Controlled anarchy or organised chaos – either of those terms apply to Pirates Of The Carabina’s Brighton Festival show.

This is circus with its trousers down, at one point literally, with nothing hidden from audience as the skilled team perform aerial displays and feats of gymnastic ability with counterweighting colleagues in full view.

The jaw-dropping skills are combined with a tongue-in-cheek picture of a travelling troupe which has been on the road too long – with glimpses of romantic assignations, petty rivalries and spoken word tales of fatigue at the microphone.

The biggest laughs are reserved for The Incredible Gloria – pushed onto stage in her own horse-drawn chariot to perform a hilarious disaster-set silks routine.

Flown is a show which is hard not to enjoy – both for its physicality and its occasionally puerile sense of humour. There are moments when so much is going on behind the performers the focus slips but by the same token there is never a chance to get bored.

The live soundtrack occasionally slows down the action but also demonstrates the cast’s wider skills as all the acrobats pick up instruments or take vocal leads.