There can be few better marriages between production and venue than that of the Untied Artists‘ For Their Own Good and the old veterinary demonstration room at Summerhall. The production uses expressive, spectacular puppets and fine performances from Jake Oldershaw as a knackerman and Jack Trow as his young apprentice to tell a deeply human story about how we handle the death of animals.

The production examines the distance we have established with the uncomfortable topic of mortality and it is informed by interviews with those for whom death is a regular occurrence: vets, farmers, butchers. Their commentary provides the thread that runs through the story of two men who do the job that no one wants to do, in order to ensure it is done well, and how their intimate knowledge of death finally hits home.

‘Trying to understand death can really complicate life’, we are told at one point. Luckily Untied Artists have done some of the work for us. For Their Own Good deals with a heavy subject, but it is punctuated with enough visual invention, gallows humour, and above all warmth to ensure it is easily digested.