Tonight Sandy Grierson Will Lecture, Dance and Box

Arthur Cravan was a turn-of-the-century literary maverick, world traveller and the supposed nephew of Oscar Wilde. Now, he's the subject of this new play by Lorne Campbell and Sandy Grierson. Or is he?

Tonight Sandy Grierson is all about questioning what's real and what's not. Performed in Glasgow last year as Tonight David Ireland Will Lecture, Dance and Box, Grierson steps into the main role for its Edinburgh run. He leaps from desk to desk, speaking to audience members and drawing them closer into his meandering story, in which he claims that the charlatan Cravan is his great grandfather.

The audience are all performers in this highly original show – and yet they're not. Indeed, it makes you question the reality of its every component: the (fake?) fur coat Grierson dons as he psychs himself up for a boxing match, the characters—based on real figures—that he creates, the bulging mound beneath his underwear as he drops his shorts before doing an almost-naked tango. Even the skipping rope that whizzes through the air has an unreal quality, like a flip book or early film reel.

Grierson is an impressive acting talent and his skilful inclusion of the audience in the narrative makes it easy to forget this is a one-man piece. But the play's enchanting evasiveness also leaves it feeling a little light. In a more intimate performance space—and with dimmer house lights (they're never turned off during the show)—Tonight Sandy Grierson would likely offer a more intense interactive experience. For now, it's a mesmerising hour but a slightly bewildering one.