Briefs - Close Encounters

Combine gender bending, drag, acrobatics, circus, magic, comedy with just a touch of S&M and you have the spectacle that is Briefs - Close Encounters.

Being a virgin to this Queensland company (with the addition of a local Adelaide performer) I didn’t have a clear idea of what to expect, so every twist and turn of the show was totally new to me.

Performed in the iconic Magic Mirrors Spiegel Tent, this show is a delight for the senses from start to finish.

Unfortunately, the performers’ names are not published (they are briefly introduced) so I will not be able to match the name of each performer to his act. This is not really an issue though as the company performs as a true ensemble.

I was surprised to discover the cast selling raffle tickets before the show (I didn’t buy one). The audience is told several times that we will be jealous of the winner. Well, I was and it would be a spoiler if I told you why.

I also didn’t expect an acknowledgment to country in this style of show, but it is done with so much feeling and honesty that you couldn’t help but feel it justly belongs.

There is such a wealth of talent in the ensemble that I cannot comment on every act, so here are my favourites (and the audience’s as well).

After anonymous ringing heard in darkness, the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland appears with a briefcase collecting alarm clocks from around the theatre. This is no ordinary rabbit though, as we later discover. He brings the clocks onto the stage and then through the magic of theatre causes them to ring from a distance and then silences them by using acrobatics to reach them. There is also some interaction with the audience, who endure some menacing by the rabbit’s erotic ears! An excellent combination of stand-up comedy and skill.

Two attendants appear wearing leather briefs and carrying a huge hooded birdcage followed by the bird keeper, shimmering in a green metallic hood, tights and cape, who unveils his bird, an aerial artist. There are audible gasps at times as the performer uses the cage as his prop and wows us with his flexibility and daring.

To the strains of Close Encounters of the Third Kind an astronaut appears and strips to a G-string before using a rubber loop lowered from the ceiling to perform amazing aerial acrobatics. The sexual appeal of this act matched its athletic perfection.

A lunatic in a strait jacket accompanied by two guards gradually strips to black leather briefs while performing magical chemical experiments and then uses a glass topped table to juggle balls. Even when things don’t always go to plan his rapport with the audience ensures that he is instantly forgiven.

A heavily bearded performer in a soft pink dress dances a tribute to what I can only assume to be a merging of Ginger Rogers and Bette Davis. Soaring lifts and grotesque facial expressions makes this routine a unique combination of comedy and grace. The same performer also later strips down to an athletic support only to be showered with sparks from an angle grinder.

There is, however, one act that I feel does not fit in with the overall concept of the show; an interpretive dance consisting of removing multiple singlets revealing largely inspirational messages. This does not enhance the grunge or the glamour of the show. The number seems to belong to another genre and was not well received by the audience.

This is a minor criticism though, for 70 minutes that is not your average hen’s night stripper show and maybe not something you would take your aged mother to. It is a night full of humour, glamour, artistry and pushing the boundaries.

Briefs - Close Encounters is a show to be experienced by anyone who enjoys a fabulous night out.

Barry Hill

Photographer: JohnTsiavis.