Australian boylesque troupe and Edinburgh Fringe favourites bring their high-camp Christmas extravaganza to the Spiegeltent
Mention burlesque and what image springs to mind? A voluptuous, raven-haired woman, stripping out of vintage corsets? Fire-eating and tassel twirling? Happy to subvert female-dominated cabaret, the chaps from Briefs sashay back with their inimitable brand of boylesque, incorporating audacious aerial work, drag, vaudeville and a soupcon of nudity.
The Australian troupe, huge favourites with the Edinburgh Fringe audience, return to the Spiegeltent to unleash their latest high-camp Christmas extravaganza. Smart and skillfully choreographed, this anti-variety show weaves together disparate influences from Chaplin to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert via Cirque du Soleil, all executed with satirical bite.
No one is safe, as acid-tongued host Fez Faanana warns, ‘The front row may not necessarily be the splash zone. Every seat has its own adventure and advantages. Some acts will explode on the stage, some will unfold on your cabaret table, and some may brush past you before you realise that you have become part of the show.’
All he will promise is, ‘our biggest show yet, with an eight-person cast. We have jam-packed the show with our favourite stunts, our most talked-about acts and our typical idiot mayhem.’
For younger theatre-goers, Briefs are holding the Brat Kids Carnival (Sat 27 Dec—Mon 4 Jan), also at the Spiegeltent. But the main show’s not one for kids or the easily shocked, due to their tendency to misuse yo-yos or birdbaths. It’s going to get messy.
The Spiegeltent, Edinburgh, Thu 18 Dec—Sun 4 Jan