Every August more than a million people descend on the Scottish capital for the world's largest arts festival.
It's a chance for aspiring acts to make their name... but it's also an atmosphere which breeds caustic resentment, bloated egos and dashed dreams.
Against this backdrop, writer-director Annie Griffin - who had a critical hit with TV's The Book Group - has fashioned several stories of hopeful wannabes and jaded has-beens.
Fresh off the National Express coach is Faith Myers (Marshal), a festival virgin who outnumbers her 9am audience with her one-woman show about Wordsworth.
At the other send of the scale is successful TV comic Sean Sullivan (Stephen Mangan), a cynically embittered old pro with hopes of landing a US film deal.
Veteran festival comic Tommy O'Dwyer (Chris O'Dowd) is praying he'll land the comedy award on his ninth visit to Auld Reekie…and he's not averse to seducing BBC radio presenter and judge Joan Gerard (Nardini) to help him on his way.
The stories fleetingly intersect amid the dizzying festival atmosphere where the streets are crammed with aspiring thesps all clamouring for attention.
Some stories work better than others - Sullivan is a spendidly vile creation harbouring Olympian levels of grudge bearing and an exploitative guile.
O'Dwyer personifies the old pro who returns again and again to middling recognition but never the top draw alongside the Frank Skinners of this world.
One particular joy is scene featuring the award judges - loosely based on the Perrier panel - where pearls of wisdom include the observation that "she's too tall for a funny woman - 5'7" is the cut-off point".
A major failing is the lack of a sympathetic character - Myers comes close but her enthusiastic ingénue needs a slap while a group of ludicrously pretentious Canadian performance artists are just plain nauseating.
That said, it's an enjoyable glimpse into a strangely compelling world of shattered careers and broken hearts.
They say laughter is the best medicine... but here it's just pure poison.
Tim Evans
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