You might be forgiven for thinking that mime is an outdated medium; out of fashion and out of touch with the struggles of the modern world. Enter James Cross, the confounding contortionist behind Scenes from an Urban Gothic. In a remarkable piece of physical theatre, Cross brings the form into the 21st century by communicating the disillusionment and disorientation of living in a big city through mime, music, sound effects and lighting.

Cross knows his strengths and plays to them well. He’s been blessed with rangy limbs, an elastic posture and the unnervingly hilarious ability to do that thing with his eyes (you’ll know it when you see it). Channelling the deportment of Gru from Despicable Me, the gait of John Cleese from Monty Python and the mannerisms of Mr Bean, Cross is a pleasure, a riot and a marvel to behold from start to finish.

As its name suggests, the narrative underpinning the performance is somewhat linear, but it’s important not to get too bogged down in the sequence of events. Instead, it’s better to simply absorb the ten vignettes which make up the show as they are. A programme is doled out to each audience member at the start of the production to help them avoid getting lost (mime is a tricky form, after all), though for the most part, Cross’ eloquent movements speak for themselves.

The piece opens with Cross departing an apparently idyllic lifestyle in the countryside (although there are suggestions that things aren’t quite as perfect as they might seem) for an overwhelming existence in the big smoke. The Tube, public toilets, cramped apartment spaces and humdrum menial jobs are all dealt with wittily and effectively, and Cross throws in enough oddball elements to keep the audience on their toes.

These weirder aspects might confuse some people and detract from their enjoyment of the piece – but just go with it. If you’re willing to accept Cross’ fantastic fantastical world and everything in it, you’ll emerge from the Theatre Arts Exchange with a smile on your lips, a distaste for urban life on your palate and birdsong hovering on the edge of your hearing. An absolute delight.