FROM the weird to the wonderful, the Barbican Theatre's annual fringe theatre festival is back.

'In The Flesh' is a three day explosion of live performance, running this weekend from Friday to Sunday, 7pm onwards and features the work of 45 artists from across the globe.

The event in it's third year, was originally set to run for two nights, but the volume of creative submissions called for an extra night as over 82 artists scrambled to get their work showcased.

Festival Organiser, Zuzana Wallnerova, said: "The idea of the festival was for dancers, performers, musicians and artists to produce pieces of work that were individual and experimental to see how the artists would interpret themselves."

Performances won't just be taking place on the stage, there is so much crammed into a short space of time that artists will be overflowing into unusual spaces, even the lift!

But there'll also be performances outside – around the magnificent Tall Ship, the 'Earl of Pembroke' in Sutton Harbour.

Zazanna, added: "There will be acrobatic work, pieces verging on the grotesque but it alls aims to provoke a reaction – perhaps surprised or disgusted but definitely controversial and different from the norm in Plymouth."

Friday's pieces include Emily Dobson, a dancer from Plymouth, Arlene Wandera with Kukhu, a piece about dying tribal traditions in Kenya and The Two Wrongies, a comedy sketch based on the Japanese phenomena of 'air sex'.

Highlights on Saturday sees Peta Lily, a well-known artiste from London, telling stories about the untold passion of nuns and 'Stand Not Amazed', where well-known magicians will fuse magic and movement, trying to involve the audience in 'blurring the line between what is real and what is imaginary.'

In The Flesh tickets are on sale now from the Barbican Theatre Box Office on 01752 267 131. For further information email info@barbicantheatre.co.uk or visit www.barbicantheatre.co.uk