Since Theatre Absolute crashed into Edinburgh with Car in 1999, the company has been producing the kind of raw, high-energy theatre that, depending on your taste, either pumps you up or makes you want to lie down quietly in a darkened room.
Raw initially conforms to the model. Lex and her crew trash an innocent commuter just for the fun of it, to a soundtrack of thundering train wheels overlaid with hip-hop. Lex and her posse are graffiti muggers, painting grannies' faces and snatching their bags. They have no conscience and no shame, but as Lex begins to direct her brutality towards gang members, it becomes clear that she is out of control.
Chris O'Connell's script is far more subtle than it initially appears. Among the predictable revelations of abuse and abandonment, something more interesting emerges: a desperate belief in rituals and talismans that Lex and her friends use as a kind of protection against a world that has let them down.
The young cast give brave performances, and the production is cleverly paced, knowing when to pitch itself at the top or lower the volume.
Until August 27. Box office: 0131-556 6550.
