Handmade Tales[author-post-rating] (3/5 stars) Tap Tap Theatre has made a show of original stories, some of which follow familiar themes (seeing past appearances, for example) and some of which manage to find new things to say. It’s a fresh take on storytelling, and the company give these stories everything they’ve got – the energy is palpable.

The music is particularly noteworthy. Composed and performed by David J. Ridley and Liam Taylor-West, it punctuates, underscores and accompanies the action, and the skill of the two (on violin and viola, mostly) is evident. The cast use physical theatre tricks to good effect, turning into a multi-armed monster, or a dragon with paper-fan-wings, effortlessly, but directors Tash Dummelow and Miriam Battye would do well to concentrate more on the foundations and less on the trimmings: it’s good to look at but the script could use some work.

Some of the stories drag on a bit, too, and some of the morals are heavy-handed. Each could make its point more lightly and still hit home, but on the whole this is a cheerful and enjoyable show for children. There are enough jokes about farting and poo to keep the young audience happy, but it does feel a little underhwelming for the adults in the audience. It’s attractive and clever visually but some of the stories lack punch.

The tale of Grandma Edie, who knows all the words in the dictionary, starts as a delicately handled child’s-eye view of dementia, and could be a truly beautiful thing. Grandma Edie, though, disappears halfway through the story, and it turns into a jokey tale of what happens when her granddaughter, Anna, starts changing the meaning of words in the dictionary – predictably, it’s funny at first as she changes “cool” to “smelly” and “sprouts” to “chocolate” but quickly backfires. It’s a shame, as this was the story that felt like it had the most potential to go beyond fun and frolics and become something more.

The show does its thing well, though, telling engaging stories about recognisable themes and tropes with a fresh twist. The point that the company makes about stories and imagination is also well-made, and their suggestion that the audience needs to pick up the thread and tell their own stories is a nice ending.

Handmade Tales is at Zoo Southside until  26 August. For more information and tickets visit the Edinburgh Fringe website.