Rowan, Hazel, Oakley and Birch; the names of the trees evoke the spirits of the forest in My Budding Entropy, a lyrical examination of society’s adherence to the gender binary and just how different and better our collective lives could be without it.

There’s something profoundly moving about the simplicity of the folklore traditions used to tell this tale. Through music, clown and mime, Holly asks us to imagine a time before this time, challenging us to return to the wilder versions of ourselves that existed before society built pink and blue boxes to restrain our powers. Sitting in the temporary structure of The Lab, with all its attendant noise bleed from busy urban Victoria Square, adds a layer of poignancy as Holly Rowan, Rosie Breedt and Lore Pheonix Burns play and sing, backed with some beautifully simple yet beguiling mirror projections.

Not everything works; sometimes there’s a sense of trying a new technique or style that doesn’t necessarily serve the story and Rowan’s hi-vis jacketed workie in particular feels like a lazy dig at a stereotype. There’s also a sense of holding back on the comedy: a shame, as Rowan has funny bones that we would happily see more of.  Nonetheless, there are some lovely moments while the show’s premise, that we already know the answers to all the questions in front of us, comforts and ultimately challenges. 

My Budding Entropy, Fool’s Paradise, until Sunday 23 February, 5.30pm.