To define something is, more or less, to state limitations for it; so, where theatre is concerned, it is best not to bother. Certainly it would be a mistake in the case of the Polish company Teatr 3/4, which made an appearance at the International Puppet Festival, because they don't use conventional puppets at all.

What they use is, in their own words, a hybrid, homunculus puppetoid; or, in more assimilable words, their naked hands. With these they shape faces of some variety, and supplement them with the occasional limb, arm or leg, plus voices. A story of sorts - a potted ages of man - provides the framework on which to string together a sequence of sketches.

There are four actors or puppeteers, and they use a large box with a number of hinged panels. The latter open to reveal a baby in nappies with a jolly little face composed by two hands twisted together. Then we move on through post-puberty youth, signalled by a gartered leg (actually an arm) and attempted assaults on it. There follow a power broker, an incompetent surgeon and others, concluding with an old man alone.

The best thing about the company's 60-minute show was that they were original and funny. They may be operating in a cul de sac in the context of puppetry in general, but at least they have it to themselves.