A play set completely in the dark - what a brilliant concept!

Sadly, in the hands of Brightonbased zygo theatre company it is a wasted opportunity.

It is hard to understand why they chose to perform The True History Of The Tragic Life And Triumphant Death Of Julia Pastrana in this way. If they had an incredible story which was impossible to stage then great, perform it in the dark and lead our imaginations on an amazing journey.

But the story of Julia Pastrana, a Mexican peasant sold to a travelling freak show as a carnival grotesque, could easily have been performed with the lights on and would probably have been better for it.

Deprived of the primary sense, the mind needs to be fed with sound and imagery.

While some of the sound effects are interesting, for example Julia learning to dance and the gruesome but amusing embalming noises, boundaries aren't pushed and possibilities aren't fully explored.

The script lacks humour and isn't descriptive enough to enable us to conjure wonderful images in our minds.

You can imagine Julia - the ugliest woman in the world - but not the world and faces around her.

The second play, The False Corpse is another interesting concept upon which zygo fails to deliver.

Based on the idea that a comic is going to commit suicide on stage, it is less a piece of theatre and more an overly-long, self-indulgent improvisation which should never have left the rehearsal room.

There are interesting moments and plenty of laughs courtesy of audience participation but the piece has little direction or substance and comes across as amateurish.

If this was an early work-in-progress it would have huge potential but as one of the main shows of the Brighton Festival charging £18.50 a ticket, it is a big let down.