Composer/performer Maimuna Memon (renowned for 2018’s ‘Electrolyte’) floods the Roundabout tent with warm-toned folk music and a gut-wrenching rollercoaster of a love story. Supported by two musicians, under the conceit of recording an album, she plays Ria: a singer/songwriter moving to London seeking gigs and thrilling singledom. When Ria falls in love she admits “vulnerability is my weakness”. This gets a laugh of recognition – vulnerability is an intimacy-builder – but the nature of this vulnerability is revealed in a stark series of incidents depicting the manic depression insinuated in the show’s title. Through Ria we experience the pressures of caring for a mentally-ill loved-one. The album-recording is a thin framing device, but Maimuna Memon’s writing and performance are riveting.

ROUNDABOUT @ Summerhall, until 28 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Bizz Holmes]