cutting the cord has left this production feeling, in its best parts, like a hammy soap episode. Hopefully the writer will make a better bash of it at the Bedlam next week.

Peasance Coutryard, 60 The Pleasance (0131 556 6550)
Preview Aug 2-4: 14:00 (1hr) £5
Aug 5-11, 15-18, 21-25, 28: 14:00 (1hr) £7.50 (£6)
Aug 12-13, 19-20, 26-27: 14:00 (1hr) £8.50 (£7)