Most comedians know what it feels like to die onstage, but when Andy Parsons's fishtank cracked open during one show last week, his sidekick Roger the goldfish nearly gave the phrase a tragic new definition.
There is no danger of ex-Spitting Image writer Parsons suffering the same fate. The bullet-headed Londoner has two shows in Edinburgh this year; the other is with his regular partner, Henry Naylor.
This solo gig sees him adopting the identity of a Reading council pest exterminator who accepts an award for best vermin controller of the year. The character is stretched pretty thinly across a one-hour set, but Parsons mines his biography and profession to enjoyably comic effect.
Parsons the pest killer, we are invited to believe, is a shy romantic with strong feelings about current affairs. While reading the paper, he shares them with Roger, in an emphatic, exasperated tone that is as funny as the jokes themselves. Learning that Railtrack has announced a new "safety first" policy, he wonders what it has replaced - "safety fifth?" - before reading Roger a hilarious spoof children's story called Thomas the Replacement Bus Service. This is as political as I have, so far, seen fringe comedy dare to be.
Until August 27. Box office: 0131-556 6550.
