The old adage that we are all connected via six degrees of separation gives the title to this show from Quebec-based circus team Flip Fabrique. Five strangers arrive at an eerie hotel and in turn explore memories from their pasts, as well as step into one another’s lives through overlapping tricks of acrobatics, juggling and hula hoop diving. Flip Fabrique definitely have an eye and an ear for a vibe. The Wes Anderson pastel-retro costumes and plastic glasses, along with a banging soundtrack from Leonard Cohen to The Wiseguys (remember them?) gives the show a laidback, dreamlike feel which suits circus’ natural surrealism (people balanced upside down or flying through the air).

But there just isn’t enough circus going on here, and there isn’t enough story to make up for the lack of circus. Frequently the acts have a stop-start feel, never building to a climax but fizzling into a group number that rambles with its choreography; a lift here, a leap there. There are beautiful skills on show, including Theodore LeBlanc’s inventive cigar box juggling, Shane Minerich’s tramp wall, and Laurence Desgagnés, Lise Kleistendorff and Ewen Fromager on cyr wheel, hand-balance and acrobatics respectively. But the drawn-out premise prioritises style above substance. 

Flip Fabrique: Six°, Underbelly Circus Hub, until 23 August, 2.05pm; main picture: Cédric Méravilles.