★★★★★

When people talk about modern circus, it tends to mean trapeze or poi or the corde lisse, anything a bit Cirque du Soleil. Often, however, we forget that clowning has had something of a renaissance. And thank Heavens for that. Terrifying slash-red grins, maniacal panda eyes and five-foot long shoes have been replaced with a clutch of buff Aussies in dungarees climbing in and out of bins and reducing the audience to horse-laughs within seconds.

The premise might not sound too enticing – three wheelie bins and a stage full of litter – but the Trash Test Dummies somehow make putting rubbish in black plastic bags a side-clutching experience.

The clowning soars when they pile into the audience, fearless and funny when it comes to improvising and completely gung-ho for chaos. At one point a rubbish bag explodes, sending multi-coloured plastic balls across the theatre, and the resulting ball fight has every child in the place at the front of the stage screaming with glee.

The little glimpses of acrobatics are also a delicious treat. They may be clowns but they are strong and accomplished.

A brilliant show for kids and adults alike, but there were too many empty seats in the theatre in what should easily be a sell out show.