Raunchy and Rule-breaking performance opens in Sydney

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Summer has officially arrived and what better way to celebrate than taking off a few layers. Australian dance-and-drag outfit 'club briefs' does plenty of that in its new show 'the works'. The performance has just opened at the famous Spiegel tent and runs until mid-December in Sydney.

Transcript

00:00A trip to the circus meets after-dark debauchery.

00:14This summer, a daring drag show from Briefs Factory is bringing some sparkle to the famous

00:20Spiegel tent.

00:22The Spiegel tent is all about intimacy.

00:24There is nothing to hide here.

00:25You are in the round and there are mirrors everywhere.

00:28There is no hiding, which is what I love about performing in the Spiegel tent, because you

00:32have to bring your A-game.

00:33We're used to seeing the bohemian Belgian pop-ups out in the elements on the festival

00:38circuit.

00:39But for the next few months, the Spiegel tent is taking up residence indoors at Carriageworks.

00:45Even though we've told a lot of people the Spiegel tent is here, they sort of don't get

00:50it until they arrive.

00:51And so there's just this absolute surprise when they walk through.

00:55It's a guaranteed escape from the floods and the heat waves of recent summers.

00:59We don't have the wind.

01:01We don't have sirens going by.

01:04We've got power.

01:05And it's just a more controlled environment.

01:13Fez Fanana, also known by stage name Shyvana, co-founded the Briefs Factory in 2008.

01:19The group's been gathering steam ever since, and it's been performing in the Spiegel tent

01:24for more than a decade.

01:27The unique brand of burlesque and acrobatics and drag is equal parts impressive, suggestive

01:34and hilarious.

01:35Artists, generally in society, sit on the fringe and we have the power of being the

01:40jester of commenting, holding up a mirror to society and challenging notions.

01:46In a cost-of-living crunch, when it's easy to feel overwhelmed and burnt out, Fez says

01:52A night of raunch and rule-breaking could provide a welcome reprieve.

01:56You know, we've come through a really weird time, but artists have the role of reminding

02:00people about how stunning and resilient and how important it is for us to interact with

02:04one another.

02:05As you may have suspected, Club Briefs is an adults-only show, so a call to the babysitter

02:11might be in order.

02:12If you're after some more family-friendly fun, the Courage Work Summer Program has plenty

02:17of that too.

02:22In the day, the budding acrobats of the Flying Fruit Fly Circus are taking over the tent,

02:27wowing crowds of all ages.

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Transcript

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