Transform Season – Smoke & Mirrors (Leeds)
With a Vaudeville compere akin to Gene Wilder in Willie Wonker and the Chocolate Factory the evening begins with the acerbic wit of Bourgeois and Maurice. Extremely irreverent, the singer-pianist double act proceed with sharp witty commentary on life in the UK today. Themes of Ritalin fuelled kids, pop-stars with bizarre dress sense and single mothers got the B&M treatment. The lyrics are full of suggestive references, gossip, stereotype and political satire that are amusingly close to the knuckle. A particular highlight is a song that describes the high taxes introduced by George Osborne’s fiscal tightening programme with a highly sexualised slant. The songs are catchy cheesy foul-mouthed pop interspersed with old skool hip-hop beats. The tongue in cheek banter between songs simmer with risqué retorts, and personal vendettas with audience members were exceeded by the changes of ever increasing outlandish costume. Bourgeois and Maurice are a great way to start the evening.
Horse by Company FZ enables the viewer to be overly familiar with all things equine. The one-woman show performed by Flick Ferdinando, a highly talented performer, is a joy. Seamlessly changing characters between those who look after the horse and the horse itself, the central thrust of the piece was to observe the world of the horse. From the outset simplicity was key. Reciting a horse manual brought about much hilarity as Ferdinando proceeded to become sexually aroused with each word uttered. Equestrian sports, auctions, the use of gym equipment (the horse of course) and the use of the horse’s saddle as a trapeze were all used in a sexually charged manner. Ferdinando is bold, graceful and fearless with great comedic timing. “This is horse porn!” comments an audience member in howls of laughter. It is. And it is good.
The Wau Wau Sisters from New York perform a shortened version of their show The Last Supper, a burlesque stripping bonanza that had been performed in the Courtyard Theatre the night before. The amoral born-again Country Western singing sisters are cheekily uncouth and at times incestuously mischievous. With foul-mouthed sexual wit and insinuation “of course we have a community outreach programme – we spread everything!” The Wau Wau Sisters are devastatingly funny.
Leeds-based band Hope and Social ends the evening with set that is inspired. A particular highlight was the entire band de-camping from stage to audience to sing an acoustic set. The West Yorkshire Playhouse came alive with voices from both audience and band alike. It was the perfect end to an incredible night.
