Hansel and Gretel is just about the most emotionally engaging story ever. The misery of the children's poverty and betrayal by their parents, the too sweet temptation of the gingerbread house, the horror of the witch and her evil intention, Gretel’s cunning plans and Hansel’s awful plight. On top of this, add tumbling, juggling, balancing acts, daring audience participation and live accordion, double bass, violin and flute (played at any angle!), and you have a true spectacle.

The perfect adult accompaniment to this show is Sarah Maitland’s book Gossip From The Forest - the Tangled Roots of Our Forests and Fairytales. Woodland spirits seemed to reside in Nicole et Martin's gorgeous story-telling hats, and it was not hard to imagine a little supernatural assistance in the effortless acrobatics. Children whispered curiously “How did they do that?” whilst the adults winced and gasped.

This Swiss married couple (not a phrase I would previously have associated with contortionism) have stage presence in spades. Their faces alone indicated the playful or hungry child, the stern stepmother or guilty father, whilst their bodies did absolutely extraordinary things! Although they hardly pulled any punches in this most terrifying tale, the impact of the very very very scary masked witch was cleverly softened by the earlier appearance of the friendly funny birds of the woods with their slightly scary masks.

As Nicole et Martin breath-take, spell-bind and story-weave their way across Europe this summer, to run away and join the circus has never seemed more tempting.

Pascal's review: "I liked it very much except for the witch. Were there really witches in the olden days?"