La Clique, c’est chic, les freaks!

I went and saw the second last ‘La Clique’ show for the Melbourne run of the Spiegeltent last night…and to say that I was completely blown away by the show would be an understatement.

If you ever have the opportunity to see this people - do NOT miss it. It may be human circus, but it is such world of different from shows like ‘Cirque Du Soleil’ that they just cannot be compared! Since the Speigeltent is such a small environment, it automatically creates an intimate surrounds, at the centre of which is a tiny stage where each of the acts come on to perform their routines - you are so close that you can see every tremble, grimace and bead of sweat on the performers bodies, and in some cases feel like you could reach out and touch them.

Some of the best acts of the night? The acrobatic strongmen “The Englishmen” are two Melbourne boys who have not a single ounce of fat on their supertoned bodies - when they stripped off to their union jack undies I think the pulse of every female in the area doubled (I can certainly say that mine did!). And, of course, I have to mention the bathtub acrobatics of David O’Mer -

Has a topless guy decked out in tight, wet jeans and playing in a bathtub EVER been this sexy? I think not people, I really think not. The audible gasps, murmurs and wolf-whistles assured me that I was not the only frustrated female in the audience…nor was I the only female who’d be going home to bed tonight with rubber duckies on the mind -

Oh lordy, what I wouldn’t give to be that rubber ducky sitting on that amazing stomach.

Yulia, a blonde Russian pixie made hula hoops look amazingly sensual and her ‘come hither’ smiles and winks won many male (and probably female) hearts in the audience, as did the somewhat scornful glances and heart-stopping trapeze manipulations of the corseted Miss Flee. Last but not least, the show’s resident comedian and contortionist, Captain Frodo.

He is no average contortionist, and certainly not the kind that you have ever seen before. He kept me gasping in horror throughout his many performances throughout the night, but even though I had my hands over my face, I couldn’t help but keep watching from between my fingers - horrified and impressed at the same time. It’s not every day that you can see a man swing his arm around like the blades of a helicopter, nor see him perched on a wobbly tower of metal buckets as he then pleads for you to follow your dreams to do what you want in life - like himself. The unexpected comedian, he took the opportunity whilst stuck in two tennis racquets, one arm flopping about like a rubber chicken, to declare that he wanted to talk to us about Jesus (”So, this guy Jesus…he was born on Christmas…and then he died on Easter. What are the chances of that??”)
However, not all the acts had me dazzled and amazed. The rope-man Mozes’ act was impressive, but I felt that the “blood” spitting during his act was a bit excessive, as was the music which very quickly started to bring on a not very pleasant headache. And whilst the sultry songstress, Ali McGregor, blew those of us in the audience with most of her numbers, her rendition of Radiohead’s “Creep” left me absolutely cold and unimpressed. There was another act featuring someone toted as an ‘international showstopper’ called MiaoMiao - but to be honest, about 3 minutes into her routine I was wishing it would end or I would be put out of my misery as the act seemed pointless other than to push participants from the audience out of their comfort zones and make them embarrassed and laugh.

The last act that quickly had me looking for a soft surface to have a nap was Christopher Green’s impersonation of Queen Elizabeth II - it was funny at first, and he handled hecklers quite well (two seperate individuals thought it grand to yell out “Show us yer tits” and “Show us yer cock” at the beginning of his show, and whilst maintaining his regal composure, he responded with “thank you, but if I wanted to hear an arsehole, I would’ve farted”). However, the extended soliloquy was much too long for the show, and the whilst the other vocal impressions (e.g. John Howard) were quite astonishing, they didn’t do much to alleviate my boredom.

Despite these latter acts that had me wishing they were over, this is definetely a show that I’d see again - and recommend to all those who are looking for a show to take their breath away.

Ahh hell, let’s be honest here folks - if I had the money, I’d follow this show around the globe, just to see David O’Mer doing his bathtub thing and hoping that he’d splash some of his bathwater on me!