Disclaimer: half an hour before seeing PanicLab's RIOT, I'd heard the news about spectacular dancerJonathan Ollivier being killed in a motorbike accident; I'd hoped that RIOT could take my mind off the shock and grief, but it couldn't, not completely.

RIOT is the third PanicLab work which I have now seen in the last few months, and it's the second work (as the first one was a solo for Jordan Lennie) which involves director Joseph Mercier beating up Jordan Lennie. There's a starting place.

RIOT is a show about comicbook superheroes coming to life through martial arts, dance theatre and a lot of lycra.

The show starts with Joseph Mercier greeting audience members on their way in, and Lennie alternating between flipping across the stage and waving at friends in the audience, before we learn the true identities of the superheroes before us: Mercier is Captain Patriot, Lennie is his Sidekick, Mind Games - performed by Sabrina Gargano - is his nemesis, and the fourth character, Vixen, performed by Tess Letham, seems to be a bit of an afterthought, while Captain Patriot plays a surprisingly small role.

Remaining true to comicbook etiquette, we have origin stories, back stories, flashbacks and of course comic-style graphics, stagey graphic fight scenes, plenty of slapstick, cheesy dialogue, hammy overacting and of course lots and lots of lycra; not remaining true to comicbook etiquette, we also have a lot of heckling and bickering between the dancers as they squabble about their costumes, their roles, the storyline and so forth. It's always good to see a show which can step back and not take itself too seriously.

The basic storyline is that Mercier and his best friend Lucky were recruited by the mysterious organisation CAPE to fight against evil, only for Lucky to unexpectedly die and for Mercier to be evolved into new superhero Captain Patriot (we are told that due to copyright issues, another superhero cannot be assigned - amid digs at Broadway's Spiderman). Captain Patriot and Sidekick are on a mission to protect the even-more-mysterious project Retcon, however during the course of the show, we find out that nobody is who they seem to be (with the exception of Patriot), the lines between good and evil blur, and what exactly is Project Retcon all about?!

RIOT is in its infancy, and while it aims high, it didn't quite deliver: while they are great fighters and great dancers, the performers are not great actors, and this is one area in which the show will no doubt grow during the Edinburgh Fringe season. Also, this is comic-book-superheroes-meets-arts-funding on a tight budget; it may feel informal and DIY, but it's all the more honest and humble as a result. Not everyone has the budget of Boy Blue Entertainment, after all...

Do go if you're seeking the crazy world of comicbook superheroes brought to life. Do not go if you're expecting virtuosic dance: if so, check for returns for Sylvie Guillem's shows at the Festival Theatre.

PanicLab's RIOT is at Zoo every day (except 12 & 19 August) until 31 August at 8.30pm.
Details: www.zoofestival.co.uk/whats-on/dance?zid=447
Tickets: tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/r-i-o-t
Website: paniclab.co.uk
Running time: 1 hour 20 mins