The London International Mime Festival regularly throws up intriguing acts that straddle the genres and this year is no exception. American duo rainpan 43 fall under comedy's jurisdiction because there are moments in their acclaimed show, all wear bowlers, of sublime slapstick. But there are other moments of pure theatre, balletic acrobatics and multimedia trickery.
Somehow though, the whole thing never quite gels for this critic. Things start dramatically with two literally unmanned hats coming to life. Then mostly silent performers Geoff Sobelle and Trey Lyford appear as dusty-suited tramps on a screen before exploding into reality. It is a familiar trick, done better by some, worse by others. Beckett and Laurel and Hardy are soon evoked, but in laboured fashion.
In a series of skilfully structured set pieces the versatile players meticulously interact with each other and the audience. Fans are displaced as the pair wryly broach the question of who is the viewer and who is the viewed by stealing their seats and facing the audience: "Avant garde!" they slyly conclude as we watch them watching us watching them.
Things constantly threaten to get really riveting. There is an inventive ventriloquism skit, a surprisingly stretchy arm that will make you gasp and at one point a show-stopping attempt to fix a broken light: the taller Sobelle climbs a ladder and pulls off a breathtaking snatch of Buster Keatonesque magic. Then they construct a new friend with just a third bowler and their interlocked arms.
These highlights cannot hide the fact that this 75-minute piece is less than the sum of its parts. Modern mime should dispense with the pretentious as well as the whitefaced man stuck in a glass box and create something new that people can connect with. All wear bowlers is clearly all about humanity connecting, but I remained untouched.
Until 28 Jan (0845 120 7554).
Rainpan 43
Barbican Pit
