Briefs: Close Encounters | The West Australian Spiegeltent | til Feb 25th | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The bawdy boylesque spectacular that is Briefs is back in Perth with an interstellar new show that proves why they remain a Fringe World favourite.
Hosted by the inimitable Shivannah (Fez Faanana), the fellas bring their heated fusion of circus and cabaret with a message of love from another world.
Shivannah beams into the spiegeltent all the way from Ipswitch and immediately commands the crowd with her cheeky charm and dazzling costumes as she leads the audience through a showcase of the incredibly talented crew. Shivannah also seems to show off her own talents a little more than the previous incarnations of Briefs, and I assure you she’s much more than just a charismatic MC.
As if Shivannah wasn’t enough to get me pumped for a top tier Fringe World show, the opening number’s aerial performance to Roisin Murphy’s Ten Miles High nearly gave my gay heart an arrhythmia.
Shivannah is also joined by her hirsute sister Delia, an adorably innocent (…maybe not) ingenue whose whimsical tribute to my queen of pop, Kate Bush, had me hollering. The music of Black Box, Donna Summer and Björk kept the camp vibes thrumming and were the perfect accompaniment to the on-stage antics.
Shout out to WA representative, Broome’s Louis Biggs, whose sexy science experiment yielded an irrefutable result; He’s got a lot of talent (and I need a boyfriend).
Close Encounters finale number is a welcome call-back to Briefs‘ last show Second Coming and a suitably decadent way to wrap up the showcase. Once again we warn you, don’t rush for the front row if you’re not planning on getting moist.
The show’s queer flair put Briefs: Close Encounters at the centre of my Fringe solar system, and their sun isn’t due to burn out for a few billion years. Even if you’ve seen Briefs before, don’t sleep on Close Encounters – it’s an out of this world good time.
Catch the boys of Briefs in Close Encounters until February 25th. For tickets and more information head to fringeworld.com.au
Leigh Andrew Hill
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