Dave Malloy’s ‘Ghost Quartet’ feels like a dream and a nightmare: overwhelmingly beautiful, complex, soulful and gripping. I’m still not sure what it’s about though, as the narrative itself is kept purposefully vague. From song to song unravel interwoven stories of death, loss and haunting, centred around two women, Rose and Pearl, and their consecutive reincarnations. This emotional resonance is backed up by incredibly talented musical orchestration. The show brilliantly oscillates between musical genres, displaying an incredible variety of instruments and stunning vocal abilities. It has the soul-shaking quality of gospel, the purity of a capella and lyrical singing, the disturbance of Gothic novels, all wrapped up with a modern twist. Absolutely lost for words.

Roundabout@Summerhall, until 28 Aug.
tw rating 5/5 | [Pénélope Hervouet]