It’s clear from the off that this is not going to be your usual love story. On the way into Summerhall’s Red Lecture Theatre the audience are given headphones, a hint at the auditory intensity to come. A Journey Round My Skull explores the relationship between Julia, a surgeon, and her unnamed patient who discovers he has a brain tumour. Told from Julia’s point of view, the narrative delves into questions around love, relationships and the fine balance between fantasy and reality. The audience is fully immersed in the performance, acting as the subject of Julia’s conversation and being invited to get inside the head of the patient as the she removes the tumour.

This is a beguiling and beautiful story, but bears no sentimentality. The harsh reality of unrequited love, the passionate, destructive power of a brief affair and the grief when it is over is made all too real. Olivia Winteringham gives a nuanced and fiery performance, marking this out as a show that really is worth seeing.