When Bella was a little girl, she couldn't sleep, so her elder brother told her stories to sooth her fear of the dark. Orphaned when they were young, Bella has stayed close to Donny, now a writer of children's stories, who keeps a close eye on his beautiful sister. But now the princess in the ivory tower wants to spread her wings, and Philip is the knight on the white charger who is going to help her do it. But will the wicked old witch with a deformed heart let her do it?
Written by Olivier Emanuel whose Iz I enjoyed very much last year, Bella is a neatly written and very watchable tale of warped obsession. It says quite a lot that it keeps you gripped despite serious competition from the venue air-conditioning and the clog dancers in the room above.
If it is not entirely satisfactory, it is because the characterisations are not subtle enough - Donny is too much of a nutcase so you can guess the plot revelations pretty quickly - and because the play often mistakes style for substance.
· Until Aug 28. Box office: 0131 668 1633.
