EDINBURGH FRINGE: How Not to Make it in America at Summerhall (Former Gents Locker Room) (1 hr)****

Jono Darby should be applauded, not just for playing 28 characters in Emily Steel’s tender, heartfelt account of an aspiring Australian actor trying to make it in New York at the time of 9/11, but because he stepped into the role at the last minute when the original actor couldn’t make it.

And he has nailed it! As Matt, a naive young Australian actor working illegally in New York while turning up for numerous auditions, he is nervous and unsure of himself and we feel for him. But then he becomes his mother, his lawyer, his best friend Ben… a whole myriad of characters, which he seamlessly inhabits, and we laugh and hang on his every word.

Inspired by Steel’s real life experiences, there is, however, a recurring theme, apart from the auditions. It is the line, I was standing by the hot dog cart… He never finishes that sentence as if it is too painful to put into words, for Matt arrived in New York three days before 9/11!

How Not to Make it in America is at Summerhall (Former Gents Locker Room) until Aug 31 at 9.20pm