Eclectic act Siro-A have been hailed as many things, from being touted as Japan’s answer to the Blue Man Group to being described as the equivalent of a live action video game.

None of these labels are entirely off the mark, yet none succeed in fully capturing the magic of this innovative act.

The show itself is a mixture of dance, acrobatics, light show, DJ set and mime artistry, all wrapped up in a brisk sixty minutes.

The mime artistry bit might put people off but fear not: this is some seriously pimped-up mime artistry.

The essence of the show consists of images projected onto a white background, with which the various performers interact in various scenarios and with boundless energy.

The fact that the performers have little visibility over said images is a testament to the insane level of choreography involved.

In addition to the four stage performers, there are two supporting players, one of whom was credited as a DVJ (Digital Video Jockey?) who are on hand to control lights, music and images.

The show is broadly divided into various sections. In one, titled ‘ball’, a performer interacts humorously with a projected ball. In another section titled ‘box’, the performers interact with images projected on boxes. You get the gist.

But it all works much better than it sounds. Think Tetris on amphetamines.

There were also haunted house and interpretative dance sections which, personally speaking, failed to dazzle. This was more than compensated for by a brief tribute to Super Mario Brothers (which I could have easily watched all day) and a very entertaining film-based section.

Throughout the show, there were also several nicely-considered tweaks to the format to acknowledge the London setting and festive references given the time of year.

There was, understandably given the level of activity, one technical glitch near the end of the show, but it was dealt with swiftly, charmingly and used to comic effect.

The show’s closing act was as enjoyable as all which preceded it, but with a twist: it was an interactive piece, involving full audience participation. This is no mean feat, when you consider that the whole show is only sixty minutes long and most crowds are only getting warmed up by that point.

Overall a visual treat, and one which would genuinely appeal to all ages. And aside from the immediate effect, the show seems even more impressive when you stop and consider the level of preparation involved.

After the performers bowed for applause, the curtain inevitably went down. But suffice to say, once the word ‘More?’ was projected on the curtain, the audience replied with a resounding, affirmative cheer.

Conor Brennan