The Burton Brothers ~ Adelaide Cabaret Festival ~ Review

[Cabaret] The Burton Brothers Banquet Room,  Adelaide Festival Centre Thurs 12 June 2025 The Burton Brothers bring a fabulously fresh blend of comedy, music and mayhem together in their latest show set in 1925. These intrepid time travellers fling themselves fearlessly back one hundred years to bring us perspective on our current world affairs. It gives them the opportunity to jab deeply at these from a distance. But the sharply honed blades land almost too close for comfort, the brilliant banter sounds terribly topical. This is not simply a pastiche of the past but a superbly crafted comic delight. Snatches and snippets of songs from the era sung in sweet harmony are woven into the snappy dialogue. A delicious dose of absurdity drives the various strands of stories, that develop in rapidly shape-shifting scenes. They manage to maintain a knife-edge feeling of improvisation, obviously sharing their enjoyment at creating so much silliness for some very serious reasons. The audience participation segments are as much fun as all their many comedic characters, keeping the belly laughs going. Both brothers also exhibit a wealth of talent in flexible physicality, their rubbery acrobatics adding a whole new dimension to their razor- sharp wit. Famous actors from movie classics meet in hilarious rivalry, begging the question they ask continuously throughout the performance, has anything really changed? The message is as clear as the polished mirror they hold up to us, so we could take a rear view, if we only have the time. But the furious pace of this show mirrors our own over-stuffed, frantic lives. And their tongue-in-cheek tone beguiles us into believing the next hundred years will be different from the last – or not! The laughter bubbles along like being near a live volcano; the ominous rumblings coming from the clever script reminding us of the power of cabaret. It never shies away from the truth, even when wrapped up and delivered in such excellent antics. If you love the sound and the feel of laughter as much as I do, you’ll make sure you catch the Burton Brothers the next time they hit town. However, you may be lucky enough to score a ticket for this Sunday eve, when one of the Burton Brothers offers us his solo show. 5 Stars David Cronin This was The Burton Brothers' only performance at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. #TheClothesline