Lie Detector Truth Detector

Hidden in the rubble of unworthy shows vying for your attention is this glinting jewel of a show. If you do nothing else this festival then follow this one piece of advice: walk up the Royal Mile, pass by the busloads of Tattoo touting tourists, and find Johnston Terrace, where, buried in a small venue, lies the extraordinary Lie Detector Truth Detector.

Peter Yate’s new political satire mocks the increasing infringement of the government as they step up the War on Terror. The play opens with a terrorist interrogation and from this intriguing start becomes increasingly surreal: CCTV, identity cards, passports and medical checks are all ripped apart to reveal a Big Brother nanny state.

The series of sketches are stomach-achingly comic and deadly serious, delivered by a stellar cast. In one memorable moment a smarmy civil servant sits on a giant pedal stool, where, wielding, an oversized wacky pencil, he bestows passports on the few applicants who are considered risk free. The Alice in Wonderland absurdity combined with hard cutting dialogue is successfully executed in this play.

Lie Detector Truth Detector will itch at your mind, forcing you will to consider its implications far beyond the four walls of the theatre. It is shows like this that remind us about what the Fringe is really about: the gems that surprise us all.