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Review: Insane Animals
Review: Insane Animals
Published in The Mancunion, 11th March 2020
Insane Animals proved to be every bit as fun and colourful as I had expected it to be after attending the press event a couple of weeks ago. The glitter curtains that director Phillip McMahon had shown us backstage were drawn in all their glory before the start of the show and provided a colourful backdrop to most of the first act.
What I was not expecting was just how witty cabaret duo Bourgeois and Maurice would be: cleverly interacting with the audience when we least expected it. With complete stage presence, moving with effortless elegance in their bright, futuristic costumes, they kept the audience totally engaged and in fits of laughter throughout with their quick, sharp and witty humour.
By using the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh, the two touched on many important problems in our modern society: from what forms of power are legitimate, living in the moment versus achieving immortality in a digital age, and the appropriate punishment for someone who has done evil deeds.
Lockie Chapman, who played the infamous authoritarian, King Gilgamesh, perfectly encapsulated the various stages his character goes through: from evil dictator to being rendered vulnerable in his love for newcomer ‘wild’ man Enkidu. The song ‘Gay for You’ was both hilarious and heart-warming as we saw the seemingly cold-hearted king soften as he falls in love with Enkidu.
The second act (spoiler) transported us from the ancient kingdom of Uruk to the present day. For me, this act truly brought Bourgeois and Maurice’s creative genius to the forefront with their cleverly written lyrics in ‘Welcome to Today’. They somehow managed to actually sum up what has happened in the last forty centuries, “from bitcoin to penicillin”, and to concisely explain the problems that the digital age has brought to the world we live in: “private lives are the property of a few corporations”.
The song ‘Meat Machine’ dealt with immortality in the cyber space, which really showed the ridiculousness of the social media influencer phenomenon, and how concerned people are today with their online presence.
Emer Dineen’s performance was particularly impressive as she transforms herself from the sexual seductress of the first act to a shallow millennial who is obsessed with the idea of placing human consciousness into the digital stratosphere.
This musical successfully managed, as Lockie told us a couple of weeks ago, to “take this old story and pummel it into the 21st century”. Insane Animals was undoubtably a fun and wild spectacle, but was also expertly balanced with an underlying commentary on the constant flux of the modern world we live in today.
Insane Animals runs at HOME Theatre until the 14th of March.
Bourgeois and Maurice’s Insane Animals – Press Event
Bourgeois and Maurice’s Insane Animals – Press Event
Published in The Mancunion, 24th February 2020
This week, London cabaret duo Bourgeois and Maurice are bringing their first ever musical, Insane Animals, to the stage at Manchester’s HOME theatre. The show is also the first musical commissioned by HOME.
As I discovered first-hand at the press event last week, it’s set to be a wild ride. Director Phillip McMahon said going to see the show will be “the glitziest, most exciting night out”. We got an exciting preview when he kindly sneaked us backstage to show us what they have in store: think glitter curtains, reflective floor panels, futuristic props and the brightest costumes you can possibly imagine.
Written and composed by Bourgeois and Maurice themselves (whose real names are Liv Morris and George Heyworth), the musical’s plot is based on the age-old Epic of Gilgamesh but, as McMahon clarified, it is not the most faithful retelling of the story.
In terms of what to expect, McMahon told us this musical “takes the DIYishness of a drag show and paints it onto the wide stage”.
The cast have been rehearsing for a month now, and the strong bond and friendly relationship between them all was a pleasure to see. When telling us of the amazing chemistry between them, McMahon said that “the planets have aligned on this show”. This didn’t seem surprising to me when I spoke to the other members of the cast, who were all so kind, enthusiastic and passionate about the show, you couldn’t help but want to be a part of it yourself – even if that means just as an audience-member.
When I asked Bourgeois and Maurice what readers of The Mancunion could expect from the show, George instantly replied that it’s “loud and bright and flashy, it’s really queer” and “a very Instagramable show”. But because of the underlying story – the Epic of Gilgamesh – he specifies that it raises an important message to today’s audience, one that young viewers and students will certainly relate to: “the serious question of mortality and how we grapple with that”.
Liv added to expect “lots of songs and silly rhymes” but that “it has a serious heart to it”, which we got a glimpse of when they performed three songs for us upon our arrival in the rehearsal room. The lyrics were extremely clever: when welcoming Gilgamesh to today, the social commentary was evident with the rhyme that we are in the “age of the individual, of the digital”, as well as the innumerable parallels with Trump and what legitimates authority.
In using the deities from this ancient text, the musical is able to question what the power of humanity is and whether we are the gods now, which Liv rightly says younger viewers will be able to relate to.
The third and final song we were shown was a moment of quiet reflection for Gilgamesh, played by Lockie Chapman, former band-member of The Overtones. His brilliant acting of the character’s heartfelt emotion and incredible baritone vocals left us all in silent awe when the song finished.
Sitting and chatting to him was just as much of a pleasure as he welcomed us like we were old friends. With excitement, he told us how amazing the costumes are, with latex, glitter, satin and jewels to name a few. At this point, I expect nothing less since McMahon has already told us the costumes are designed by Julian Smith, one of the designers on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.
“It’s going to be bonkers,” Lockie says, whilst also explaining how the text of Gilgamesh is “revealing” but also “refreshing”, because it states that there are “male, female and non-binary gods”.
If it’s not evident enough already, a night out to see Insane Animals will without a doubt be an unforgettable night in every way possible. It’s definitely not one to miss. I for one cannot wait to see more of the incredible snippets I have already seen with one of the friendliest casts I have ever encountered.
Colour, chaos and charisma are the words that spring to mind with this show – and who doesn’t want all those things when out for an evening of entertainment?
Insane Animals runs at HOME Theatre from the 28th of February until the 14th of March.