★★★★★ | Briefs: The Second Coming
‘Cirque du Soleil’ meets ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’
The award-winning all male, all vaudeville, all trash brat-pack return to London with their cult variety hit, Briefs.
Briefs is a madcap safari through extravagant birdbath boylesque, too close for comfort yo-yo tricks, valiant aerial acrobatics, irreverent interludes, ferocious fanfare and show-stopping drag artistes. The line-up is disorderly, and the show is still circus-infused. Expect the unexpected in this array of satire and skills as the BRIEFS boys present London Wonderground with burlesque…with balls!
When I entered Wonderground on London’s Southbank I was amazed and instantly transported to a circus fairground. There was music, rides and a carousel alongside countless bars and food establishments. As I waited alongside my friend in a wooden dodgem car, I heard a bellowing lady exclaim that the show was about to start and that the audience should take their seats. I travelled into the Spiegeltent and was pleasantly surprised to see comfortable seating and a proper stage. I took a seat in the second row as I knew the front row would be in for a surprise. I was greeted by men in scantily clad suits. I sat down and the show began….
We are first introduced to Fez Faanana who is the compère for the show, a mix between Frank N. Furter and Jason Momoa, who is not your standard drag queen. Then we are introduced to Thomas Worrell who certainly knows his flexible way around a ring. A contortionist who’s incredibly cute to boot! We are then let loose in front of Adam Krandle, a most mischievous character who is very good at rendering the audience into hysterics over the most inanimate of objects. Then we see the delights of Dallas Dellaforce, a drag queen who is Queen of the Queens, taking on embodiments of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. Later, we see the drop dead gorgeous Louis Biggs who is only 20 years old and certainly knows how to play with his toys! Finally, we see the King of Burlesque, Mark Winmill who is the headline act and it is certainly where he belongs. He delivers a culmination of the previous acts with added extra surprises that will leave the audience thirsty for more!
I have to say that it is one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. There is an effervescent mix of comedy, camp and cabaret. There are bearded drag queens, monkeys and more than enough eye candy; all blended together with an intoxicating mix of circus, spectacle and surprises.
Final words: 100%! 5 out of 5 stars! Everyone must go see this show whether it’s for the circus, cabaret or camp elements or even to ogle at the hot half naked men. It is a show that I’m sure that will go down well for straight and gay audiences alike!
Briefs: The Second Coming is on at the London Wonderground from Thursday 28th August – Sunday 28th September. Performance starts at 7:30 pm with a running time of around 75 minutes. Tickets prices range from £14 – £20.50 and are available here: http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/briefs-the-second-coming-82977
Follow the show on Twitter: @briefsfactory and #briefsboys and the boys on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/briefsallmalecircuscabaret or their website: http://briefsfactory.com/
