Fringe: Bright Colours Only ***

Assembly Rooms (Venue 20)

Welcome to Pauline Goldsmith’s Irish wake.

You’ll find her in a shipping container in the middle of George Street, which she transforms into her front room for this revival of her hit show from the turn of the millennium.

The venue has been transformed into her front room, complete with comfy chairs, cups of tea, sandwiches, Swiss Roll and even a wee nip of whisky.

Oh yes, and a coffin.

There’s a cosy ‘come away in’ welcome for one and all, and the show only starts once the cups are drained and the platters emptied.

Goldsmith and her team mingle with the audience, creating an instantly relaxed atmosphere before getting down to talking about death using personal testimony and humour.

Goldsmith’s show is funny, uplifting, as well as mixing the practical - a handy guide to coffins, for example, and poignant.

The absurdities, the importance, the ritual and humour, of a wake are all captured as she pulls her entire audience into the show with her anecdotes.

But it flips about halfway through to become darker, and more sombre as she reflects on all the things she hasn’t yet done before her own meeting with her maker. Some are heartbreaking, some trivial - and Goldsmith mixes the two quite wonderfully.

The clock is ticking on us all, so suddenly she - and we - no longer have all the time in the world.

Bright Colours Only ***

Assembly Rooms

Until August 26, 2.25 pm