Weather girl Stacey has one job – smile like everything’s fine, even while it all burns behind you. Set amid rapidly escalating Californian wildfires, ‘Weather Girl’ is a strange and compelling story, written by Brian Watkins, directed by Tyne Rafaeli and performed by the magnificent Julia McDermott. Primped and coiffed, McDermott plays Stacey as a human house of cards, one good push away from collapse. Someone that everyone looks at, but nobody actually listens to. Her increasing bewilderment at the uncanny horror of everything around her is complemented by superb lighting and sound design, with sickly orange hues and chest-rattling rumbles communicating the catastrophe that’s approaching. With unflagging pace and jet-black humour, ‘Weather Girl’ will keep you hooked to the end.

Summerhall, until 26 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Jon Stapley]