Briefs roll into Perth with a double dose of Fringe World fun
Global sensations Briefs are back at Fringe World this summer, bringing their nationwide Backtrack Tour to The Aurora Spiegeltent at The Pleasure Garden for four massive weeks of performances. Their season kicks off with the world premiere of Knickers, an all-female production that flips the script on traditional cabaret and showcases some of the world’s most powerful performers from Friday, January 17, until Sunday, January 19. After the three-night-only season of Knickers, Briefs Factory will unleash Jealousss, a high-octane mix of circus, drag, and the “fiercest burlesque acts imaginable” from Wednesday, January 22 until Sunday, February 16. BRAYDEN EDWARDS caught up with Briefs co-founder and ‘King of Burlesque’, Mark Winmill to find out about the highly anticipated debut of Knickers, touring Australia in a bus, and celebrating the wonders of the human body.
It’s great to have the Briefs troupe back in Perth for Fringe World this summer! What has changed since the last time you graced our stages?
We cannot wait to get back to Fringe World for our summer pilgrimage, which has been over a decade. We are bringing our brand new show, Jealousss, and we’re ecstatic to be back in the Pleasure Garden and in the Aurora Spiegeltent!
You’ll be premiering the new show Knickers at Fringe 2025. What can we look forward to at this new show?
The world debut of Knickers will kick off the first weekend of Fringe World 2025. Our all-female production has been years in the pipeline, and we have handpicked a cast from around the globe. In true Club Briefs style, circus, burlesque, dance, comedy, and showgirl mayhem will reign supreme!
I hear you have been travelling the country in a bus and will be taking shows all around regional Australia in 2025. What have been some highlights of hitting the road?
We have been touring extensively this year, from Tazzy to Toowoomba via Montreal, and we had a residency on a boat on the Brissy river. But… we bought a bus! So 2025 will be filled with regional touring to bring our shows, workshops, community engagement, and pure inclusiveness to remote towns and communities. Not quite the Priscilla bus, but you won’t miss it!
In addition to being a lot of fun, there is an important message of acceptance and inclusion for all types of people in your shows. How does performance encourage people to be confident in their own skin?
Our shows are a lot of fun and are a celebration of how extraordinary the human body is! Circus is infamous, historically, for celebrating diverse humans and being inclusive, and this is a part of our company ethos and community, which is also a homage to our arts history of circus, drag and burlesque.
Briefs: Knickers is showing at The Aurora Spiegeltent at The Pleasure Garden from Friday, January 17 until Sunday, January 19, 2025. Tickets are on sale now fringeworld.com.au Briefs: Jealousss is showing at The Aurora Spiegeltent at The Pleasure Garden fromWednesday, January 22 until Sunday, February 16, 20205. Tickets are on sale now from fringeworld.com.au