The Argus: Brighton Festival Thumb Jaw-dropping athleticism, an abundance of stamina and genuine bravery seem to be the desired job specs for the seven members of Australian dance-infused circus troupe Circa.

Although coming together as an ensemble to create inhuman shapes at gravity-defying angles, only to fall apart and reconverge in other impossible constructs a moment later, each performer also had the opportunity to showcase their own solo talents.

Emma McGovern’s aerial work in particular exemplified the enormous dexterity and energy involved in the show. Shimmying up a rope in seconds and intertwining herself to hang like a puppet with broken strings, her routine combined both grace and exceptional strength.

A tear-inducing routine involving high heels across a bare torso begged to be watched through fingers, and the audience were right to gasp as they watched a performer walk nonchalantly across stepping stones of human heads... although a sudden drop of pace – no doubt well-deserved – saw the end of the first half come to a something of a subdued end.

However, it’s a testament to the sheer spectacle of the pieces that even the acrobatic movement confined to the background – whether it’s the batting of one performer to another in mid-air or the climbing of a standing body as if it were a spiral staircase – is worthy of a centre-stage spotlight and the ticket price alone.

Indeed, the intricate fluidity of the troupe’s movement and the scale at which they do it leaves you with the impression that these are not performers, rather human cogs in a living machine.