As the darkness crept across the stage, stalking the light, and my pulse increased to match the music, I edged forward on my seat. Fantastic creatures, monsters of the self, creatures of the night with vultures, spiders, even a foetus appeared, straining briefly to have their moment, before disappearing into the gloom. One after another stories began and were cut short as the magical inventiveness of the company danced before our eyes. It was remarkable how one performer could create so many possibilities with such simple means – usually one directed light, sometimes even hand-held. Such studied positioning of body, movement and costume. This was brilliantly choreographed and executed.

But as the relentless, gloomy music went on, and on, I eased back into my seat, boredom and disappointment growing, so many beginnings, so many possibilities were temptingly put before us, but none of them developed, none of them reincorporated. Did the creators get lost in the pleasure of creating, did they forget that this was for an audience?

This is the third show by Mossoux-Bonté I have seen in the Mime Festival. Seven years ago they bought us Twin Houses. It was an exhilarating exploration of the shadow, the darker self, unforgettable in its craft, fantasy and execution. Then I saw Last Hallucinations of Lucas Cranach which was deeply disappointing after Twin Houses. With such talent as this company clearly has, surely they can do more to develop their shows?