If you've never seen the all-male burlesque sensation Briefs, this intergalactic fusion of circus, comedy and cabaret is the perfect starting point. The show has just been a big hit on London's West End and is coming to Arts Centre Melbourne for a limited season.
Our friends up at Time Out Sydney absolutely loved the show when it played Sydney Festival last year, giving it a glowing five-star review. They wrote:
"It’s been ten years since Briefs first strutted onto a Brisbane stage. In the last decade the group has become an international indie cabaret phenomenon.
"Close Encounters sees them take a bold and optimistic leap, while refining what they do. That’s not to say this dirty and dangerous variety show has a strong emphasis on ‘refinement’, simply that it requires real intelligence and creativity to craft a party this wild. The result is perfectly paced, keeping its audience screaming in delight from start to finish. It stands head and shoulders above its cohort of 2010s alt-cabaret.
"The company has been blending striptease, dance, acrobatics, comedy and aerial work for several years, but this year’s mix is particularly potent. The technical prowess of these performers is impressive, but the show stands out for its ability to reach out to the audience (sometimes literally) and subvert every expectation.
"The entire show looks spectacular and feels coherent: the acts are drawn together by retro-futuristic costuming from Dallas Delaforce (think The Jetsons, Lost in Space, Barbarella and 1980s Grace Jones at her most alien) and a pumping soundtrack. Everything is queered in some way, like when a fabulous bearded drag queen, dressed in a Cher-inspired sparkling fringed gown, struts to a dance remix of the ‘Imperial March’ from Star Wars."