KEIR McALLISTER’S writing has matured exponentially over the last few years and The Bench (Gilded Ballon Rose Theatre, 5*) is a triumph of twisting plot-lines, riotous reveals and skilful misdirection.  

The acting of McAllister alongside fellow stand-up Paul Sneddon, under the direction of JoJo Sutherland, holds the attention in  an exquisite comedy drama of two men at loggerheads over their claims to some peaceful down time on a public park bench.

Scripted from the poems and songs of Hamish Henderson by Raymond Ross, On the Radical Road (Scottish Storytelling Centre, 4*) is a fine celebration of a Scottish cultural icon.  

The musical direction by Alastair MacDonald is a perfect adjunct to the drama of Henderson’s life, where his poems and songs were used as weapons in the class struggle.

Based on Simon Munnery’s joke, “I went to a funeral the other day; caught the wreath,” The Wreath (Stand 1, 4*) is an hour of top quality stand-up.  

Munnery's intro, played out to Dylan’s Knocking on Heaven’s Door,  is hilarious and his tales of working as a cleaner in a chicken factory to earn enough money to live are hysterical.

But it's simultaneously dispiriting that such a comedy genius struggles to make ends meet.

Emily Thornberry (In Conversation With… New Town Theatre, 5*) handles the gentle probing of interviewer Graham Spiers with a firmness, gentle humour and dignity that belies a steely determination to gain power for Labour and effect real change.  

Her tirade against selling arms to the Saudis and the tragedy of Yemen genuinely moves the audience, as the prospect of a Foreign Secretary of whom we can be proud becomes ever more likely.