What a wild, sequin and flesh-filled night!
Celebrating their ten-year anniversary on stage, the Briefs boys were back at the Powerhouse, where it all began, with acts new and old.
The show opened with a call to the audience to get their catwalk on, and boy did the audience get into it! Half the audience seemed to leap from their seats to get their strut on. Then the professionals took over, and they made it fun.
The first performance began with the song 'Let It Go' from 'Frozen'. The entire theatre started belting it out, along with our blonde, stage-bound Elsa. This was a dangling-hoop act, and it was absolutely thrilling. Other acts included a silks performance, a trapeze-and-over-sized-champagne-glass act, flower arranging, and naked Rubik’s Cube solving… With a well-placed lollipop.
This was a wonderful, fun show that was at times quite tender. The host and MC was very effective and engaging, jollying the audience along with light hearted patter and really, celebrating each artist in turn. It helped that the MC and her brother were both performers in the show, and their sister had turned out in support, which gave the whole night an intimate, family feel... With penises, which is a hard line to walk.
It was definitely an adults-only show. The male form was celebrated, and several performers were naked. Sexuality was also celebrated, with selfie sticks disappearing where the sun don’t shine and lollipops that had been hidden behind genitalia thrown to an audience member…Who promptly popped it into her own mouth much to the delight of the rest of the crowd. But it never felt aggressive or sleazy; the tone was always cheerful and celebratory.
One change of pace was the silks act. Both the MC and her brother have Samoan heritage. They showed a video of the older brother having traditional tattoos, and explained their significance before he came out on stage to perform. It was really fantastic to see other cultural identities in the more mainstream queer space.
Head out and see the Briefs Boys whenever you can – it's worth it!
