The Old Vic Tunnels is a difficult space to fill –and a damp one at that – and yet Rea Mole’s dance piece, Flocking/ Crowd Joy, immediately explodes into the darkness. Glittering dancers emulate the communal elation generated by crowds; the movement is dazzlingly synchronised and yet maintains a real sense of spontaneous and uncontrollable energy. Although the action takes place on stage, with the audience neatly seated to watch, the performers’ euphoria is all-encompassing. Imagine being in a heady club with pounding music and your best mates (all of whom are talented dancers, of course), and you’re halfway there.

From one kind of love to another, next up is Nicola Cross' installation comedy The Lonely Hearts Comedy Club. Supported by a different line-up of comedians to the previous night, character compères Kerri Hall and Michael Whitham do their utmost to make you cringe as well as giggle. There’s patter with unsuspecting audience members, arm wrestling and winks aplenty, not to mention special appearances from guest comedy acts. The Three Englishman particularly tickled me with their Nintendo sea shanties and stag-do sketches, while Edinburgh Fringe favourites Ginger and Black won the audience over with their defiantly-deadpan musical comedy.

When we were all merry with free Courvoisier and heat exhaustion, time for something completely different. Quartet is Suba Das’ luscious and ambitious reworking of Heiner Muller’s play, which in itself re-imagines Dangerous Liaisons. Tarantulas, whips and dog collars (and not of the religious variety) all heighten the play’s interrogation of the tortuous nature of sex and identity. Yet for all its complex lighting, corsets and cinematic projections (think circus tops, foreplay, dancers wrapped in light bulbs) the real glory of Quartet lies in the talents of its two actors. Katherine Templar and Ben Benson are electrifying when playing lead characters Merteuil and Valmont as well as when cross-cast in different gender roles. Benson, in the guise of the pious Madame de Tourvel, asks: ‘Can you look at a woman without being a man?’ Quartet does its damndest to find out.

And for audience members who needed a wind-down after three spectacular shows, the entertainment and live music continued in the Bunker Bar long afterwards. Music, sex, dodgy dancing: what more could you want from a free Friday night out?

Coming Up Later continues at The Old Vic Tunnels tonight. Tickets are now sold out. Find out more.

Images by Guilherme Zühlke O'Connor.