Mr Gong's Hair Salon ***

A family show from South Korea, Mr Gong's Hair Salon is performed by four actors, each changing costume many times throughout the show to portray a wide number of characters.

What makes this show a little unusual is that each character sports a large, full-head mask with a fixed, comic expression and the entire tale is told via mime, music and slapstick.

The plot, such that it matters, involves an aged hairdresser reminiscing about past glories and the scrapes and japes that his fellow employees, customers and pet dog get into. It's all good fun (mostly clean - there's not many family shows out there that feature Viagra and excerpts from porn movies, I suppose...) and performed with a great deal of energy and good timing. There's also some truly funny audience participation, which I know only too well from first-hand experience...

The hour whizzes by and I defy anyone to leave this without a big grin on their face.