When it Rains @ Pleasance Dome

In When it Rains, 2b theatre company offer the Fringe audience a fresh perspective on the perennial questions of 'Why do bad things happen to good people?' and 'What is the meaning of life?' Without providing answers, the play explores themes of loss and grief in a warmly human way that can in the same instance be deeply moving and surprisingly witty.

Stage production and music are cleverly used to support the (terrific) actors in a way which is visually arresting but hardly ever gimmicky. Projections feature in many Edinburgh Fringe theatre pieces, but in When it Rains they almost figure as an extra performer, subtly changing the meaning of spoken lines, adding subtext, or politely informing the audience for how much longer one of the actors will be bellowing out a Jacques Brel chanson.

If there is one thing lacking in the play it would be the sense that it, like one of its characters who fails to overcome her baser instincts during a silent yoga retreat, fails to reach a level of transcendence that its central questions hint at. Still, When it Rains is a well performed, beautifully told story which cements its commitment to your visual satisfaction by offering a French derriere for your delectation.