In a festival renewed for the speed of its turnarounds, to arrive in a space that resembles the scrappier back end of a charity shop, where the hard-to-categorise items – an ironing board, a scruffy giant teddy – are piled unceremoniously, is immediately intriguing. It’s a charity shop with a difference, however, as the staff are manically on hand to demonstrate the playful possibilities of its stock. One has stuck on an obscure French pop CD and is singing along with gusto, playing air guitar on a mop. And so we meet Mireille, the clown creation of Flemish performer Kathleen Wijnen, who alongside co-performer and clown Erik Basnier (Mathieu) breathe bizarre life into the clutter of their scene.

ARM has been successfully touring since 2001 and is presented here as part of David Bauwens (Ontroerend Goed) and Richard Jordan’s Big in Belgium showcase, now itself in its fifth successful year. You can feel this touring history in the show’s confidence and dexterity. The object animation skills are first rate even in fast and complex scenes, such as a naked baby doll wrestling match (I did say it was bizarre). The aesthetic is eclectic and kitsch – plastic toys, garden gnomes, cheeky glove puppets and a bravura death-by-flamenco sequence which remains hilarious even on its third repetition.

The work feels fresh and exhilaratingly unpredictable, powered by the pair’s restless creativity. They dance, laugh, sleep, fight their way through the show before us, working up a sweat in their competitive invention. The energy of their play is infectious; the clowning warm and inclusive, inviting us in through a blur of expressive languages. ARM is a brilliant showcase of the difference of the Belgian theatre scene and a wild hour on the Fringe.

ARM is presented at Summerhall as part of the Big in Belgium programme at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017. Photo by Wouter de Groot.