Cabaret a wild explosion of talent

Nigel Zega.

Some shows defy description. Others are best not described in public.

So let’s just say that Princessin Hans’ cabaret turn was a wild explosion of talent in very fancy dress, led by the irrepressible, larger than life Hans Kellett and indispensably supported by Jorg Hochapfel at the keyboard, providing the soundtrack for Hans’ fantasy world.

Kellett is over-over the top and extra-extrovert, but very, very clever, even if one of his songs did feature passive-aggressive romantic obsessive hippopotamuses queuing for a boat.

The show was hilarious, riotous and joyous, bouncing along like a high-speed rolling maul — which is another thing of great mystery. File under fringe. No, just file under fun.

● Dangerous Song was a beautiful, haunting reminder humans need to learn how to share the planet with the rest of its inhabitants.

It’s an old message that still isn’t connecting, so multi-talented musician Linsey Pollack and astounding vocal artist Lizzie O’Keefe have tried a new approach, using animal calls to help nature speak.

O’Keefe’s pure voice and Pollack’s precise playing provide a platform for endangered creatures to make a cry for help, supported by artistic motile images that immerse the performers in their world. Innovative, immersive, affecting.

● Dynamic dance and solid sculpture may seem strange bedfellows, but choreographer and video artist Louise Potiki Bryant is used to achieving what sounds impossible.

In Kiri, Bryant combines the disciplines to explore the Maori story of how the first woman was sculpted from earth and brought to life.

Bryant and long-term collaborators clay artist Paerau Corneal and inspirational composer Paddy Free have moulded their creation into an exquisite and captivating event that has been a festival favourite for a while, but each show is as fresh as the wet, pliant clay used to recreate it each time.

Coated in slip and bathed in moody light, Bryant is staunch, vibrant, expressive and powerful. Imaginative storytelling from a world-class performer.