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Photo - The Sisters Hayes & Jodie Hutchinson

I remember the feeling I had the first time I finished reading Catch 22, a bemused sort of satisfaction that was only barely graspable given the whirling, reeling nature of my thoughts as I turned the last page. Similarly, as the credits rolled on my first viewing of Easy Rider, I knew that I’d probably just witnessed something quite brilliant but I’d be damned if I knew what it was. It’s with this obscure sensation in mind that I begin to formulate my analysis of Finucane & Smith’s Carnival of Mysteries currently showing at Melbourne’s fortyfivedownstairs on Flinder’s Lane.

How to begin a review of something so eclectic and bizarre and so shockingly intimate and ballsy? Perhaps I should begin by mentioning that this is neither your garden variety carnival, nor a standard display of performance art, but something somewhere in between, not as grotesque as a three-ring freakshow but certainly more intense than a night at the ballet. Maybe I should warn any prospective ‘carnies’ about the flagrant and frequent displays of genitalia by members of both sexes or the sheer proximity of said privates, but I should definitely mention the chorizo sausage rolls and absinthe cocktails delightfully served by ghostly carnival characters at the bar, which make the whole thing that much easier to absorb (especially the absinthe).

Probably the only way to approach a dissemination of this show is to detail each ‘sideshow’ that I saw having outlaid various amounts of ‘carnie dollars’ to enter each ‘tent’ from the wad of $30,000 that I was handed as part of the price of admission. First up, we sat spellbound in the chintz decked Library Tent as a crookedly smiling lady delivered a tale of revenge and lust while the shrieks and laughter of our fellow carnival-goers echoed around us, no doubt from the confines of other weird and wonderful wig-wams. We would return to the Library to goggle at a delightedly naked lady talking unabashedly about her ‘lady parts’, but not before we’d paid $5000 to watch the Garcon bare both his body and his soul in the focal main tent. For a mere $1000 we ‘shared an intimate moment’ with a young lady who stood just inches away and looked yearningly into our eyes as she wiped away tears of passion.

We stumbled giddily from one tent to the next, drunken with intrigue (and admittedly, Kir Royale) and marvelling at the brilliantly designed facades that penned us in tightly with bright colours and ghastly, glaring portraits. Carnie dollars are the world’s strongest currency and there is much fun to be had with your 30k, especially given that you can unwittingly stumble into a free display of, say, a spectral lady dramatically pounding at a grand piano, or a curvaceous military lady stripping out of one khaki uniform to, well, another khaki uniform whilst twirling candy floss casually in her hand. ‘If you leave here with any money, we have failed you’ declares the top-hatted master of ceremonies as we make our way into the arena and certainly the performers do their best to entice you into their individual shows. Cajoled by 2 ballerinas in cat suits, we are bustled into a minute theatre to watch the 2 feline ladies work sensually through a hypnotic dance routine that culminates in a claws-out catfight before we are again hustled back out into the carnival melee.

At 2 hours of allowed time in the carnival there is nowhere near enough opportunity to see every sideshow, not least because at any moment you may be stopped in your tracks and bundled hastily to the communal bar area to see a ‘free’ performance of dance or song. Ending with a full-cast singing and dancing medley, the lights go up and we are shepherded back out into the cool, fresh air of a Melbourne midnight with a smorgasbord of warped images and sounds reverberating around our skulls. Lost in the reverie of befuddled amusement, 24 hours later it’s still difficult to properly articulate the profound joys that await any intrepid carnival-goers, but suffice it to say, I must have read Catch 22 a good ten times, and I already have my next Carnival of Mysteries ticket sitting safely in my pocket.


Finucane & Smith’s
CARNIVAL OF MYSTERIES

Venue: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane
Season: Fri 8 Oct at 6pm & 8pm
Sat 9, Fri 15, Sat 16, Fri 22, Sat 23 Oct, Fri 29 & Sat 30 at 6pm, 8pm & 10pm
Sun 10, 17 & 24 Oct at 4pm, 6pm & 8pm
Tue 12 – Thu 14, Tue 19 – Thu 21 & Tue 26 – Thu 28 Oct at 7pm & 9pm
Season runs until Sat 30 Oct
Duration: Session open for 2 hours (last entry 45min after session starts)
Tickets: $26.50 - $15
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 723 038 | www.melbournefestival.com.au | fortyfivedownstairs 03 9662 9966 | www.fortyfivedownstairs.com