"Follow me" were the last words heard by many of those hanged by England's last executioner, Albert Pierrepoint. He prided himself on doing a quick, clean job. Most of those he hanged were dead within 15 seconds of him entering the cell and uttering those words. His record was seven seconds, but he himself admitted it was a fluke: the condemned man ran to the noose. One of those who Pierrepoint hanged was Ruth Ellis, a 28-year-old club manager convicted of shooting her lover, David Blakely. In 1955, she became the last woman to be executed in the UK. Her demise hastened calls for the abolition of the death penalty.
Ross Gurney-Randall and David Mountfield's play offers two entwining monologues set on the eve of Ellis's execution. The businesslike Pierrepoint - a man who followed in his father's footsteps into the execution business - is keen that all goes well for "the client" (Ellis), while, as death looms, Ellis considers what brought her to this point. This is a woman killed by love. Nowadays, Ellis would have been assigned a social worker; 50 years ago she was assigned a noose. This despite the fact that Blakely was violent towards her, had punched her so hard in the stomach that she had miscarried, and she was out of her head on drink, pills and grief when she pulled the trigger.
This little show is neatly done, although the stories of the protagonists never really bounce off of each other satisfactorily. You would also question the purpose of retelling old stories, particularly in an era when the death penalty has long been abolished, if it were not for Beth Fitzgerald's exceptional performance as Ellis. Carrying herself as carefully as a cracked china cup that might shatter at any minute, Fitzgerald is unmissable as a woman joking her way towards oblivion even as fate gets the last laugh.
· Until August 27. Box office: 0131-623 3030.
