Edinburgh always throws up some shows that are challenging to categorise and this real curate’s egg of a production is one such example. Sandy Grierson is an established and charismatic performer in Scottish theatre but his solo show is anything but conventional. It purports to tell the story of his supposed great-grandfather, Arthur Cravan, an apparent polymath and fantasist, a boxer, dancer, poet, muleteer and many more besides.
The strongest aspect of the show is Grierson’s effortless interaction with the audience – he is a real charmer, capable of persuading one unsuspecting audience member to spar with him onstage, and others of taking on various roles in the story, becoming his foils in the process, allowing him to flirt and chat his way through his frankly unbelievable story. Aside from his entertaining antics, exuberant dancing and boxing, and terrific chutzpah, it’s hard to see what this show is really about. Perhaps the legendary figure of Cravan represents our own desire to be something that we are not, or people’s sense of self-deception. The show in itself is one big act of deception in that Grierson’s central claim to have met Cravan is frankly unbelievable yet he shows just enough to convince you that the central character is, indeed, a genuine figure, leaving you wondering what is real and what is not.
Overall, though, when you emerge from the theatre itself, not much lingers beyond the impression of Grierson’s eccentric and charming acting talent.
3/5 
Sam Laydon
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