Lighter Than Air is a solo show performed by the clown Danny Schlesinger. He is not a make-up wearing clown of the Ronald McDonald variety however (which is a relief), and instead is faintly comically dressed in a pale blue suit and glasses. As the title suggests he uses balloons in the main as objects to juggle with and joke around with the crowd.
There are some lovely touches with Danny acting like a balloon himself and very simple pieces of clowning, visual misdirection and treatment of the balloons with a care that vaguely humanises them into being extra players in this production.
The show does however, have the feel of watching a balloon manipulator out on the street or at the seaside as balloon animals are formed and has somehow been stretched into an hour long show. There are lots of awkward moments when the crowd (very vocal children) ask questions and refuse to quieten down when asked or simply heckle Danny as only children can. He doesn’t come across as completely at ease and heckles are either ignored or on occasion, played up to- but never hugely successfully. There are obvious dangers when working with balloons onstage and when the inevitable one bursts it is treated in a curious manner that leaves one slightly uncertain as to whether it was intentional or not.
Ideal for younger children (or the childish at heart), this show lacks the appropriate amount of weight to be a truly engaging show for all the family.
2/5 
Catriona Ruth Paterson
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