Fishy and funny

Will Smith
Assembly @ George Street

Edinburgh comedy: If Will Smith is not on the Perrier short list announced on Wednesday, the judges should have their heads examined. Misplaced Childhood has everything a hit should have.

It is elegantly structured, blissfully witty and features a central performance that is so polished you can see your face in it.

Smith's crisp, audio-visual monologue is inspired by his adolescent love of neo-progressive rockers Marillion. Two decades on, he is still fixated. He proudly explains how he even landed an interview with singer Fish. Clips hook the audience in as the vocalist gradually realises Smith is more stalker than fan.

It does not matter that Fish is obviously in on the gag. Smith's buffoonish persona - grudge-bearing, obsessively deluded and posh - reels in waves of laughter. Further fun comes from a history of the Eighties band scene in his native Jersey, a world full of axe-hero wannabes and haircuts worthy of Spinal Tap.

The devil is in the detail. Throwaway early asides, such as the reason for his nickname Brolly Boy, later take on greater significance. Here is a man who can make a psychologically scarring mountain out of getting a molehill-sized detention in 1987. A minor spat with a rival musician has also left an Everest of a mark.

As with last year's hour, also about settling petty squabbles, seemingly disparate strands are tied together at the denouement with the authority of a Hollywood screenwriter. Smith definitely deserves an award. If not for a first-rate gig, then for admitting he has such terrible musical taste.

  • Until 29 August. Information: 0131 226 0000.

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