Beth Vyse: As Funny As Cancer (Beth Vyse/Heroes)
Beth Vyse developed this one-woman show to talk about her experiences with breast cancer. She has a natural ability on stage, lifting the audience up with unexpected silliness before bringing them right back down with an abrupt, sobering point. From the doctor who diagnosed her, to the welcome comic relief that Michael Jackson provides, her characters hold the show together well and allow Vyse to impress. Her storytelling talents are proven by her ability to simultaneously maintain the humour and honesty of the story. Throughout all this Vyse comes across as an incredibly strong woman, not least because she manages to display her vulnerabilities whilst still maintaining a huge stage presence. It seems that cancer can indeed be pretty funny.
Heroes @ The Hive, until 30 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Stephanie Gray]

Chris Kent Stop Stalling (Mick Perrin Worldwide)
Chris Kent is back in Edinburgh for a fourth year, this time with tales of his recent wedding. For the majority of the show his anecdotal comedy makes for easy, relaxed listening, but there's always an awful lot of build-up. Kent's deadpan delivery is good, but the show lacks pace at times and would benefit from interspersing some quicker stories (a onesie related incident went down particularly well). Compared to some other comedians, whose "themes" are practically non-existent, he does well to keep his show on a recognisable track, rarely deviating from his subject matter. Apparently, he never intended his disastrous honeymoon to become the butt of his jokes, but he's certainly made the best of it.
Assembly George Square, until 31 Aug.
tw rating 3/5 | [Stephanie Gray]

Chris Turner: XXV (Fluid Thinking and Brillstein Entertainment Partners)
At fifteen, Chris Turner was diagnosed with a genetic disorder and doctors expected him to die by the age of twenty-five. Now living past his sell-by-date, this piece of stand-up covers his reflections on the diagnosis and his lifestyle since. He also talks about his ambition to become a rapper which, through his two quick-witted improvised rap sections, we see he has already achieved. Instantly likeable, with charm and presence, Chris Turner manages to make this sad story fun, even hilarious. His well-written jokes and intelligent observations successfully entertain the crowd throughout. Due to Turner's material having a real, poignant facet to it, 'XXY' resonates, and you leave with more than just an evening of laughter.
Pleasance Courtyard, until 31 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Stephanie Withers]

How To Be Fat (Mathilda Gregory)
The show begins with an assertion that she is and ends with a confession that she isn't – okay with her fat body, that is. In between is a one-woman show on dieting, genetics, what people say to fat people and what fat people say to themselves. Or rather, one person: Mathilda Gregory's account is family photo-level personal. Some audiences might be uncomfortable with this raw vulnerability, but Gregory is warm and loveable and these issues need discussion. The account is ordinary and universal, with really funny moments and some great insights. In the end, though, it's quite sad: the many ways a body can be wrong is an unresolved problem outside the theatre, and it isn't resolved inside either.
Zoo Southside, until 31 Aug.
tw rating 3/5 | [Lucy Diver]

Kyle Kinane: Ghost Pizza Party (Soho Theatre and United Talent Agency)
The Fringe is getting on a bit and Kyle Kinane is tired, worn down by the excessive whimsy that is Edinburgh in August. Among the artistic cornucopia on offer, he expresses doubt over the worth of stand-up comedy. This leads into thoughts about his own performance anxiety, expressed through the idea of quantum leaping (look it up – it's exactly what he means) into other (marginally) more "worthwhile" jobs. Not a soldier or a doctor, but a truck driver reversing round a corner, or a Japanese restaurant chef, working in open view. There's nothing to do with ghosts or pizzas – in fact it's basically a 30 minute lead up to a gag about crabs' legs. Happily, it's a good one.
Underbelly Cowgate, until 30 Aug.
tw rating 3/5 | [Bruce Blacklaw]

Twins: Pret a Comedy (Twins)
The schtick here is that Jack, the boy of the really not very identical twins, has an hour to live. He needs to chomp through a bucket list, little of which is achievable in the time available, but can all be imagined theatrically. You know, through sketches. A mildly anarchic hour ensures, with a mixed bag of general absurdity. It's not the tightest, or the slickest, and some set-ups take an age to get to a punchline that wasn't worth the journey, but there are some gems and some bold bits of audience participation here. It's a free show at midnight, as they keep reminding us, and that's a fair point. A diverting enough start to the wee small hours.
Pleasance Courtyard, until 30 Aug.
tw rating 3/5 | [Bruce Blacklaw]

MUSICALS

Shout! The Mod Musical (Max Emmerson Productions)
Funny, lively and entertaining, six groovy girls transport us to swinging-sixties London in this colourful jukebox musical. They write to an agony aunt in their coveted magazine, 'Shout', about the problems of a "modern woman". She replies with less than satisfactory advice: get a pedicure to calm down. Increasingly frustrated with this poor advice, the girls take matters into their own hands, feistily covering Lulu, Cilla Black and Nancy Sinatra. Sung with tremendous talent, these young actresses will blow you away with their renditions of these classics. They transport us back to a time where women were seen and not heard, but make no mistake - in this brilliant musical, they will be defiantly heard.
Momentum Venues, until 30 Aug.
tw rating 5/5 | [Stephanie Withers]

