Festival review: Endure: A Run Woman Show; Assembly George Square (venue 3)

This journey through the loneliness of the long-distance runner arrives from New York and takes the form of a site-specific walking (or running, if you’re so inclined) tour using a marathon as a metaphor for the endurance race of life.

It’s commendably inventive and expressive, if rather over-earnest in tone, and let down by a couple of clumsy technicalities.

Making audience members sign a legal disclaimer against injury and loss of equipment isn’t the most warming welcome, and feels OTT considering that Endure is mostly very conscientiously planned and stewarded.

While listening to a synced audio track on iPods, we’re guided to the edge of Holyrood Park to meet Melanie Jones, the show’s writer/performer, a lithe figure in Lycra.

Through a blend of dance-theatre, meditative music and monologue voiceover, she depicts a woman exorcising the demons of depression and divorce via the curiously compulsive rituals of the marathon runner.

Some moments are unintentionally comical, but when sound, movement and scenery lock, the effect is mesmerising, particularly at the end as Jones strides gracefully down the panoramic grass bank wrapping the foot of Arthur’s Seat and disappears from view.

Just beware of Endure’s elastic length – a half-hour march back to George Square won’t be appreciated by people left to run to their next show.

Rating: ***

• Until 19 August. Wednesday 2pm.