Thrice

Nathan Dean Williams was last seen in Edinburgh in 2011 with his ferocious, malevolent series of sketches, The Banquet. This time he's roped in regular collaborators Lizzy & Sarah Daykin of acclaimed duo Toby, to produce a show that's slightly more user-friendly, but somehow even darker.

The result is somewhat mixed, with a few slightly clunky sketches. A woman desperate to sexually satisfy her one-night stand feels slightly regressive, while the linking scenes with inflatable dolls begin to drag a little. But other moments - an unscrupulous doctor helping a lesbian couple to adopt, lonely geeks complaining about everything at a bus stop - have wonderful payoffs. The final sketch, in which a bored housewife enjoys her annual fling with Santa, shows all three working together really well.

Williams is an intense figure and a deep thinker, who seems to struggle between his theatrical and comedic instincts. It's a lovingly written show, as rich in language as an Alan Bennet monologue and carried by completely committed performances. As comedy, however, it's up and down, and doesn't get the best out of the supernaturally talented Daykin sisters. An interesting experiment that doesn't quite pay off, but still much meatier than a lot of other sketch shows.