THEATRE

Backstage In Biscuit Land (Touretteshero)
In the words of a friend, Jess Thom is a "crazy language-generating machine". The source of her brilliance? Tourette's, a neurological condition that causes uncontrollable verbal and physical tics. So Thom spends a lot of time repeating the words "biscuit" and "hedgehog", but also spits delightfully surrealistic turns of phrase - something about Bananarama and sandcastles, or a caution against washing your groin with a kiwi fruit. Joined by the perpetually game Jess Mabel Jones, Thom allows us to laugh, while also asking important questions about what constitutes "appropriate" audience behaviour. "I know this is the only seat in the house I won't be asked to leave," she says. Thank goodness - it'd be a crime to shut down anything so ebullient and moving.
Pleasance Courtyard, until 30 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Rebecca Jacobson]

Donald Does Dusty (Diane Torr)
This many stranded, one-woman show about Diane Torr, her brother Donald and sixties pop star Dusty Springfield was funny, moving and intriguing. The structure was just right and it fascinated me for the entire hour, cleverly combining film, Dusty's recordings and costume. Torr narrated and acted the complex story of her much loved gay brother, by intertwining his story with that of his heroine and role model, Dusty Springfield, and by inviting the audience to participate – which we did. I kept thinking, especially during the film clips of Donald, how hard it must be for Torr to relive his life and death each night. However, after the show's finale, I understood and was comforted.
Summerhall, until 30 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 l [Louise Rodgers]

John Lennon In His Own Write (Baldynoggin Productions / PBH Free Fringe)
We all think of John Lennon as a poet, right? The thing is, he did actually publish an anthology of poetry and short stories. Yoko Ono gave her blessing for this adaptation, in which the excellent players, working in front of projections of some of his drawings, deliver life and voice to Lennon's whimsical words. The only problem is, well, the material, which sounds like Spike Milligan took the day off and had a temp phone it in. Thank Christ John stuck at the day job. And yeah, ok, different times, but it's hard work making allowances for a lot of stuff you'd tell your granddad off for saying. Nevertheless, this is an intriguing footnote to the man's life and work, worth seeing.
Voodoo Rooms, until 30 Aug.
tw rating 3/5 | [Bruce Blacklaw]

No Strings (Pop-Up Theatre Company)
Carolyn Duffin couldn't have anticipated the hack of cheating website Ashley Madison, but that recent imbroglio makes quite the punchline to her new play. It's essentially a morality tale about why infidelity is very, very bad – and how women can be very, very devious. Jamie (George Drever) and Shona (Duffin) meet at a hotel. She says it's her first foray into anonymous sex. It's his seventeenth. What follows is trite conversation about marital and personal discontent and – for a show that says it's "intended for adult viewing" – nothing particularly sexy. But what's the moral here? Men are dumb horndogs? Women should harness their feminine wiles to rat them out? Whatever its intent, 'No Strings' leaves a sour taste.
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, until 29 Aug.
tw rating 1/5 | [Rebecca Jacobson]

Not The Horse (Naughty Corner Productions)
Half way through this crime-comedy, the penny drops: this has a striking resemblance to Guy Ritchie's film 'Snatch'. We don't have Jason Statham here, we don't have Jews, but we do have "pikeys". When twenty-something Scouser Tony finds himself in the dirt, after losing an illegal horse race, he tries various methods to pay the £250,000 back to London gangsters. It's a busy hour, with a gigantic cast in four different sub-plots. It isn't confusing, it's just quite unnecessary. The "pikey" storyline doesn't add anything and, while the play describes itself as a comedy, some moments are clearly just attempts to get laughs out of the audience, but with little success. However, the plot surrounding Tony is attractive and offers glimpses of hilarity.
theSpace @ Surgeon's Hall, until 29 Aug.
tw rating 3/5 | [Kieran Scott]

Swallow (Traverse Theatre Company)
Young Scottish playwright Stef Smith knows how to bring beauty to the breakdown. Her new play, the piercing, elegantly off-kilter 'Swallow,' introduces us to a trio of women. Anna (Emily Wachter) is smashing up her flat – mirrors, phone, floorboards – and gluing together the shards with pesto. Rebecca (Anita Vettesse) is rudderless after a bad breakup. And Samantha (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) is binding her chest with gaffer tape and testing the waters as Sam. As their stories intersect, the simplest lines stand out more than the occasionally strained metaphors. "It's not a lie", says Anna, "just a past-tense truth". Orla O'Loughlin directs with sensitivity and grace – even if things get a little cute at the end – trusting the three remarkable performers to fuel the show.
Traverse Theatre, until 30 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Rebecca Jacobson]