No one will ever call Tameka Empson a shrinking violet: "It's my show, concentrate on me, on me, on me." OK, so that's her soul-singing alter ego Marcia Brown talking. But the success of this daft karaoke-comedy show is all down to Empson's force of personality: this is a woman who could entertain an empty room. Edinburgh audiences will surely be drawn to this hour of sing-along character comedy, although the show's party vibe might have been better suited to a later time slot.
The conceit is that Marcia Brown, swaddled in sequins and self-love, wishes to tell us about romance. As a "backing singer-slash-lead singer" who has worked with "Marvin as in Gaye and Smokey as in Robinson" (not to mention her nemesis, Diana Ross), she has been singing love songs for decades. Here, she threads her own conventional narrative of reckless love, betrayal and redemption through a series of Motown classics, performed with the gusto of someone who has presumably been doing this in front of the bedroom mirror for years.
The show's success is not down to its accuracy. Empson is more interested in having fun than being convincing, as Brown's America-via-east-London accent suggests. Nor is it down to the script, which is low on jokes and high on amusing, off-the-cuff waffle.
The songs are the thing here - especially the ridiculously diva-ish mannerisms (the ersatz emotion, the strangulated vowels, the dramatic throwing of shapes) with which Empson brings them to life. There is some funny stage business, too, such as when Marcia packs a suitcase with roller skates to illustrate Midnight Train to Georgia.
This portrait of Brown's diamante-encrusted ego may be underdeveloped, but it is done with irresistible affection and Empson powers the whole show with multi-million-watt charisma.
· Until August 26. Box office: 0131-556 6550.
