Clarke Peters, star of HBO drama The Wire, brings his Laurence Olivier award-winning musical to the Edinburgh Festival, offering a toe-tapping night of jazz and blues music with impressive vocal and dance performances.

Five Guys Named Moe is the story of Nomax, a man we meet slouched in a motel after being dumped by his girlfriend. He sips from a liquor bottle and sings the blues, before being sucked headfirst through a record player, finding himself in front of a full 1930s/40s jazz band and five singers named Moe. 

Nomax’s confusion over his apparent time-travel is amusing, and his slow acceptance of the strange musical world and the fun that can be had through song and dance transfers to the audience at the same time. Over the next hour and a half, the Moes perform the songs of Louis Jordan, with each having a chance to teach Nomax a lesson in love as a solo performance. Some of the lyrics are hilariously dated, with lyrics about obese women and how to control girls who drink during the day, but the tables are turned when tips are given to girls on protection from one-track minded men.

The show peaks when the band must perform a gig, by which time the audience is totally into the swing of things. By the end of Five Guys Named Moe the vocal talents, tap dancing and flawless musicianship have made for a great musical.

Udderbelly's Pasture, 4-29 Aug (not 27), 5.15pm