One of the great things about Oxfringe — indeed about any fringe festival — is the opportunity to see avant garde events. Space, by Timothy Mann (right), was definitely in that category — weird but rather wonderful. A highly accomplished performer, his one-man show is a tapestry of seven very different characters, which delves into linguistic and philosophical interpretations of that big little word “space”.

But there is also a mystery behind the interlocking stories of his characters: the dotty science professor, American mystic, Italian lothario, home counties house-husband, frightened little boy, US army sergeant and Japanese tourist. The chameleon-like Mann draws the truth of the situation out slowly and intriguingly, darting from one personality to another without props or set, just using his remarkable talent for characterisation. The audience are brought in, too, via some funny and tender interactive encounters with several of the characters. Somehow we all felt a part of the event — and that was very special.

Seize the Day: A Head for Heights, also at the Lee Simpkins Theatre, was a very different kind of show. It had 2.1 performers, costumes and scenery! The set consisted of scaffolding perched against the roof of a house, which old hand Jon and nervous new boy Len are in the process of dismantling. Written by Kathryn Duffy, it is a funny, wise and well-observed slice of working men’s lives. Jon is an authentic working-class philosopher with worldly experience, whereas Len seems out of his element up where the pigeons fly free — and also with his life in general. Mark Curtis (Jon) and Stephen Sobal (Mark) gave excellent performances as two very different guys bonding over their manly occupation. Duffy is also the 0.1 performer — a woman inside the house who dramatically opens the window at one point, with hilarious results. The show was punctuated with such moments of physical comedy and, combined with the tip-top script, It was a thoroughly entertaining production.