[2014028] Boris & Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure
Flabbergast Theatre @ Gluttony – The Bally
10:15pm, Tue 18 Feb 2014
When hoofing through the Fringe Guide during my Planning Frenzy, I came across the précis for Boris & Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure and, after reading the “profanely hilarious” quote, added it to The Shortlist and moved straight on. A late timeslot meant that the show got slotted in early, and so I wound up sitting in The Bally on a Tuesday evening wondering what this cabaret-listed show had in store.
Of course, I’d completely missed the bit about Boris and Sergey being puppets.
So that was a bit of a surprise.
Boris and Sergey are two-foot-tall leather puppets with gangly limbs and over-large heads; the three clearly visible puppeteers that control each character (one of whom provides a heavy Eastern-European accent) overcome the faceless nature of the characters and somehow manage to make them amazingly expressive.
And rude, let’s not forget rude. Because these puppets have filthy mouths.
Whilst they open proceedings with crude abusive banter between the “Balkan bad-boys”, their profanity only really escalates throughout the performance – culminating in a phenomenally funny face-fucking incident, where an audience member is assaulted by Sergey (and his handlers). There’s a bit more audience interaction during a hilarious poker game (during which one of the two punters from the crowd fell off their foldable camping stool), but Boris and Sergey are largely driving the show with their own conversations.
There’s discussion of their origins, and an utterly bonkers interpretation of Wuthering Heights by Boris (complete with white dress); the chase sequence towards the end of the performance was a wonderful example of how effectively imagination can fill in the blanks: I was with the puppets on every inch of their car / motorcycle / parachuting escapade. And there were some brilliant sparks of humour when the puppets start referring to their handlers: “move my fucking leg!” bellowed Boris to his mute puppeteer.
It’s only as I write this that I realise what a truly wonderful achievement Boris & Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure was; whilst I was aware – and appreciative – of the puppeteers’ efforts at the time, I’m honestly staggered at how convincing their work was: for pretty much the entire show, I was focussed on the featureless forms of Boris & Sergey’s heads, as if I was lip-reading their Balkan obscenities. That the characters were so utterly convincing was one thing; that they were so damn funny is another. Those two elements combined to make this show an absolute gem.
(28) Boris & Sergey’s Vaudevillian Adventure: Utterly fantastic mature puppet hijinks. Amazing personalities. #ff2014 #ADLfringe
— Pete Muller (@festivalfreakAU) February 19, 2014