First Person Singular Ambition

As the last of this parade of misfits retreats behind the screen, the overwhelming feeling is of an actress not so much being loud for the crowd, but auditioning for a commissioning.

Appropriately enough given the venue, it was Scotland's most celebrated poet who wrote, "O would some Power the gift to gie us/ To see ourselves as others see us."

In this short, fast-paced series of character sketches from Iona Dudley-Ward, all her creations share the same trait: they are painfully unselfaware. From Lyn, the timid, sparrow-like assertiveness coach, to the monstrously egotistical dance instructor Genevieve who wants her students only to sit still and watch, they could all do with a bit of self-insight.

However, more than one of the characters in this one-woman show does at least boldly declare what may double for their author's own ambition: to get everyone paying attention to the lady herself. There are some decent gags, sharp observations (especially Lottie the vacuous middle class festival goer), and Dudley-Ward throws shapes with the poise of a trained dancer. But as the last of the parade of misfits retreats behind the screen, the overwhelming feeling is of an actress not so much being loud for the crowd, but auditioning for a commissioning.

Me Myself and Iona

Rabbie Burns Café, Royal Mile, until 27 August

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