Hard truths beneath the humour

Fit/Misfit

Smock Alley

****

Explorations of community often descend into touchy-feely earnestness: not so Fit/Misfit, an archetypical Fringe show about fitting in that is full of flippancy, self-knowing and hard truths behind the humour. In the beginning, personal space is closely guarded as the four characters - Jasmín, Chino, Raúl and Ángel - pad around the four sides of the stage armed with wary glances, keeping a safe distance apart. Interactions become more trusting, but the tension between shared identity and individualism remains. Told through a veneer of cinematic references, the viewer's eye is guided to close-ups of subtle movements that lead to the violation of personal space, or panned out to turbulent quartets where the dancers try to find stability within the group. The action deliberately slows towards the end yet the drama never flags, evidence of a deft choreographic hand and well-matched music by Horsemen Pass By.

Ends Sept 15