El Bizarro @ The Gold Digger
Wednesday, February 7, 2019
Eagerly anticipated by fans each year, El Bizarro is worth the wait and once again proves utterly unmissable for fans of the weird, the freakish and the outright extraordinary. It takes a certain kind of person to step within the curious world of Danger Cabaret’s El Bizarro, but if you have the mettle, it will astound and horrify in equal measure. It is sexy, smart, challenging and beyond brilliant. And this year’s international line up of wonders brings all the best, so come and worship at the altar of El Bizarro.
Fresh out of Sweden, Fringe’s favourite son David Erikkson is back after his award-winning one man show Pink On the Inside, with his signature sass and a refreshingly feminist outlook on life. The sexiest clown alive, he will make you rethink your lame ass ideas about Thai ping pong tricks while he growls niceties at your face. He is rock and roll circus maximus. His showmanship is like no pretty showgirl before him, and he will absolutely rock your world, guaranteed. A La Soiree alumni but worthy of his own plaudits, Erikkson is circus royalty, an impresario of clowning, and worth the ticket price alone.
Damien Kenny has arrived not so fresh from Canada – he arrives back in Perth covered in the blood of his suffering, ready to share it, and is here to haunt your nightmares and fuel your fantasies. Undoubtedly one of the most incredible parts of El Bizarro is watching the audience reactions once you’ve been Bizarro-ed a few times, but Kenny is a stunningly disgusting star in this respect. He is the good, the bad, and brings out the green in some faces. Pallour be damned, just be prepared for blood aplenty, steel through flesh and some overwhelming gravitas while he brings you a performance about drug abuse, loss and heartache. Kenny is a devastating force of his own reckoning.
Jacqueline Furey, the “human heatwave”, is fresh from her phenomenal one woman show and ready to torch your expectations of burlesque. She is a breath of hot air in one sassy, sensual package. Watching her gyrating, peachy skin coated liberally in sequins while dripping hot wax over that luxurious package is completely mesmerising. She is the mistress of the flame, a sword swallowing glamour puss, but not one with which to be trifled. Enter at your own risk.
Finally, the eagerly awaited Circus Carnis grace us with their disgusting presence. Renowned for their showmanship, blood, gore and shocking feats, they live up to their rep. Every time you think you’ve seen it all from the beautiful married couple, they will step it up multiple notches and wow with the unexpected. The audience was clearly waiting for this moment, baying for their blood, and the Reverend Butcher and his Princess of Pain delivered wholeheartedly once more.
The challenge is laid before you. The gauntlet, thrown down heartily. If you want maximum Fringe and like to challenge yourself to seek out the weird, bite the bullet, roll those dice, then just El Bizarro the hell out of your last week of FRINGE WORLD 2019. They’re happy to receive hate mail when you vomit or faint – they pride themselves on both. But don’t say you weren’t warned.
NATALIE GILES
