This physical/musical theatre piece tells the story of the circus sideshow character of the title, and on this occasion was set in the highly appropriate Bosco tent in the Spiegel Gardens (the Bosco is a wooden tent with steeply raked seating, and inside feels very much like a big top).

It is performed in a highly theatrical, Brechtian style with similar aesthetics to the Tiger Lillies / Les Enfants Terribles / Shockheaded Peter. The seven performers appear in whiteface and deliver much of their performance directly to the audience, each in turn narrating aspects of the story. Three of them also play musical instruments at regular intervals throughout. At the start of the show they have signs that describe their role in the sideshow: The Man with 2 Brains’; ‘The Girl Who Sees All’; ‘The Clown’ etc.

The main narration is delivered by a ringmaster character, who gives an engagingly grotesque and expressive performance.  Unfortunately the opening section of his exposition was drowned out, both by the over-enthusiastic trumpeter, and by sound pollution from the bar and streets outside. (Just use radio microphones in noisy venues!)

This meant I was working hard to piece together the plot, which follows the journey of ‘The Girl…’ who we later realise is Snow White after the end of the fairy tale. Towards the end, we realise the sadness of her current situation, which involves being nightly exposed to violent acts to demonstrate her ability to the audience.

Upon reflection, this is an imaginative and inventive idea for retelling the story of Snow White, so it is a particular shame that I got lost early on. It is an energetic and enthusiastic ensemble performance from a young company who seem well-organised and ambitious. The writing and direction are strong and there is enough action and endeavour to ensure boredom is highly unlikely, with moments of puppetry, plenty of song, and some striking visual tableaux.  I did find the style somewhat derivative of other work, and felt that perhaps the narrative was being used to serve the style, rather than the other way around. Also, some of the characters could be given more to do: ‘The Clown’ has some amusing moments, but doesn’t have much of a part to play in the dynamic. Despite these reservations, there was certainly enough talent and energy on display to suggest this young company is headed in a positive direction, and certainly one to watch.