Bourgeois and Maurice. How To Save The World Without Really Trying.
The Magic
Mirror Spiegeltent. Adelaide Cabaret Festival. June 14 and 15. 2017
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
Two extraterrestrialsexuals have
come to crawl across our planet’s face dreaming of a way to save the humansexual
race. Well, that’s the plan but it’s not as easy as it seems. In spite of their
makeup and their space gear Bourgeois (George Heyworth) with his shiny silver
space suit and Maurice (Liv Morris) with her Beehive mound of black coiled hair
soon confess that they are not really aliens from another place but visitors from
the land of UK where chaos reigns and Brexit turns the world to wobble.
In the mobile Magic Mirror Spiegeltent on the bank of the River Torrens, the energy charged Bourgeois belts out his prophetic warnings to a post-modern world. Love is trite; let’s do Chemsex parties instead. Cassie in the audience is invited to comment on whether Chemsex prties could be the answer. In the dangerous world of audience participation, Bourgeois gets the answers he wants to hear. “Yes. They would all be on the same plane, high together, the perfect answer to bringing peace to the world.” Bourgeois and Maurice, direct from a London season of their quirky satire spiced cabaret act bring a clever, fast, funny, thought firing and tight show to Adelaide audiences. Bourgeois belts out his brightly sung songs of contemporary issues, blasting Brexit, querying quinoa, prophesying decline in his Union Jack draped rendition of a new national anthem about the unelected German descended queen and a nation that steals foreign antiquities and gets away with war crimes. It’s heavy stuff hurled out with panache, audacious cheek and sheer tongue in cheek fun that makes no attempt to bite the lip. It’s a plea for a better reality. Maurice on keyboard intones with Patsy flat inflections her song of feminism and paper knickers are hurled across the room to the sound of “Don’t Get Your Knickers in a Knot”. After all, Democracy is dead, Love is trite, Life is complicated so Give Fear A Go. It’s fear that can bring seven billion human sexuals people together.
Bourgeois and Maurice is must see satire
at this year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Their material is tightly scripted,
supported by cleverly projected images of the duo, commenting on the seventy
minute show. The original songs have a university revue ring to them,
splendidly sung and delivered by Bourgeois with backing in Maurice’s hilariously
droll and indifferent intonation. Fast
and funny, original and pertinent, performers Heyworth and Morris spike their
show with a cocktail of clever lyrics, sparkling satire, prophetic warning and
audacious performance. It is refreshing,
captivating and slightly surreal. Bourgeois
and Maurice dishes up a satirical serve with more kick than a hot curry and
more flair than a flambeau. Every festival should surprise. Bourgeois and Maurice sure does the
trick.
