In the fiercely competitive world of arts funding, there must always be winners and losers. It will be a matter of regret to fans of bold and innovative dance, however, to see The Featherstonehaughs (say ‘Fanshaws’) in the second category. After more than 25 years, during which they have been regular visitors to this area, Lea Anderson’s all-male troupe are about to disband, along with her all-women Cholmondeleys (Chumleys): Friday’s Playhouse visit was their last.

The company bowed out with a reworking of their 1997 success The Featherstonehaughs Draw on the Sketchbooks of Egon Schiele. The piece very effectively translates into dance some of the visual conventions of painting, photography and film in its exploration of the work of the influential early 20th-century Austrian artist. It is at once disturbing and erotic. A new score is supplied by Steve Blake and Will Saunders, who perform it on the stage, the urgent guitar-driven accompaniment adding to the edginess of proceedings.

The six dancers perform, often in slickly timed pairings, in paint-daubed suits in different glowing shades designed by the Oscar-winning Sandy Powell. Their paint-smeared faces and jerky body motions suggest these are not men but zombies. Some later ‘strip down’ to painted body stocking, which give the appearance of full nudity.

This lends a definite homoerotic element to the show. Dancers register surprise at sexual invitations offered or implied by their colleagues. Occasionally, these appear to be accepted. But one should not look too closely for plot, as one admires the discipline and artistry of the dancers.