STAGE TUBE: Backstage with The Trocks at Birmingham Hippodrome

Watch out Birmingham - ballet’s very grandes dames are back. After previous sell-out performances Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (or ‘The Trocks’ to their friends) return with a fantastic programme, a lorry load of costume changes and lashings of diva attitude.

Comedy doesn’t get more laughable than the Trocks, but as their fans know, the knockabout mishaps succeed because these hairy-chested guys in tutus can actually dance. With one foot in farce and the other in classical ballet, this is one hilarious night out not to missed! And when it comes to reviving rarely seen relics of ballet’s Imperial Russian heyday - well the Trocks repertoire is no joke.

Wherever they dance, the Trocks jete grandly over cultural barriers. They’re big in Japan, even bigger Down Under in Oz. They melted hearts - and some say the permafrost - in Siberia when they toured to Novosibirsk on a mission to find their natural roots. One thing’s guaranteed: parody or pirouette, the Trocks will knock your socks off with their bravura mix of fun and fancy footwork.

Performance times: Eves 7.30pm, Sat Mat 2.30pm. Tickets: £15-£34.50, available at www.birminghamhippodome.com, 0844 338 5000 (calls cost from 5p per min, 5% booking fee applies).