New Art Club

When you are dubbed the ‘Morecambe and Wise of dance’ that has to be a mixed blessing. It’s certainly going to get you some press attention and interest from audiences who wouldn’t normally consider seeing any kind of dance, but the downside is obvious: you have a heck of a task on your hands proving that this analogy is justified. Certainly Pete Shenton and Tom Roden have a unique selling point (how on earth can contemporary dance be made funny?) but their attempts to inject quality comedy in and around their movement doesn’t always fly.

Kicking off with the rather hackneyed tactic of explaining that, yes, they were introducing themselves from behind the curtain they move on with the equally tired motif of a double act starting to unravel at the seams with hidden resentments bubbling up. Yet there are also some gems in here: the ‘backing singers’ routine and the running gag about their ill-fated international adventures. In a festival full of jobbing stand-ups grasping a mic, this dance duo will bring you a little bit of sunshine.

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 668 1633, until 25 Aug, 3.15pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9).