Berkoff's own comedy terrorism

By Jenny Green, BBC News Online in Edinburgh

Steven Berkoff thrilled audiences for three nights only at Edinburgh's fringe.

His decision to do a different show on each of those nights is typical of an actor known for his challenging choices - from Clockwork Orange to Beverly Hills Cop.

Berkoff gave a gripping performance

He went one step further on Saturday and treated the packed house at the Royal Lyceum to three completely different acts in just the one evening.

He kicked off with One Man, his take on Edgar Allan Poe.

Within seconds of his appearance on stage - entirely alone save for a spotlight - it was clear the audience was in for an acting masterclass.

Berkoff relished his role as psychopath pleading sanity in the gothic horror The Tell-Tale Heart.

He provided both sound-effects and set in the darkly comic and macabre tale of a man explaining how he killed and cut up someone - because he had an offensive eye.

A bizarre cross between Hannibal Lecter and Albert Steptoe, Berkoff gurned, growled and mimed his way through a gripping performance.

After the interval Berkoff turned his considerable energies towards the acting life.

Self-written - and probably semi-autobiographical - Actor was a whirlwind walk through the murky business of treading the boards.

Berkoff had the audience enthralled by his ponderings on the question: "To be or not to be".

His final piece, Dog - a depiction of an East End football hooligan and his pet Roy - had the audience in stitches.

His cacophony of expletives and slobbering dog stupidity gave a sometimes too real impression of a certain sort of white van man.

Showing for one night only, One Man lit up the Lyceum Theatre - and gave some real lessons in comedy terrorism.