F IS FOR…

One ‘f’ word comes to mind after watching Strut & Fret’s new Brisbane Festival show.

Fun House is a theatrical circus production that lives up to its name by delighting audiences from the moment the show begins. Erring on the edge of a little bit naughty, Strut & Fret have integrated many of their signature elements with which return audiences are familiar.

A Brisbane Festival regular, the production company were commissioned to produce Fun House specifically for this year’s festival. Some familiar faces and favourites from Blanc de Blanc feature in Fun House, which opens with the exceptionally talented and hilarious Spencer Novich as a scantily clad rainbow unicorn. And from the moment the rainbow unicorn appears, it’s high energy entertainment until the end.

Although the show has an unusual amount of ‘filler’ entertainment, the acts have been compiled to create a sense of variety and, of course, fun. The acts — including umbrella juggling, aerial, dances, singing, and clowning — are so breathtakingly engaging, one can’t help but want to see more from the individual artists.

Full of colour, skilled performances, and fun, the only missing ingredient was the connection between the blow up sets and the show itself. This was highlighted further when an entire ‘filler’ number was devoted to introducing three extra inflatable carnival slides, to which one might assume the audience would be invited to play, or perhaps the cast would use them as props. However, they appeared near the end without rationale, which caused a bit of confusion in the bleachers. But perhaps confusion is part of the fun?

Kudos to each and every cast member for their commitment to their art form. Oh, and that ‘f’ word mentioned earlier? It’s fun, of course! And so much of it is to be had in the Fun House.

The Brisbane Festival runs from September 9—30, 2017.