2011 Edinburgh Fringe

Part of the company's Russian season are these two farcical vaudevilles. Smoking is Bad For You is a comic monologue of cringeworthy amusement, whilst The Bear portrays self-seeking indulgence. Played under canvas, both are a joy to behold. This is only the second year of our 13 at Duddingston where we have used the marquee as an intimate theatre. The space lends itself brilliantly to the immediacy of these unusually brilliant short farces, where Chekhov parades a grotesque gaggle of egocentric and grasping individuals. If the males are comically absurd, the women are even more so.