As we file into a darkened room, in which white cloths cover furniture beside a huge mound of used tissues, a towering figure – weeping and dressed in widow’s weeds and killer heels – greets us like mourners. This is all about death, but, Lord, it’s going to be fun.
In this exhilarating show combining dance, circus, comical physical theatre and drag, Australian duo Double Take (Olivia Porter and Jarred Dewey, with some assistance) use every macabre trick at their disposal to enthral the audience. Dewey – the widow – eases us in by stripping down to a black negligee, revealing a black bob and Freddie Mercury moustache, and use a noose to launch himself up onto a trapeze. It’s shocking. His convulsive, dangerous-looking acrobatics are accompanied by shrieks of unbridled grief, and the show just gets darker from there.
One particularly thrilling section involves Porter and Dewey assuming the form of demonic twin dollies with blond wigs. Their diabolical interactions become increasingly violent and it really looks as if they’re actually hurting each other. It’s thrillingly disturbing, and their commitment is total.
Another fantastically creative scene involves dolls’ heads, and what these guys can do with simple sheet with eye-holes cut out of them is nothing short of inspiring.
Even if circus skills don’t quite float your boat you’ll be astonished by what Porter can do with a handful of balls.
You’d be wise to check out the content warnings for this show (it’s absolutely not for the faint-hearted). There’s also a lot of strobing, which contributes to the grotesque atmosphere they’ve so cleverly created.
Ashley Davies
Party Ghost
14.55
Assembly Checkpoint
Until 27 Aug (not 14, 21)
