Thursday evening, the Umbilical Brothers, a monozygotic duet from Sydney, Australia, shared the stage in Speedmouse - a whirlwind of stimulation, caricatured humor, and whimsical nonsense. David Collins (the one with curly hair) and Shane Dundas (the one without curly hair) addressed the audience like we were old friends, taking free liberty to express their ultimate purpose, admission of intimidation, and lack of "transitions" (more on that later). As writers, directors and performers, the Brothers immediately honed in on making us aware of their silly flaws, only to reiterate their non-flawed transitional nature in every skit they created. The Umbilical Brothers stand true to their organic physical title - Dundas squirms his mouth to make the most questionable animated sounds. Clicking, clacking, grunting or yelping with his inner cheeks and teeth, Collins is the yin to Dundas' yang, the movement to his noise. Limber and poised, Collins' free-strength abandon is met with outstanding balance, focus and a smile comparable to Heath Ledger.
The Umbilical Brothers place themselves in their own world - controlled by a remote, which happens to be in the hand of their Roadie. Roadie, a physically sarcastic stagehand, is hidden underneath a felt mask and an over sized pink and yellow polka dot clown costume throughout the entire production. Roadie's hand grasps the average contraption with all the amenities a normal remote possesses; however, the remote's not so remote purpose is to demonstrate choreographic composition through labels [on/off, stop, play, pause, mute, rewind, porn] onto Dave and Shane. Thus, the Brothers stutter when there's a 'ga ga glitch', turn their skulls like molasses when slow motion becomes activated, and squawk in gibberish when being fast-forwarded.
As Speedmouse switches channels on our literal television experience, Collins and Dundas mutate into velociraptors, javelin experts, ping pong champions, German commentators, Arnold Schwarzenegger posers ('get out'), babysitters, and puppeteers. Their skits are acts Willy Wonka would approve of. Immersed in the accuracy of their target in media or society, Dundas and Collins take their humor seriously. Their bodies are able to mold and bend like clay, taking on any shape they aim to mimic. As dinosaurs, the Brothers could have been in Jurassic Park - arching their backs and squishing their necks backwards while making growling noises that could have startled a scientist. On a different [foreign] channel, Collins claps and wobbles through a series of Yoga poses that Dundas dictates in an hypnosis-like German documentary accent. Collins' poise and ability to transfigure his body from standing to crouching is something to be admired. Can the two Aussie's be categorized as modern dance? Most likely not, but their ability to refrain from categorization within comedic performance art speaks for itself.
It's important to note that though the Umbilical Brothers emphasized their trouble with transitions, it's hard for me to remember them actually doing it. Steady and sure of their consistent timing (choreographically, audibly, and comedically), Dundas and Shane probably paid the most attention to their transitions, as they hardly stayed in one place too long. The transitions actually enabled a fast-paced flip book whatjusthappenedicantevenrememberwhatiwitnessed tasting, with a side of giggles.
The Umibilical Brothers are performing at the Joyce until July 11.
Check out the duo's hilarious encore below
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