Traces, Theatre Royal, Brighton, until May 24

1:20pm Wednesday 21st May 2008

As five characters await the apocalypse in their home-made clubhouse they decide to start creating stories rather than wait for their imminent destruction.

It sounds heavy but that is the basic construct behind the new show by performance group Les 7 Doigts De La Main.

And to be honest, once the five performers start to do their thing, you don't really care about the story that links it all - instead you focus on the breathtaking movements going on in front of your eyes.

The company comprises four men, Brad Henderson, Will Underwood and brothers Francisco and Raphael Cruz, who all trained together at the San Francisco Circus Center, and one woman, Parisian former trampolinist and equestrian vaulter Heloise Bourgeois.

Their skills form the core of the show. From skateboard and basketball tricks to Chinese pole acrobatics and a stunning piece based around Bourgeois balancing on a saggy armchair while the rest of the group seemlessly provide the music on the piano, the performances are underlined by their closeness to the audience on the relatively small Theatre Royal stage. It is like seeing a Cirque Du Soleil show taken out of the big top arena and into your lap.

Sometimes the performances were dark and threatening against the minimal, apocalyptic set; at times it was hilarious; and occasionally it was extremely touching, particularly in Heloise and Will's hand-to-hand dance. The 90 minutes slipped by almost unnoticed.

There are breaks in between the set pieces relating back to the central concept, with an old-fashioned microphone lowered down to the stage so the actors could tell scraps of their stories, and a mock Big Brother-style eviction based around a series of see-saw jumps.

But this is the sort of show you just want to sit and enjoy rather than over-analyse the message being put across.

What it boils down to is an affirmation of life, exploring the passing of time and the traces individuals leave behind of themselves for others to find or remember, underlined by a constantly running clock and a regular soundtrack of ticking and heartbeats.

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