An Acre and Change, Bedlam Theatre. Intriguing allegory of the northern Ireland troubles falls short on both the script and the acting. 2/5
Addicted To Danger, Pleasance Dome. Occasionally good sketches don't make up for a reliance on offensive abortion and rape gags. 2/5
Anatomy of Fantasy, Assembly George Street. Incredible imagery and thrilling choreography. It beggars belief, but lacks subtlety. 4/5
Another Someone, Bedlam Theatre. Visually stunning. A vibrant concoction of song, dance, and synaesthesia fills the audience with joy. 5/5
Are You There, Zoo Roxy. Bereaved magician coping with loss of his girlfriend and sanity. Tight and smart but too much left unanswered. 3/5
Asoka, Greenside. Indian classical dance is still Marmite, but it's short and sweet, and charmingly performed. 3/5
The Author, Traverse. Are you watched or a watcher? Is your tolerance acceptable? Funny and soul-destroying without even a stage. 4/5
The Ballad Of Backbone Joe, Pleasance Courtyard. Casual messing becomes beautiful and inventive. Very funny, with fantastic music. 4/5
Bane, GRV. Still one of the smartest, funniest shows around. A virtuoso performance that HAS to be seen to be believed. Then see Bane 2. 5/5
Bane 2, Pleasance Dome. If there were a 6th star, it would go to Bane 2. Like The Godfather Part II, this is required viewing. 5/5
Beautiful Burnout, Pleasance Courtyard. The frantic dance pieces don't quite excuse the lack of narrative. 3/5
Beauty And Meaning of Autographs, Spaces on the Mile. Flabby and dull look at work of writer Stefan Zweig. Clunky and without inspiration. 1/5
Belt Up's Antigone, C Soco. Tender adaptation with well observed touches. Some of the music jarring but movement well choreographed. 4/5
Belt Up's Quasimodo, C Soco. Platitude laden script, cumbersome staging and audience participation make for an unsatisfying show. 2/5
Blackout, Spaces @ Jury's Inn. Gently immersive, with careful, responsible interaction. Moving in parts, could do with more direction. 3/5
Bristol Revunions, Pleasance Courtyard. A heady sketch mixture of the erudite and the inane - but the quality is satisfyingly high. 4/5
Bunny, Underbelly. Powerful monologue which flits from middle-class insecurity to vivid sexual & violent imagery. Projections annoying. 3/5
Cactus, The Seduction, Assembly @ George Street. Endlessly energetic comedian loses virginity and resolves existential crisis in desert. 3/5
The Cage, Pleasance Dome. An intensely fun, Hitchcockian play with great performances and lots of laughs. Pure, thrilling entertainment. 5/5
Cambridge University Medics Revue, C Main. I've seen funnier car accidents. 1/5
Charmed Forces, Just the Tonic. Hilariously gawky characters rumble through a variety show format with wit and slapstick. A lot of fun. 4/5
Colin Hoult, Pleasance Courtyard. One of the most watchable of character comedians. He will go far, but too few great lines this year. 3/5
Continent, C Main. Absurd, imaginative movie-mime, with some surprisingly impressive contemporary movement. Shame the second half lags. 3/5
Corner Of The Ocean, Underbelly. Good, but uneven contemporary theatre: it takes way too long to get to the excellent second half. 3/5
Dance, Doctor Dance, Bedlam Theatre. Affable yet unpolished, the disco dancing finale lifts the science lecture format, but not enough. 2/5
Daniel Kitson, Traverse. A heartwarming, poignant and terrifically funny piece of writing, the man really is in a league of his own. 5/5
David Leddy's Sub Rosa, Hill Street Theatre. Moody, haunting, and unique. A weak ending lets it down. Superlatively written. 4/5
David O'Doherty, Pleasance Courtyard. Razor sharp and lovable as always, the chirpy Irishman (and his Yamaha) remains a Fringe must see. 4/5
