Based on an intriguing idea – a dog’s eye view of the world – engaging puppetry, atmospheric dolls house settings, and good music, give this technically accomplished show a solid foundation. A cleverly designed puppet dog allows the audience to invent and then empathise with its feelings, but the dog’s perspective is ultimately little more than a low viewing angle. Its liking for dead birds goes unexplained and, more importantly, the dog offers no insight into the story because it is entirely aware of it. Instead a dark mystery is revealed mainly through objects discovered by a weakly-sketched human pet-sitting couple. The piece might be better in silent movie format: as it stands, the video and puppetry skills crowd out good theatre-making.

Summerhall, until 26 Aug.
tw rating 2/5 | [Alan Cranston]