REVIEW - BRIEFS: BITE CLUB - SOUTH BANK CENTRE -

Bite Club is the newest show brought to us by the multitalented folks from Briefs Factory.

Briefs Factory are an Australian creative collective, within their shows they incorporate drag, burlesque, circus, dance and comedy. Their last UK outing was 3 years ago, and now their back with a bang – and with Queensland singer Sahara Beck in tow this time around.

Shivannah is the compère of the evening and did a great job of leading the audience through the show and leaving us in stitches. To begin the show, we were treated to a group number where we got a glimpse of the gorgeous cast and got to the hear the phenomenal Sahara Beck sing for the first time. The first individual act was Dylan Rodriguez and their aerial acrobatics thoroughly amazed and left the audience desperate to see what else was in store.

Another fantastic performance comes from Captain Kidd and their take on the classic champagne glass bath burlesque act. Incorporating incredible acrobatics on a swing with not a single landing mat in site had the audience enthralled.

While Sahara’s voice was immensely powerful and really quite beautiful, I wasn’t completely convinced her style matched that of the rest of the cast. Her deeply emotional performance often seemed at odds with the more humorous style of the others.

I also felt slightly disappointed by the choice of venue. The Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre, did not feel like the correct space for this kind of show. While it is fantastic to see Briefs pack out such a big space, the intimacy that one expects from a cabaret show was missing completely and the efforts of the cast to recreate the atmosphere of a club style setting fell flat.

Briefs: Bite Club moves to the Edinburgh Fringe next month and will be at the Underbelly Circus Hub. They are definitely worth checking out if you find yourself at the Fringe.

{🎟 AD – PR invite – Tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest review}

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