The term ‘physical theatre’ can describe a whole range of performance, the one defining factor being bodies moving in space. Billing themselves as ‘a pint-sized Cirque du Soleil’, Fidget Feet thoroughly embrace this premise with Caught, a mish-mash of mime, aerial acrobatics, and dance. However, a little more movement of the bodies involved would have been welcome.

Despite the presence of a chops-licking wolf, this performance lacks meat. In a contemporary take on Little Red Riding Hood, company members Chantal McCormick and Lee Clayden cavort unconvincingly through a sinister woodland conjured by tangles of hanging ropes, branches, and an innovative projected background plus sinister soundtrack from writer and director Jym Daly.

A highlight of the performance is the company’s twist on the ‘wolf-in-grandma’s-clothing’ aspect of the classic fairytale, with Clayden‘s wolf revealing a secret penchant for cross-dressing. His mincing solo performance and subsequent attempt to ashamedly hide his transvestite tendencies by ‘bundling’ the music that scores his dance inside his dress form the most entertaining part of the show.

Unfortunately, moments like these are too few and far between, and a disproportionate amount of the sixty minute performance is taken up with Red Riding Hood thoroughly inspecting her surroundings in dreary pantomime fashion. In short, Caught needs more of everything; more acrobatics, more dancing, and more conviction from its performers.

Star rating: ★★★