There’s nothing more exhilarating than to find yourself amongst a gurglesome, gleeful group of giggling kids, as I recently did at C aquila. The cast of Hurry Up and Wait deftly conduct their entrapped audience through a time-flying fifty minutes of clowning, miming, mugging and fun… Two hugely talented performers, Clint Bolster and Liz Skitch, play two nameless, ageless kids eagerly awaiting a forthcoming parade – their wait modulating through a litany of madcap mimes as their inquisitive minds find increasingly more bizarre and hilarious diversions to keep themselves occupied.

There is little plot as such – merely an over-arching situation – but each bite-sized sub-scene is a perfectly judged, attention-span pleasing sequence effortlessly seguing into the next. The shark, the broken clock, the burnt bum, the newspaper – could all have become just another routine on the set list, but in the hands of two playful performers we simply can’t wait to find out what they’ll get up to next. Laughter comes thick and fast from both youngsters and parents and all were rooted to their chairs for the entire performance.

External noise proved a fleeting annoyance as a lone piper seemed determined to derail the first five minutes, but with such enchanting performances it was clear who won in the end.

This is a truly happy, fun, and intelligent show for a much neglected age group – all of whom chortled with joyous delight as each surprising event unfolded. Bolster and Skitch give two solid, confident and exquisitely accomplished performances – clowning without the custard pies, miming without the imaginary wall and kids comedy without the toilet references. If you don’t have children, find some and take them or simply take yourself – you’ll love it!