Theatre review: Alan, We Think You Should Get A Dog

Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Mad Like Roar make a decent Fringe debut with this piece on grieving for a parent who is still alive '“ the unseen yet ever-present Alan, once a keen gardener, who has retreated to his room.

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)

**

Dutiful daughter Daisy takes up the green-fingered mantle with her husband Christian while her disengaged brother Ollie goes on the pull.

The chipper mundanity of their distraction techniques – tend his garden, buy him a puppy, employ a carer to deal with him – can only keep a lid on the unresolved anger for so long, but the switch to darker melodrama still feels like a clumsy conclusion.

Until 28 August. Today 3:30pm.