Guy Masterson is, as ever, a man with his fingers in many pies at this year’s Fringe, working on no less than six shows. This particular outing, billed as an exploration of the ‘special relationship’ between Britain and its American chums so discussed in recent years, takes the form of a trans-Atlantic collaboration competitively split into two. The first section, played by Masterson, is rendered in the form of an Englishman’s take on the history of Anglo-American relations while the second in this ‘showdown’ is a monologue representing the Yankee contingent performed by David Calvitto.

Anyone presumptuous enough to think the segment provided by our American friends would inevitably be less incisive and amusing than ‘the famous British sense of humour’ would be wrong. In fact the Masterson side, though laden with the occasional novel historical fact, lacks the polish of his co-star and his insistence on fart jokes makes him, at points, a poor ambassador for anything but the crudest aspects of our humour. Both sections certainly have their moments, but, at this stage of the Festival, American Poodle appears to be too unrefined to truly do justice to its subject matter despite the respective qualities of its leads. (Miles Johnson)

Assembly@George Street, 623 3030, until 27 Aug, 5pm, £12– £13 (£11–£12).