THE Shaolin Warriors are a troupe of Buddhist Kung-fu masters who are capable of the kind of stunning physical feats you would normally witness only in an effects-laden Hollywood movie.

The Chinese martial arts legends fuse ancient spirituality with mind-boggling athletic dexterity to produce a genuinely spectacular event.

Beginning with a huge war dance, which pitted the 22 members against each other in a scene of simulated combat, the show progressed like a violent ballet through a series of stunts and set pieces, each more spectacular than the last.

One warrior made the crowd gasp as he sliced a cabbage into a thousand pieces, using his stomach as a chopping board, while another had what looked like a stone plank smashed across the top of his head.

In one amazing fight scene, an orange-clad monk dodged his head from side to side as his enemy stabbed a sword at his face with the relentless ferocity of a pneumatic drill.

God only knows what kind of injuries these guys get when rehearsals go wrong.

The real stars of the show are the child warriors – two shaven-headed eight-year-olds who unleashed berserk spinning kicks and mid-air sommersaults, often tussling with each other and regularly leaving their senior colleagues on their backsides.

This show was the first night of the Warriors’ UK tour, which plays the Civic Theatre, Darlington, on May 26 (01325- 486-555). Catch it if you can, and prepare to be amazed.