The Umbilical Brothers,
Shane and Dave, are physical comedy specialists, who use nothing other than their bodies and voices to transport the audience to a variety of locations and situations.The opening is spectacular, when they’re introduced, but don’t appear. The stage remains empty. We hear the phone ring, one of them answers and they just happen to be in another country. They jump out of bed, into a taxi, head to the airport, get on a plane and leap from it, but fall to their deaths. They then appear on stage in a white light and address ‘god’, who makes it clear only one of them is getting into heaven. They are thrust back to Earth and the show essentially begins with ‘getting into heaven’ as the stakes.
One of the funniest scenes was when Dave (or was it Shane) stood in front of a mirror in an ordinary (imaginary) bathroom, while Shane (or was it Dave) stood in the wings doing all the sound effects – hair dryers, water running, hair combing, nose plucking and so on and when they drew attention to the sounds not quite matching, it was even funnier.
The plot then seemed to meander aimlessly. There was something about a cricket called Andrew, the cricket being squashed and one brother wanting twenty cents from the other brother for its funeral, refusing to give up until they got the twenty cents (which I don’t think they ever did). I was never really sure what this had to do with getting into heaven, but the bulk of the audience didn’t seem to mind.
Ultimately, the plot did return to God and the question of who would get into heaven, but by this stage, no one really cared.
The Umbilical Brothers are fast, physical and fun, entertaining at the very least and sometimes brilliant. There were certainly a few unforgettable moments, but without a strong story or context for their physi-comedy, the show had a sense of one physical sketch after another. As funny as most of them were, I did wonder how it all connected to the theme.
They have a strong fan-base and understandably so. The Umbilical Brothers are two of the funniest physical comedians Australia has ever produced and the show currently at the Athenaeum Theatre certainly underlines why. Go check it out.
A-List Entertainment
Heaven By Storm
The Umbilical Brothers
Venue: Athenaeum Theatre | 188 Collins St, Melbourne
Dates: 1st Apr - 13th Apr
Times: Tue-Sat 8.20pm, Sun 7.20pm
Duration: 70 minutes
Tickets: Full $31.90, Conc $24.90 | Full Fri & Sat $34.90, Conc Fri & Sat $31.90
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013 | 9650 1500 & at the door