Honest, Assembly Rooms

Is honesty always the best policy? For Dave, the angry young man protagonist of DC Moore’s searing - and searingly funny - playlet, it’s the only policy.

Whether it’s his toddler nephew or his inept colleague in the line of fire, Dave is hard-wired to tell the truth - and more often than not, it hurts. This is his tale of one long day’s journey into night, flinging insults at anything that moves in a boozy stagger through London until dawn breaks and brings with it a few painful home truths.

DC Moore has already shown himself to be a fine writer of tense, glittering ensemble drama, first in Alaska and more recently in The Empire, both at the Royal Court. This 45-minute monologue, staged in the snug of a bustling pub off Princes Street, provides ample opportunity to revel in the playwright’s dazzling way with words. Nothing is safe from Dave’s simmering rage – the civil service, work nights out (“80s music so tedious it will make your heart stop”), the shiny yuppies of Clapham, private schools. The observations are razor-sharp, the wit biting, the voice unmistakably that of modern, disillusioned, Britain.

As the tipsy misanthrope, Trystan Gravelle, clutching a bottle of Bud, gives a pitch-perfect performance. At once vituperative and chummily conspiratorial, his sing-song bile grips from the first minute to the last. Highly recommended.

To 30 Aug (0131 623 3030)