Dead, Spaces On The Mile. Professional cast utterly lost in under-constructed, overly profane play. Tiresome. 2/5
Dead Cat Bounce, Gilded Balloon. If they had an unfunny song, I didn't hear it. The best musical comedy on the Fringe - bar none. ROCK! 5/5
Death By Gameshow, C Soco. It certainly felt like death...about as funny as looking at a wall. 1/5
Death Of The Unicorn, Spaces @ Surgeons Hall. Turgid and poorly written philosophising tries to mask lazy theatre. A serious step back. 1/5
Derevo: Harlekin, Pleasance Courtyard. This inventive troupe create some breathtaking imagery, but just too barmy to truly captivate. 3/5
Dildon't, theSpaces. A sex shop, a necrophiliac and an antique dildo used as a murder weapon - crude, startling character-based comedy 3/5
Doris Day Can F*** Off, Forest Fringe. Very funny, and sometimes truly revelatory, but poor structure lets this impressive piece down. 3/5
Dracula, C Soco. Violently disengaging, and devoid of actual drama. Self-indulgent adaptation: conceptual with a capital K. Maddening. 1/5
Eat Your Heart Out, C Aquila. This is what the Fringe is all about - messy, challenging cabaret, with some brilliant acts. Hidden gem. 4/5
Equus, Zoo Roxy. Decent enough student production, some nice ensemble touches. Not a complete 'mare. 3/5
Expectations, Pleasance Dome. Weakly scripted, strongly acted - compelling subject matter dealt with seriously. 3/5
Falling From Trees, Zoo Roxy. Imaginative and varied dance, with excellent physical and musical scores. Carries a strong narrative. 4/5
Fame, C Plaza. Energetic and colourful musical, skilfully adapted for the fringe. Weaker acting enlivened by strong dancing talent. 3/5.
Firing Blanks, Underbelly. Sideways look at male infertility. Well written but in places the pace was off. Great original music. 3/5.
Flesh And Blood, Fish And Foul, Traverse In The City. Office routine folds in on itself to absurd consequence. Enthrallingly silly. 5/5
The Fly In The Fridge, Sweet Grassmarket. Hackneyed but very engaging, this one-woman show delivers great acting in spades. 4/5
Fotobooth, Meadow Bar. Seemingly unrelated tales combine to climax in a provocative revelation about all the performer said before 4/5
Free until Famous, Laughing Horse @ Counting House. Creaky and bitter delivery of unscripted casual racism and misogyny. Worrying. 1/5
Frisky and Mannish, Underbelly. An explosion of talent, as this eccentric, hilarious pair mash up pop songs with the wittiest comebacks. 5/5
Getting Over Milk Wood, Diverse Attractions. Unimaginative performances and a flatlining pace hobble an occasionally excellent script. 2/5
Ginger and Black, Pleasance Courtyard. Funny in bursts, but we should be getting so much more at this stage in their fringe careers. 2/5
Grimm's Fairy Tales, Spaces @ Surgeon's Hall. Confident and able young performers deliver classic stories clearly. Good forest noises! 3/5
Hacker and Muldoon, The Vaults. Two ineffectual scribblers take a while to set up the gag but deliver the punch line well. 3/5
Hamlet! The Musical, Pleasance Courtyard. Snappy and brilliantly performed- much more entertaining than David Tennant. A cheesy delight. 4/5
Hans Teeuwen, Pleasance Courtyard. An associative genius, but many times goes too close to the mark. Mostly old material as well. 3/5
Hi, How Can I Help You?, Cafe Renroc. Solo character piece wittily performed. Inventive music, but translates poorly across the pond. 3/5
Honest, Milne's Bar. Intimately accurate portrayal of the banality of a London 20-something. Funny, smart and, importantly, truthful. 5/5
Hood, Spaces on the Mile. Physical fairy tale with novel staging and tripping verse dialogue. Over repetitive, needed to be shorter. 3/5.
