Petit Mal, Empire Theatre, Eden Court, Inverness June 15th 2010

Three scruffy-ish young men shuffled into view among the stage clutter of ropes, balls, trampolines and discarded car tyres. Stagehands, presumably… Dylan’s “Highlands” twanged, the houselights dimmed, two of them started wrestling and as they casually executed some extraordinarily athletic moves, realisation dawned that these three unprepossessing figures were actually Petri Tuominen, Rauli Kausonen and Kalle Lehto, otherwise known as Race Horse Company. ‘Petit Mal’ was good to go.

The three proponents wandered around tussling, bouncing on medicine balls, running up poles, juggling tyres and throwing improbably acrobatic shapes without losing the air of distracted garage mechanics filling in time before getting stuck into the next 50,000 mile service. Kausonen spun and soared on the trampoline with insouciant ease while on the floor underneath, Lehto (a former Finnish champion) indulged in some breakdancing as though he’d just that moment thought of it. Race Horse Company make everything they do look as unexceptional as breathing but don’t – please don’t – try this at home, kids, unless you want to spend the summer holidays in a plaster cast, at best.

An amusing take on sawing the lady in half heralded the appearance of increasingly random icons, from two comedy Elvises (Elvi?) and Donald Duck to a Canadian mountie with a panto horse (delighted squeals from the youngest members of the audience) whose front half morphed into a disconcertingly seductive equine version of Miss Piggy. Throughout, with barely a pause for breath, the trio continued to bounce, slide, climb, leap, swing, hang, fall, and clown, all without apparent effort, and also without fanfares, drumrolls, spotlights, or spangly outfits – but with feathers. Lots of them.

Race Horse Company have deconstructed circus and produced the sort of show that Lewis Carroll might well have conceived, had he been into streetdance and Scrapheap Challenge. Their final tableau was dreamily Fellini-esque and utterly beguiling, the standing ovation that followed thoroughly deserved. They appeared not to have broken sweat, nor to be even slightly puffed.

‘Petit Mal’ is on at Eden Court for one more night. Kill for a ticket.