Adelaide Fringe 2014
Trash Test Dummies
Almost Exactly Circus
Genre: Circus
Venue: Gluttony (The Peacock)
Festival: Adelaide Fringe
Low Down
The dummies are as full of laughs as their bins are full of surprises (no rubbish to be found here). A fun-loving trio of clowny binmen, the Trash Test Dummies present an all ages good time encompassing balancing acts, delightful mime, and feats of strength.
Review
Rolling out the juggling bats, the hat tricks, and the wheelie bins, the Trash Test Dummies are a loveable trio of (mostly) silent slapstick artists who don their binman costumes and protective hard hats before unleashing a torrent of tricks. The comedy comes hard and fast, but it’s all accessible to anyone from the very young to the aged wise. Not every trick is polished to perfection but we’re willing to forgive these three guys who are masters at getting us on side.
Acting as the lovable scamps, Jamie Bretman and Jack Coleman are the straighemen to Simon Wright’s comic buffoon. Round and round they go, modern day stooges pulling cartoon pranks, climbing in and out of (and sometimes on top of) their wheelie bins, they are percussive, explosive, and ridiculous. It’s a very classic show in the sense that most of the tricks are standards we’ll all be familiar with, but the Dummies breathe new life into the old dogs with punchlines pinging and zipping across the massive stage with delightful energy.
The show could benefit from a bit of stronger tech – sound in particular felt wanting. The tricks and gags are all very cartoonish and a comedy punch or slap that would be hilarious with a bit of slide whistle or a comic boom can fall flat when the reality is smaller than the exaggeration the joke needs. Still, the guys are masters at working their crowd and, most of the time, we don’t notice these moments. This is a silly, bit of circus; a guilt-free good time to be enjoyed by all.