Hot Mess, Hawke + Hunter. Stylised facade reveals its heart through hauntingly beautiful language in a frank discussion of love and sex. 4/5
I Became Luminous, C Aquila. Difficult and alienating, but patience and attention reveal compelling side. Better performed than most. 3/5
The Improverts, Bedlam Theatre. Lively quick-witted improv comedy, where the players' contagious sense of fun ensures raucous laughter. 4/5
The Improvised Musical, C. Bold harmonies and very tight music - stories are improvised with a charismatic roughness. Seriously funny. 4/5
Inconsiderate Aberrations of Billy the Kid, Bedlam. Grotesque dreamings of a 10 year old erupt on stage in violent & puerile fashion. 3/5
Jack The Knife, Assembly @ George Street. A massively provocative and rewarding piece - Klaff is an astonishing storyteller. Do see it. 5/5
Johnny Sweet, Pleasance Courtyard. A burst of deft and surprising metacomedy. Should be on course for a major award. Magnificent. 5/5
Jacob's Ladder, Underbelly. Poignantly presented social outcasts are intertwined in a loose storyline of revenge, sex and anarchy. 3/5
Jeremy Lion, Pleasance Courtyard. Welcome return for grotesque character masterpiece. Not a moment without smiling. Thrillingly abject. 4/5
Jordan, Assembly @ George Street. A bloated script trawls quite disturbingly through Shirley Jones' life. Achingly middle-class. 2/5
Kafka and Son, Bedlam Theatre. Accomplished rather than enjoyable, this one man exploration of fatherhood is geared towards the critics. 3/5
Keepers, Pleasance. Brilliantly choreographed and sweetly comic, a piece performed expertly and creating a lasting haunting atmosphere. 5/5.
The Last Five Years, C Aquila. A charismatic cast deliver impressive vocals and, more importantly, compelling performances. 4/5
The Leftovers, Just the Tonic. Bizarre sketch show that gradually starts to make sense. Strong improv after tech problem showed talent. 3/5
Letters Home, C Main. Hilariously unwieldy set, and muddled direction. The script is bitty, but well-observed and full of promise. 3/5
Lidless, Udderbelly. Scintilating: expertly written, powerfully acted & uniquely staged. An early afternoon must, just go see it. 5/5
Lip Service, C Soco. Disappointing autobiographical solo piece. Boring, selfish performance - it changes nothing in the audience. 1/5
Lockerbie, Gilded Balloon. Political and emotionally charged. Verbatim theatre executed extremely competently. 4/5
The Lonely Mortician's Guide to Myiasis, Bedlam Theatre. Macabre play falls short due to its juvenile, clichéd script and acting. 2/5
Lost Boy, Spaces @ Venue 45. Far better written than others of its kind, with some strong student performances. Important. 3/5
The Love Story, C Soco. Actors struggle with a very difficult script. Superb opening, but poorly paced. Becomes tiresomely sex-obsessed. 2/5
Marcel Ducont, Underbelly. A razor wit entertains, but lack of material disappoints. Solid character comedy - his repartee is great. 3/5
Marion Allen's Number One Hobby, Pleasance Courtyard. Funny and touching, this well crafted monologue is a perfect lunchtime treat. 4/5.
Maxina Todd: NVQ, Counting House. ALMOST so bad that it's good. 1/5, but add a star for every pint drunk. THIS is what the fringe is about.
Max And Ivan, C Central. Hits and misses from should-be hitters, but when they hit, they really hit. Sketch-com with a dangerous kick. 3/5
Memoirs of a Biscuit Tin, Pleasance Above. Fragile yet robust, smart and inviting, leaves you unsure whether to laugh or cry. A must: 5/5
A Midsummer Night's Madness, C. Exuberant, explosive, polished, and generous - a celebration of theatre that will leave you proud. 5/5
Mould and Arrowsmith, Pleasance Courtyard. Nerdy sketch comedy of the highest order. Even a mild geek will laugh their ass off. 4/5
Mr Kolpert, C Studio. Gloriously messy in its wild and neurotic caricatures but the pacing is a little off. Fun but flawed. 3/5
My Name Is Margaret Morris, Dance Base. Illuminating monologue from dance legend, but probably too inaccessible for most. 3/5