BRIEFS: DIRTY LAUNDRY - Sydney Spiegeltent, Entertainment Centre, Moore Park.

Dylan Rodriguez (Serenity) - Thomas Worrell - Brett Rosengreen - Dale Woodbridge-Brown - Luke Hubbard (Nastia) during a bubble fantasy in "BRIEFS: Dirty Laundry "

Conceived and directed by Fez Faanana

Performed by Fez Faanana, Mark “Captain Kidd” Winmill, Thomas Worrell, Dylan Rodriguez, Luke Hubbard, Brett Rosengreen, Rowan Thomas and Dale Woodbridge-Brown.

Sydney Spiegeltent, Entertainment Centre, Moore Park until March 15^th 2024.

Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

The cast of "BRIEFS:DIRTY lAUNDRY.
Mark Winmill - Rowan Thomas - Fez Faanana - Dylan Rodriguez - Thomas Worrell
- Brett Rosengreen - Dale Woodbridge-Brown - Luke Hubbard.

The gender-bending boys of Briefs Factory certainly take their dirty laundry seriously. This Brisbane based acrobatic troupe has been touring its unique style of spectacular burlesque circus around Australia and Internationally for more than a decade. Their current production “Briefs: Dirty Laundry” is currently ensconced in the Sydney Spiegeltent in Moore Park as a headline Mardi Gras attraction, and they couldn’t be more at home.

The cheeky opening number, cleverly choreographed around a couple of washing machines, introduced the eight performers and set the tone for the evening.  Eye-popping costumes that reveal plenty of well-toned flesh; creative presentation and breath-taking specialty acts performed by a cast of handsome, buffed and a highly skilled performers who happily participate, tongue-in-cheek, in outrageous sketches and glamorous production numbers that give the show its creative edge.

 

Fez Faanana in full flight.

 

As the host of the show, Fez Faanana, draped in a constant parade of eye-popping creations, stars in the production numbers and keeps the audience in a party mood with his risqué commentary.  He also reveals another meaning for the show’s title by requesting audience members to unpack their own dirty laundry by contributing an anonymous note revealing a dirty little secret. This strategy allows the entire cast to hilariously demonstrate hitherto unsuspected ‘artistic merit’ later in the show.   

Of this cast, Mark “Captain Kidd” Winmill, Luke Hubbard (Nastia), and Dylan Rodriguez (Serenity) a trio of glamorous clowns who teeter alarmingly on skyscraper platform shoes, keep the audience in fits of laughter with their antics, before stunning  them later with the virtuosity of their acrobatic skills.

Luke Hubbard (Nastia) - Dylan Rodriguez (Serenity - Mark "Captain Kid" Winmill
in "Briefs:Dirty Laundry"

Who would have imagined you could strip off all your clothes while manipulating a Cyr wheel?  Rowan Thomas can, and very stylishly too. However muscular Brett Rosengreen required a bubble fantasy and an entourage of male beauties to achieve a similar manoeuvre. 

 

Rohan Thomas and Cyr Wheel in "Briefs: Dirty Laundry"

Thomas Worrell’s gasp-inducing aerial hoop routine leaves no doubt as to why he is Australia’s Acrobatic Hoop Champion, while Dale Woodbridge-Brown demonstrated some stomach-churning tricks with a balloon that you may not have thought about before.

“Brief: Dirty Laundry” is a world class, all-male, burlesque show which ends as it began, with a stylish costume parade. If burlesque is your thing or you’re tempted to find out what it’s all about, you’d be mad to miss this opportunity.

"Briefs: Dirty Laundry" - Finale.
Dylan Rodriguez - Brett Rosengreen - Rohan Thomas - Dale Woodbridge-Brown - Fez Faanana
Luke Hubbard - Mark "Captain Kidd" Winmill - Thomas Worrell



All images by Belinda Rolland


This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au