NoFit State – Lexicon review: Roll up for a night of outsider clowning

If you crave multiple thrills and spills, look elsewhere. NoFit State Circus excels at creating moods rather than jaw-on-floor moments. Not as grandstanding as Cirque Du Soleil, nor as overtly sexy as La Clique, it is in a class of its own.

And class is the correct word for its latest show Lexicon, pictured, which starts with everyone onstage seated in rows of desks. The loose theme of learning weaves through the evening as we see an array of familiar aerial antics and a few unusual turns.

It is fun watching the cast clown around on Heath Robinson-style bikes and there is considerable jeopardy as Sam Goodburn dresses while riding a unicycle. Luke Hallgarten’s comedic fire-juggling alongside schoolroom props gives new meaning to the term “hot desking”. Performers double as musicians and the company has an endearingly scruffy outsider sensibility.

Some tricks do not come off but – to a point – that is part of their charm. Towards the end, however, the acts become repetitive and a moody multi-media projection adds little. Lexicon is enjoyable but will not leave you lost for words.

Until January 18 (0300 6789 222, roundhouse.org.uk)