Edinburgh Festival Day 1: Reviews: Memory Tricks

The deprivation of Marga Gomez's childhood was not of the material variety. Her exotic birthday parties, peopled by the hot-shots of Harlem's Hispanic showbiz set, may never have started until 10pm on a school night, but the daughter of a Latino danseuse and a comedian had her own troubles. Being the child of two prima donnas, who made Marga choose who she loved best, was less than glamorous. What would her parents make of this show, in which they are so shrewdly impersonated? No doubt her mother would regret the lack of sequins, but Gomez unadorned is far more impressive. The piece is a beguiling mixture of self-mockery and soul-searching, half comic routine, half performance of the highest order. She has all the comic technique of the old school with emotional truth thrown in.

Assembly Rooms (venue 3), 54 George St, (031-226 2428). To 3 Sept.