Theatre review: David Benson: Cato Street, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh

Through biographical solo shows such as the classic Think No Evil of Us: My Life with Kenneth Williams and Lockerbie: Unfinished Business, in which he unravels historical figures and events through the pitch perfect and in-depth creation of character, David Benson’s name has deservedly earned its place as a marker of quality amid the Fringe’s extensive programme.

Cato Street is an essential show for anyone who likes a gripping political page-turner

David Benson: Cato Street, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh * * *

That also proves to be the case with his latest one-man outing, a deep-dive into his fascination with the Cato Street Conspiracy of 1820, in which a group of revolutionary conspirators plotted to brutally assassinate the British Prime Minister Lord Liverpool and his Cabinet.

However, for this romp – and Benson’s enthused delivery gives it the character of such, despite the serious and often bloodily brutal subject matter – there’s less of a sense of in-character monologue and more of a casual storytelling spirit; he drops out of the tale here and there to talk research methods and how he selected each character’s face and voice, for example.

As ever with Benson’s work, there is a rich quality and a keen sense of history, with the wider reasons for the conspiracy and their parallels with today all explored. It’s an essential show for anyone who likes a gripping political page-turner, yet it feels less like a timeless and carefully sculpted tale for the ages than a theatrical storyteller of no mean ability regaling us with an extended true-life anecdote.

Until 18 August (not 12)

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