Slick lives up to its name in the perhaps somewhat restricted space of Traverse 2; essentially a pantomime for adults, the performance seen bowled along in fine style, taking no prisoners and occasionally shocking audience members.

Wee Malcolm Biggar (Jordan Young) lives in grim circumstances with his failed stockbroker father (Robert Jack) and delusional mother (Angela Darcy), both of whom bully and abuse Malcolm's essential good nature to the max. When he discovers oil erupting from the WC, what follows is not only licence for a stream of scatological humour but also increased misery for wee Malky.

For the Biggar family, home is due for re-possession by landlord Jerko Driech (Mark Predergasst). It's Malcolm who is sent to sell the mysteriously appearing black stuff, to keep Jerko at bay and deal with the unpleasantness his parents won't touch with a ten foot, whilst struggling to preserve both his sanity and ultimately his life.

Slick makes for a roller-coaster ninety minutes, the characters presented as puppets brought to life by actors, in a highly polished version of techniques usually associated with children's theatre. There's a nice wee bit of irony here, as adults get to enjoy theatrical styles usually only available when accompanied by a juvenile.

It's very obvious everyone involved in Slick has had a lot of fun putting this show together, which communicates to the audience, and we roll along with the comic-book storyline through risque, or even questionable moments to its violent end. Such is the sense of enjoyment that even these slip beneath the audience's radar, the smooth transitions between scenes and character focus being ably managed by those on stage.

Slick is a production where the technical team are every bit as important as the cast, and Fiona Fraser, Simon Wilkinson, Graham Sutherland, Anna Scatola, Guy Bishop and their colleagues have clearly worked hard to create the effects and ambiance which are an essential part of this show.

Times: Aug 13-23, times vary (see Fringe Programme)

Copyright Bill Dunlop August 2008

Published on EdinburghGuide.com August 2008