The Wau Wau Sisters – Perth Fringe World

These showgirls are so charming, funny, strong and talented that you want to forgive them for their flaws. In last night’s performance of Death Threats (and other forms of flattery) there were a few.

I didn’t see their show at last year’s Fringe Festival (2013) but reports are that it was less than jaw-dropping. The luke-warm reaction from audiences could stem from the fact that in 2012 the Wau Wau Sisters set a precedent of mind-blowing brilliance with their show Naked as the day they were born. The format was the same, and last night T&A even re-hashed a couple of songs, lines and tricks from that incredible show, but there was less ‘wow’ factor.

Despite their best intentions, there were a few moments in the show that fell flat. The first was right after the opening dance number when they told the story about the origin of this particular show. While this allowed the girls to share their humour and personalities, the dialogue went on for quite a bit longer than it needed to, to establish audience connection and a back story.

The next ‘dull’ moment was the song “Missionary man”, which was clearly a commentary about the Christian extremist who was out to kill them but lacked a “Wau Wau” spin. I feel like audiences have come to expect hilarious filth, spectacle and a laugh-a-minute, but this section also failed to deliver.

However, as expected, they pulled a couple of burly, bearded blokes out of the audience and dressed them up in skirts and wigs. The girls couldn’t have left the stage in safer hands, because these two volunteers hammed it up, lip synching and dancing to Whitney Houston’s “I will always love you”. When T&A returned dressed as police detectives, they hit the deck and lifted these two gentlemen (at least twice the size of themselves) into the air on their feet in an astounding display of strength.

The Wau Wau Sisters are certainly worth seeing and I would particularly recommend the show to anyone who has not seen them before.