In just over an hour, 12 performers rattled off seven separate short skits that lampooned all aspects of art — from modern contemporary dance, dramatic and comedic theatre, and even a musical composition played only by the human mouth — each lasting for, as the title suggests, 600 seconds.

Sold out three years in a row, 600 seconds allows groups or single performers to present their talent with only one binding condition: anything goes, but only for 600 seconds. The performers’ energy and talent is astounding and must be commended. Their charm, wit and humor keep things lively; not knowing where the next ten minutes will take you keeps things surprising and unexpected.

Time seemed to warp between skits — some ended too abruptly, and with others I couldn’t wait until the lights dimmed and it was onto the next. This time-travelling emphasized the skits that were most entertaining, as well as those that sat on the other end of the spectrum. The highlights of the night were the two comedic skits, the last of which was the most simplistic in its use of staging and premise but received the most positive audience reaction.

In it, a woman dressed only in a picnic blanket and a tree branch explored ‘how to be a tree’ in a dumbfounding but incredibly clever and hilarious approach.

The first skit seconds of the night also featured a single performer with similarly simplistic staging. Opening with a single man spouting ominous and rumbling vocals, it seemed to endure for 1200 seconds, not 600.

It plunged the audience straight into a vigorous course of twisted music therapy and sensory overload paired with simple black and white imagery as its background. Although thoughtfully put together, it was easily the night’s lowlight due to its failure to capture the audience’s attention and its almost-inexplicable language. It left the audience alienated from the performance, struggling to understand it, let alone appreciate it.

With plenty of audience participation throughout the night to boot, 600 Seconds encompasses an incredibly impressive mixture of scripted shenanigans, dance numbers and metaphors exploring life, love and, simply ‘what it means to be a tree’.

600 Seconds runs until the February 6 at The Blue Room Theatre, Northbridge. Tickets are available here.