Charlie Chaplin's daughter Aurelia Thierree continues the family tradition of variety and circus in this dazzling display of stage illusions.

Nothing is as it seems in this highly-imaginative family show, directed by the star's mother, the celebrated circus pioneer Victoria Thierree Chaplin.

The Oratorio is described as a sequence of dreams in the mind of a madwoman, with many of the acts inspired by The Upside Down World, a book of medieval illusions.

There is no beginning and no end, just scattered pieces of bizarre optical puzzles, controlled by the strange and poetic logic of our imagination.

The central routine of the show features Aurelia in a chest of drawers, with different parts of her body protruding from different drawers, her limbs moving independentlycas if with minds of their own.

The effect is fantastical and creepy, a sight as enticing as it is disturbing.

Timothy Harling, a performer and choreographer of 20 years' experience who has played on seven continents, also exhibits his talents in the show.

Victoria Thierree Chaplin's direction sets the tone of the performance - it has clear echoes of the style of circus and illusion she has made her own since the Seventies.

With her husband Jean Baptiste Thierree she made her name as Le Cirque Bonjour, then as Le Cirque Imaginaire and the couple now perform as Le Cirque Invisible.

Their daughter initially turned away from the itinerant life of the circus, pursuing a career as an actress in New York. She enjoyed minimal success, starring in tiny fringe plays and working in a soup kitchen. A brief role in The People Vs Larry Flint was her only, very limited, moment in the broader public gaze.

After seven years in the city she returned to her family trade and began working on new routines with her mother for the first time since she was 14.

A spell on tour with the cult cabaret-noir group Tiger Lillies Aurelia soon followed and gave her time to refine her act, adding more routines. Gradually the Oratorio was born.

The popularity of Aurelia's Oratorio comes on the back of similar success enjoyed by her brother James Thierree. His fantastical stage-show, La Veillee Des Abysses, toured the UK last year.

The Oratorio is suitable for children, with concession prices as low as £8. The extraordinary concoction of illusion and fantasy, studded with incongruous characters and unlikely encounters, is a delight for their imaginations.

Show starts 7.30pm. Tickets £18, £12.50, £8, call 01273 709709.