Much ado about nothing

A rather proper, middle-aged couple (Nick Tigg and Fiona Creese) in sober brown tweed, are giving a slide slow on ancient Thrace - the birthplace of Dionysus.

The god of love and wine's spirit infects the couple, particularly the woman, who becomes infatuated with Ian, the unseen projectionist.

Separately, they succumb to repressed desires, memories and fantasies that initially drive them apart before they're finally reconciled.

The People Show has pioneered absurdist theatre since 1966, and counts film director Mike Figgis among its alumni. Many of its ideas have been absorbed by physicaltheatre companies emerging in its wake, and its style no longer feels as experimental as it once did.

A strong visual aesthetic defines its work, informed in particular by the film Brief Encounter, as does varied storytelling techniques, from mime to puppetry, and these provide the dominant dramatic focus. The back wall becomes its own ingenious slide show on tensions within the couple's relationship, with windows showing them hanging upside down, eating supper and recalling their courtship, while others reveal a model railway and video footage of Dionysus.

It's droll, entertaining and frustrating in equal measures, but ultimately it's hard to see what it all adds up to.

The People Show 110 - Second