The letters in Demetri Martin can be rearranged to spell mired, trite man. Given the recent US success of this brainbox Yale graduate, not to mention the quality of his show, the anagram is wholly inappropriate. Martin's If I describes his lifelong obsession with puzzles and problem-solving, with charts, graphs and (self) analysis. It takes as its tenuous structure the dictionary definitions of the word if. Around the concept of possibility, this boyish American seeks to build not only a comedy show, but a formula for life.
It makes for a charming hour. There is a 250-word poem that reads the same backwards as forwards. And a series of photographs that illustrate unlikely palindromes. (A bike with a sombrero? El cycle, of course).
The hour culminates with Martin describing the points system that he once used to regulate his life. He awards himself points for his diet, benevolence, creative achievement and so on in any given week. But he keeps scoring low, so has to develop a secondary system to analyse the failings of his primary system. Laugh? I nearly got my calculator out.
Martin's softly spoken performance lacks oomph. But there's much to savour in a show that celebrates the major satisfaction of minor accomplishments but asks: what do you do when the activities that distract you from real life become your real life?
· Until August 25. Box office: 0131-226 2428.
