‘Pickled Republic’ is magnificently, majestically weird. It’s kind of performance art, kind of comedy, kind of theatre. Maybe it’s best described as a vegetable variety show. However you choose to describe it, if these could be your five a day, you’d digest them with pleasure.

We enter Summerhall’s Anatomy Theatre to be greeted by the spectre of a tomato, squatting atop the lid of a jar of pickles. She’s flailing around in the murky liquid of the jar, her fellow tomatoes pre-picked and already enjoyed and she’s feeling left out. The tomato’s fellow pickles enjoy their moment in the sun. We have a sultry spud, a nouvelle vague onion, a baby carrot barely out of his swaddling clothes and a Kraftwerk-worthy gherkin. Each, in their own way, rails against the confines of the jam jar, determined to find meaning in a world that doesn’t make much sense.

The extraordinary brainchild of performer Ruxandra Cantir, this show is funny, inventive and stealthily surprising by turns. Cantir uses puppetry, eclectic costumes, a soundtrack as varied as the vegetables in her jar, and some essential set to recreate her pickling world. Director Shona Reppe celebrates the zany with exuberance and poignant grace while still carefully signposting the moments in which their meaning might shine through. This performance was BSL signed, with the signing seamlessly integrated into the action: a joy to behold.

If you’re seeking a point, you could find all the metaphor you need in the mould invading the pickle jar with the baby carrot serving as spokesperson for the generations inheriting the global mess. But if you’re only after a rambunctious romp through love, loss and root vegetable angst about outliving a use by date, you’ll not be disappointed.

‘Pickled Republic’ is supported by the Made in Scotland showcase, as well as having won Summerhall’s Autopsy Award and makes a welcome return to Edinburgh following an appearance in last year’s Manipulate Festival. Returns only for the rest of the run.

‘Pickled Republic‘ is at Summerhall – Anatomy Lecture Theatre until Mon 25 Aug 2025 at 13:15