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Reviews

5 March, 2020

Give yourself over to the mayhem and go see it

As we shuffle into the Visy Theatre at Brisbane’s Powerhouse, Thin Lizzy’s ‘The Boys are Back in Town’ is turned up to 11.

A fitting prelude to 60 minutes of high-energy hilarity presented by The Travelling Sisters and their unique show ‘Thy Thus ‘Twas’.

If you think the name is a little on the weird and wacky side, wait ‘til you see the cast of three jump, gyrate, berate, sing, dance, “act”, break up, make up and ultimately triumph at that shrine to all things Strine, the local RSL.

The Travelling Sisters are three, young, flexible and ridiculously talented women not afraid to embrace their inner bogan and present young, suburban Australian manhood in all its glory, all while wearing mullet wigs and one very skew-whiff fake moustache.

Except these suburban boys are different, sure they love their mums, a cold glass of choccy milk and skylarking, but they see themselves as true blue thespians wanting to take their audience on a “journey” using little more than theatre whites and a gold tarp.

Darryl is the mad capped ringleader.

He is the visionary and the ADHD-fuelled Berrick and slightly thick and serious Vinnie, his devotees.

The boys’ mums make an excellent counterbalance, Darryl’s mum is a siren straight out of The Box, while Berrick’s Zen mum is anything but—she’s wound tighter than a lululemon yoga mat.

Vinnie’s mum is a burnt chop beauty, recognisable in every footy club from Collingwood to Cairns.

The Sisters play the boys and their mums, requiring lightning-fast costume and attitude changes.

A few minor slips just add to the zaniness.

As the Sisters put it: “This show is niche”.

And it is, but it’s also incredibly funny, original and full of pathos.