In the days before the movies and the arrival of television, it was vaudeville that entertained America. Chester and Plunkett are two small-time vaudevillians working the lowly circuit in places such as Kansas and dreaming of the big time.
Eventually they get their break, only to discover that their star is rising as vaudeville is on the wane, eventually to be killed off by the war and the arrival of the talkies.
A hark back to a gentler era, this quiet little show has its own charm and some beautiful recreations of old vaudeville acts, including clever slapstick standards, as well as fascinating historical curiosities such as the reunion of the dying old freed slave with the master he loved.
But although the show evokes time and place, and even introduces figures such as Al Jolson into the mix, it can't quite make up its mind as to exactly what it wants to be, fiction or fact.
The idea of using Chester and Plunkett's lives as a representation of the 20th-century history of vaudeville itself is a good one, but the story and characters need to be less hackneyed for this to be compelling rather than just mildly charming.
· Until Aug 28. Box office: 0131 556 6550
