Talk about iron fist in velvet glove. Rob Brydon has the most lovable alter ego in comedy: Keith Barret, divorced chauffeur and marriage counsellor to the stars. We love Keith, because he's so earnest and hapless and has such simple ideas about men and women. It's the perfect disguise for Brydon, the attack dog lurking behind the puppy's eyes.
This Edinburgh outing follows up Barret's recent TV series. Like last year's gig, "it's not a show, it's a talk" - on the subject of marriage. "The figures make depressing reading," he says. "Let's dwell on them a while." It's a remarkable hour, because it's all about the audience. Whether addressing the front row or quizzing married volunteers on stage, Brydon is confident that the crowd will supply his material - and he is amply rewarded. Almost everything they say offends Barret's sense of propriety: "I don't like to use the word harlot," he tells a woman dating a married man, "but it's hanging in the air."
At its best, the chat show segment, when Barret dissects the relationship of two volunteers, is the comedy equivalent of Improbable Theatre's brilliant Lifegame. At its most barbed, Brydon teeters on the boundary between prurience and outright rudeness. This tension, between prickly Brydon and cuddly Keith, is the stuff of terrific comedy.
· Until August 30. Box office: 0131-556 6550.
