Henry Raby invites his audience into his world of childhood superheroes, where the Beanie rules and the need for deodorant is near on forgotten. In a world of comic books and the fluttering desires of girls out of his league, Raby works his poems into lyrical form and expression. His show, Letter to the Man (from the Boy) takes shape after he finds a letter addressed to his future self from when he was a teenager. Here his observations on his teenage life are put into perspective: has he given up his search for religion, actually got up from the sofa every now and again, or is he still the boy dreamer using his words to shape the world around him?

It is for the best part a compelling and honest poetry-cum-performance piece. As an audience we are invited to write letters to our future self, and prompted by questions from Raby we squall our letters to ourselves in a week, a month or year ahead. We write about our friends, our love of music, our regrets and hope for the future. This is interspersed with poetry fragments delivered from Raby, tales from his life and growing up as a teenager. They’re witty and humorous, showing the vulnerability of Raby as a performer and person. There’s an undeniable gentility that comes across throughout Letter to the Man…, giving us time to reflect on our own childhood.

As a poet Raby has a method of weaving his words into lyrical form – it’s not poetry that calls up the beauty in life, but the awkward shyness, the awkwardness of teenage life when everything is a blur and enigma with testosterone flowing through your body. With this it makes for an enjoyable watch, with Raby’s stories pulling us back to our own teenage years. Whilst a confident performer of poetry, there is something unsatisfying with Letter To The Man… – it never quite fulfills as much as is delivered. There is something in Raby’s quirks that makes it difficult for the audience to let go – we find it hard to concentrate and to truly believe in the theatrical work. This, at times, means that the piece feels fabricated, contrived almost. That’s not to say it’s not enjoyable, but that you feel conscious throughout – an active participant who can’t connect to the imaginative qualities of Raby’s poetry.

The letters that we write for ourselves, whether opened or left to gain dust, is a curious twist and something that has been explored by other artists before. Yet to have Raby write his own letter at the same time and hearing what other audiences members have written provides some delightful anecdotes to the performance. Letter To The Man… is a charming piece that pulls at the teenager within us and asks us to play. It won’t completely take you from the troubles of the Edinburgh Fringe, but it might offer a moment of solace.

*** 3/5 Stars

Letter To The Man (From The Boy) is playing at Underbelly until 26 August as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. For more information and tickets, see the Edinburgh Fringe website.