Edinburgh has always embraced the idea that theatres don't need to have walls. This year, the backs of stationary lorries have been particularly fashionable, but they are only able to transport you through the imagination. Gemma Brockis and Silvia Mercuriali go one step further, taking audiences of three on a joyride around the city in a show featuring Pinocchio and the Blue Fairy. We are transformed into donkeys when we are encouraged to wear ears and eat carrots - which helps you see in the dark at least.
This is not the first time that theatre has taken place in the back of a moving vehicle - a few years ago, A Mobile Thriller was a hit in Edinburgh. Pinocchio certainly takes advantage of the strange intimacy that occurs when you find yourself inside a car with strangers (particularly ones who are behaving very oddly and may even have kidnapped you). The show treats the city as one vast installation to be peered at through steamy windows. It makes you look at Edinburgh in a new light - particularly when you are dumped in a lonely street and left to return to the city centre at the end.
However, the production's novelty outweighs its substance, and there are times when Pinocchio's major purpose seems to be to demonstrate the difficulties of driving and performing at the same time. Prior knowledge of the story of Pinocchio (not the Disney version) enhances the experience. There are some lovely, surprising moments including a wonderfully simple device that makes you feel as though you are in the belly of a whale. For all of its enforced intimacy, however, the show often feels diffuse: a journey in need of a better map to ensure it reaches its destination.
· Until August 25. Box office: 0131-558 3853.
