- guardian.co.uk, Monday August 14 2000 00.00 BST
Cardoso Flea Circus
Princes Street Gardens ***
Did you know that flea copulation is one of the wonders of the world? Or that it takes a male flea up to six hours to get an erection? Or even that once his two phalluses - there are compensations for such a short lifespan - are in working order it takes another eight hours to have sex? You've got to be patient if you're a female flea.
The study of fleas turns up many funny facts, which is a lucky thing for Colombian Professor Maria Fernanda Cordoso. She runs the last true flea circus on earth and she has reinvented it as a kitsch, clever 50s throwback. Unfortunately she takes the starring role as a kooky compere in a Day-Glo yellow house coat.
The fleas themselves - yes, they are real fleas - are fantastic, from the amazing escapologist Harry Fleadini ("one lucky member of the audience will take a flea home tonight") to the fearless Alfredo who is shot from a canon. Fleas, as anyone who has ever got them will tell you, are hardy little buggers. Which is where Cardoso's problem comes in. She's likeable enough but it's not hard to guess what a true performer - who could riff off the fleas' multifold mishaps - could do.
Till August 28. Box office: 0131-226 2151.
