It is an American bar like any other. And it is propped up by a couple of ordinary blokes, Sam and Bob. They have the easy familiarity of barroom buddies; they have clearly spent a lot of time together. Maybe an eternity.
Their talk turns to fishing and God, and what a great country the US is. They express the latter notion with the air of people who need to reassure themselves. Then they discover that they have lost the nine of diamonds from their deck of cards. What are they to do? How can the game go on?
Fascinating without ever being entirely engaging, CJ Hopkins's two-hander brings the spirit of Godot to America's bars and puts the bourbon in Beckett. It feels like a serious piece of theatre rather than fringe fluff. However, while I admired it enormously, I had trouble enjoying it as it twisted and turned on its 75-minute helter-skelter ride through American culture and the American psyche, ending up in a postmodern landscape where Hitler struts by and reactionary values are at odds with liberal consciences.
But the production is brilliantly directed by John Clancy and acted with terrific flair and feel by Ben Scheider and David Calvitto. And it tries to shed some light on the way the US lives today.
Until August 26. Box office: 0131-226 2428.
