Theatre / 60 min / £20(£15), £13(£6) / 12+

Credit: Idil Sukan

Showing @ Traverse Theatre, 3-26 Aug (not 6, 13, 20), times vary

Comedian Mark Thomas has brought plenty of shows with teeth to Edinburgh in the past, but his new show at the Traverse is straight from the heart. That’s not to say that this is a teary-eyed tale of father-son bonding shared over a love of opera; there’s too much bitterness mixed with Thomas’ sharp wit to allow for anything so mawkish. But this is clearly a cathartic piece for the comic dealing with his Thatcherite, builder father whose complexities and contradictions still fascinate him. Father and son relationships are strange beasts and almost everyone will find much to relate to in this show. But its appeal goes far beyond that; it’s an honest, sometimes brutally so, frequently hilarious and genuinely touching piece of theatre from an experienced, brave performer.