This beautifully observed physical theatre piece considers the thin line between humour and hysteria, inspired by TS Eliot's 1917 poem of the same name about a quiet afternoon shattered by a woman's hysterical laughter as a waiter serves afternoon tea. Inspector Sands and Stamping Ground Theatre Ground dissect the disturbing tinkle of laughter in our own age of anxiety.
It is that most stress-inducing setting - the first date in a smart restaurant - that the company uses to observe the antics of a young couple. He is an academic researching neuroses, including the 1967 Singapore penis panic, and affluenza (the dogged pursuit of the American dream). She works in his university department and is aware of his groundbreaking work.
Yet neither is immune from worry, and as the meal continues, nervous chatter - brilliantly funny misunderstandings about aid in the developing world, talk about whether you would prefer to be buried or cremated - turns to anxiety that dissolves into hysteria and temporary madness, all watched over calmly by a silent waiter who has seen it all before and whose impassiveness is a rebuke to the madness of the world around him. The beauty here is not just in the smart script or the precision of the physical work and the way the company meld the two, but in the truthfulness and detail of the observation.
The show is very good on scale: does the imminent pop of a champagne cork warrant the same level of anxiety as the melting of the ice cap? Is one person's normal another person's neurosis? This is a clever little show that is neatly put together. I laughed until I cried.
· Until August 28. Box office: 0131- 558 3853.
