After dancing up a storm around the globe, The Town Bikes (Gabi Barton and Carla Yamine) bring their first full length show MILK to Melbourne Fringe.
The Evening began with a brief introduction by MC and Stage Hand “Brian from Aberdeen”(aka John-Paul Hussey). With a rather convincing Scottish accent, Brian spouted a few funny one liners before bringing out the girls for the first act.
“Lacteus Praesul” was a short dairy ballet that told the love story of a cake loving girl and a dairy farmer. In addition to the usual classical soundtrack, they worked in some contemporary music such as ELO. Adorned in a pink leotard and tutu, the girls were a delight to watch with their warped interpretation of classic ballet movements. It had a wonderful exaggerated element and a small degree of slapstick that provided plenty of laughs. The addition of incontinence, bloodshed and hypnosis elevated the absurdity of the piece.
At the conclusion of the first act, Brian went about setting up the stage for the guest performer’s spot enlisting the help of a couple of punters. He made a number of humorous comments in the process but despite his instruction to the audience to talk amongst themselves, they kept their attention on the stage waiting for something interesting to happen that never eventuated. Expecting the punters to keep themselves entertained between sets is the norm at a rock gig, but in a theatre setting it is considered poor etiquette. This clunky transition between scenes was my only disappointment.
While the girls got ready for the main event back stage, we were treated to a performance by an eccentric guest artiste. On opening night we witnessed “The Saddest Couple in the Universe” who executed a version of the classic magical act of skewering a cabinet containing a woman with swords. In this case, they used a washing machine that was pierced by “fence pailings” and it was just as impressive as similar executions by big budget magicians. Over the season, this slot will be visited by guests such as Nana Doris (aka Jacq Tamlyn), Shirley Billing, Tina del Twiste (aka Wes Snelling) and Santos San Sebastian (aka John-Paul Hussey).
After another set change with more witty comments and innuendo from Brian, the feature performance of the evening, “MILK”, commenced. It told the story of two milkmaids who after mourning the death of their cow go on an adventure that involved alien pursuits, fights and wacky chases. Apart from a brief and painful karaoke performance, the piece didn’t use any words instead relying on the dancing and exaggerated gestures to relay the tale.
The soundtrack consisted of a schizophrenic mix of music (some of it dairy themed), sound effects and sound bites from 50s B Movies and commercials. This constantly changing sound scape led to rapidly changing movements and dance segments that sometimes made it a little difficult to follow the plot. With so much going on you could easily forget about the story and just let it take you along on a wild roller coaster ride with equally rewarding results.
The Bikes put on a energetic performance that kept the crowd smiling and chuckling. Their wide eyed facial expressions played up the silliness with liberal doses of slapstick violence thrown in. A few minor set, costume and prop malfunctions didn’t detract from the show instead adding to the playful nature of it. It may possibly be sacrilegious to serious dance enthusiasts but for everyone else it is highly recommended.