They look like a trio of gap-year students off on their travels, carrying suitcases instead of backpacks. But looks are deceptive in this gently entertaining show, in which suitcases becomes mountains and bodies obstacles that must be climbed. This trio of Circus Space graduates, who call themselves Mimbre, have been together for a decade making outdoor work, but this is their first piece in a theatre building. Very nice it is, too, suggesting that this is a company that could go far, though they will have to ratchet up the energy levels and the content.
Until Now benefits from the fact that this trio know each other intimately: it maps their relationships and reveals that three can be a crowd if you don't get the balance exactly right through real physical expressiveness. There is something interesting about watching a circus-based show that doesn't opt for any kind of wow factor, but the company do sometimes seem convinced that they can squeeze by on sheer charm alone, and there are moments when it feels as if you are watching a show for children.
It is only in the final stages that Until Now suddenly bursts into life with an audience/performer tea party, a deceptive washing-line tightrope walk and trick suitcases. It's not simply that something actually happens; it is more that the piece suddenly achieves the emotional texturing and under-pinning that it previously lacked. The physical risks that the company take are not matched by risks in dramatic structure, but Mimbre is starting out on a journey that could, if they are brave, take them – and us – to unexpected places.
