Screens. Screens everywhere. It's so easy to get distracted – The Umbilical Brothers know this. Their show 'The Distraction' is live on stage. . . But there's a giant screen too.
This award-winning comedy duo take the thrill of live theatre and the spectacle of cinema, merging them together in a production unlike anything you've ever seen. Stunts and scenes are performed before the audience's eyes, and amplified to new heights thanks to the beauty of technology.
Before The Umbilical Brothers hit the stage in Sydney and Brisbane with this Adelaide Fringe Best Comedy winner, they pen an open letter.
“Hello. Theatre here.
Do you want to go to the theatre? No. Of course you don’t. You have Netflix.
But what if I said we’ve put a great big screen right in the middle of the stage? Seems dumb, right? Netflix has the screen thing so well-covered already, and theatre is. . . Well, it can be terrible. Let’s not pretend you’ve never sat through a play that was so bad you wanted to burn the theatre down to stop it from happening again.
Thank you for not burning down the theatre, by the way. Because while theatre can be pretentious, boring and outdated, live performance still has a strange magic to it. Know what I mean? Pornography is easily accessible and completely free to steal but somehow sex workers are still doing business.
Why? Because something amazing happens when you’re in a room with another person. We’re social creatures by nature and amazing parts of our brains swing into action in sports arenas, brothels, pub brawls and comedy rooms that just don’t get activated at home in front of a screen.
Don’t get me wrong – the screen is amazing – we’ve got 100 years of mind-blowing innovation that’s raised the form and content of on-screen entertainment to a point where it can change your life.
Or not.
I mean let’s not pretend you don’t consume hundreds of hours of mediocre television and social media only because it’s cheaper than fentanyl. And that’s just the thing! You totally deserve a portion of your waking life to be mindless stupor. You’ve earned it!
Caveat – I don’t know you. I have no idea what you actually deserve. This is just a sh.tty simulation of a conversation that’s happening because we’re not actually in the same room.
I’m doing a theatre show. Did I mention that?
And yeah, I know that sounds bad. It’s going to be pretentious, right? Well yes. Sorry. At some point making the show somebody actually said 'I think we can trick the audience into thinking we’re smarter than we actually are'. Which is something I’m not proud of, but I’ve forgiven us and perhaps you can too.
Because it’s actually a totally amazing show. Big old screen in the middle of the stage, performers in front of green screens, the whole thing being put together live before your eyes. You’ll look at the stage, you’ll look at the screen, you’ll have your mind blown. Perhaps you’ll think 'wait – are these f...ers dumber than I think they are?”
Perhaps. I don’t know how dumb you think we are. There’s a lot of jokes about babies being used in sports, though.
Come see us live, before we get a show on Netflix.”
Do you want to go to the theatre? No. Of course you don’t. You have Netflix.
But what if I said we’ve put a great big screen right in the middle of the stage? Seems dumb, right? Netflix has the screen thing so well-covered already, and theatre is. . . Well, it can be terrible. Let’s not pretend you’ve never sat through a play that was so bad you wanted to burn the theatre down to stop it from happening again.
Thank you for not burning down the theatre, by the way. Because while theatre can be pretentious, boring and outdated, live performance still has a strange magic to it. Know what I mean? Pornography is easily accessible and completely free to steal but somehow sex workers are still doing business.
Why? Because something amazing happens when you’re in a room with another person. We’re social creatures by nature and amazing parts of our brains swing into action in sports arenas, brothels, pub brawls and comedy rooms that just don’t get activated at home in front of a screen.
Don’t get me wrong – the screen is amazing – we’ve got 100 years of mind-blowing innovation that’s raised the form and content of on-screen entertainment to a point where it can change your life.
Or not.
I mean let’s not pretend you don’t consume hundreds of hours of mediocre television and social media only because it’s cheaper than fentanyl. And that’s just the thing! You totally deserve a portion of your waking life to be mindless stupor. You’ve earned it!
Caveat – I don’t know you. I have no idea what you actually deserve. This is just a sh.tty simulation of a conversation that’s happening because we’re not actually in the same room.
I’m doing a theatre show. Did I mention that?
And yeah, I know that sounds bad. It’s going to be pretentious, right? Well yes. Sorry. At some point making the show somebody actually said 'I think we can trick the audience into thinking we’re smarter than we actually are'. Which is something I’m not proud of, but I’ve forgiven us and perhaps you can too.
Because it’s actually a totally amazing show. Big old screen in the middle of the stage, performers in front of green screens, the whole thing being put together live before your eyes. You’ll look at the stage, you’ll look at the screen, you’ll have your mind blown. Perhaps you’ll think 'wait – are these f...ers dumber than I think they are?”
Perhaps. I don’t know how dumb you think we are. There’s a lot of jokes about babies being used in sports, though.
Come see us live, before we get a show on Netflix.”
The Umbilical Brothers play The Concourse 7 May (Sydney Comedy Festival) and Brisbane Powerhouse (Brisbane Comedy Festival) 25-28 May.
