Danish company Himherandit Production return to the Fringe with ‘Champions’ which was originally conceived as a companion piece to the very excellent ‘Mass Effect’ that played to packed Summerhall houses in 2023.

That frenetic dance piece, with community involvement, ended with 20 or so naked people on stage. In contrast, this opens and closes with only one performer, but, again, takes to the stage, sans clothing.

Well, to be strictly accurate it opens with our protagonist Andreas Constantinou, initially seen on film backstage, fully clothed, looking quite stressed as he ponders photos of his deceased mother and father. Soon after he enters the vast Pentland Auditorium in the EICC to introduce himself to his audience and we, all 12 of us, return the favour.

Constantinou subsequently disrobes and walks on to the stage where he sits in a zen-like state on a leather armchair for the next 40 minutes. Not another word is uttered by him.

You might think we’d be in for a long haul but what unfolds is remarkable. It’s a performance art piece using sound and video to great effect on an expensive and beautiful living room set, the walls of which become giant screens.

Constantinou’s story now unfolds.

Through a TV set prop the words of his father describe, in the first person, his father’s homophobia. The gramophone on stage-right plays the words of his rather more liberal mother. Meanwhile, behind him, we see scenes of a wresting match featuring Constantinou that gradually becomes more and more fantastical.

Constantinou’s coming out does not go down well at home, (‘Being gay, that’s serious,’ says Dad) especially after his efforts to ‘man him up’ throughout his childhood. His parents wonder, ‘Was he born like that? Prescribing homosexuality as a kind of disease or unwelcome affliction.

This is a study in loneliness as much as anything else as Constantinou struggles to relax into his gay life because of his father’s disapproval. It’s technically excellent; a highly compelling work of art that deserves much, much larger audiences than it’s receiving.

‘Champions‘ is at Pleasance at EICC – Pentland Theatre until Sat 16 Aug at 20:30