Lust and libido get the blame

Is a naked man waving his bits about on stage ever anything other than gratuitous b*llocks?

That thought occurs early on in Forced Entertainment's anarchic gallop through the history of the world, as the work of American fashion photographer Richard Avedon takes a prominent part in proceedings.

In The World In Pictures, it's lust and libido that are to blame for all the cock-ups we've created for ourselves. You know, wars and stuff.

Intimations of mortality are obviously weighing heavily with director Tim Etchells and the Forced Entertainment crew, now two decades into their own story.

This is a flailing flash edit of a show, complete with stage-managed heckling, that fast forwards our lives as it hurls us all over the edge of the cliff, acutely reminding us of our insignificant place in the scheme of things. Wildly energetic yet ultimately sombre, it hurtles us from cavemen to the Internet in bizarre sketches that feel like Simon Schama guesting on SpongeBob Squarepants.

So, can you really tell the history of the world from the beginning to now in a measly two hours? Where there's a willy, there's a way.

Until Sat, Riverside Studios, Crisp Road W6, 7.45pm, £18, £13 concs (limited availability). Tel: 020 8237 1111. www.riversidestudios.com Tube: Hammersmith

The World In Pictures
Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, W6