Brisbane’s Brief’s Factory returns to Melbourne with its new variety all-sorts show, Bite Club: 2nd Serve. The company’s debut, Briefs: Close Encounters, had two sold-out seasons here in 2019 and it has developed a cult following for its silly and decadent flavours of fun. Think near-naked bodies festooned with multicoloured feathers, bling, wigs, killer stilettos and an arch sensibility.
For those yet to encounter them, this merry mix of cabaret ‘carnie’ folk and circus performers are a self-described “creative collective who manufacture, cultivate and present evocative, irreverent, physical performance”.
They usually play among themselves, but in this latest iteration, they’ve invited songstress Sahara Beck and a live band to join their games, and the collaboration is an inspired one.
Beck’s diminutive stature belies her big voice, which is rich and honeyed and powerful. This singer – who has multiple costume changes throughout the show as befits her diva presence – is the glorious sun around which the motley crew of fabulous drag queens and circus athletes radiate like a revolve of colourful planets. They defer to her brilliance, like a support act.
No shade to the Brief fellas, but Beck’s wattage is so bright that she does sometimes leave them in the shadows, particularly when the songs delivered are all original compositions and backed up by fabulous musicians.
As in any Brief production, expect dancing and prancing, primping and posing, striptease and burlesque coquetry, with the most successful acts involving Beck spotlit on one side of the stage, singing full throatedly, as one of the boys performs various circus acts alongside her, whether acrobatics, dangling and swooping on mid-air contraptions, juggling or manipulating a Roue Cyr.
Bite Club: 2nd Serve is sexy and sassy and, to the delight of the opening night crowd, there was even (briefly) full frontal nudity from one of the lads. We were warned, after all: “The more noise you make, the more clothes will be taken off!” was the early promise.
Despite all this extravagance, this is an uneven show, with bits that do not work so well. The strange section that involves inviting one of the raffle winners on stage and the low-rent costumes and props here from the Brief boys (compared to their usual finery) as they serenade her, seems overly long and ill-conceived, with the energy in this part of the night taking a dive.
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Nonetheless, on the whole, this is an entertaining night of both impromptu and choreographed capers. Beck is certainly someone to watch out for; she deserves a concert all of her own.
Bite Club: 2nd Serve
Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne
Director/Co-Founder: Fez Faanana
Co-Founder/Key Creative: Mark ‘Captain Kidd’ Winmill
Rehearsal Director/Ensemble: Thom Worrell
Cast: Fez Faanana, Mark ‘Captaiin Kidd’ Winmill, Sahara Beck, Thom Worrell, Luke Hubbard (Nastia), Dylan Rodriguez (Serenity), Brett Rosengreen, Rowan Thomas, Dale Woodbridge-Brown
Tickets: $40-$79
Bite Club: 2nd Serve is performed at Arts Centre Melbourne until 29 September 2024.
