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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Brian Logan

Otis Lee Crenshaw

It's the first full-length fringe run since 2000 for Rich Hall's Tennessee jailbird alter ego. And he appears to be mellowing with age. The combination of downbeat songs and Crenshaw's grizzled patter can make for a sedate show. But Hall has lost none of his lyrical dexterity. And the unsentimental reflections on white-trash life are as funny as ever. "I knew she was single," says Otis of one potential mate, "because she didn't have a black eye."

He's got a clutch of new songs that Nashville won't sanction. Maybe that's because they're so short - some are over just as you're beginning to savour the joke. At their daftest, they make play of Otis's amoral persona - witness Do Anything You Want to the Girl (Just Don't Hurt Me). But Hall's music often flirts with real tenderness, and his darkest songs wrest comedy from trailer-park tragedy.

The mask that hides Rich behind Otis frequently slips. His hoarse observations on London's Olympic bid ("You can develop film in the River Lea, but I don't think you can kayak down it"), is vintage Hall. Even if the range of this set could profitably broaden beyond laconic, it's great to have him back.

· Until August 30. Box office: 0131-556 6550.

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