[THEATRE REVIEW] Dumtectives In Cirque Noir Review (2021)

Once you walk through the doors of The World Famous Spiegel Tent at Melbourne’s Arts Centre it feels like you have been taken back to the early 1900s  and are at Paris’ famous Moulin Rouge. As you take your seat you are waiting for the performers to take the stage and mesmerise you with amazing feats all while making you laugh – yes as a venue the Spiegel Tent is the perfect venue for brand new show Dumtectives In Cirque Noir.

The show is the brain-child of comedic circus troupe Dummies Corp who have been wowing audiences with shows such as Trash Test Dummies over recent years. But while their previous shows have been family friendly Dumtectives certainly isn’t.

With this show the talented Amy Nightingale-Olsen, Thomas McDonald and Leigh Rhodes step into the world of classic film noir detectives… the only problem is they are not very good the whole ‘being a detective’ thing. That doesn’t stop them stepping in to investigate the murder of an innocent man, who due to a weird chalk-outline drawing may or may not have two penises.

The show itself is a mix of comedy, cabaret and brilliant circus skills. At times while watching the show I found myself thinking about Dracula’s Gold Coast shows…. and I mean that with the best possible intention… every time I go to the Gold Coast I am one of the first in line at the doors of Dracula’s.

Like Dracula’s here the Dumtectives team find the right mix of comedy and circus acts while not forgetting that it is also okay to be a little cheeky. To their credit they do not go over-the-top with the sexual side of things – no, the team purely use it for a laugh, a dick joke here, a person in drag here… just harmless fun really that is guaranteed to make the audience laugh.

As I have already mentioned this is a team that knows how to make the audience laugh – Nightingale-Olsen reaches some terrifying heights and certainly has the crowd opened mouth in awe as she is thrown around the stage throughout the show in various stunning acrobatic moves. Meanwhile Leigh Rhodes steals a lot of the laughs with his brilliant comedic timing while Thomas McDonald is the base of every human pyramid (yes he does the heavy lifting) and show a real flare for slap-stick.

There are so many moments of this show that will have you sitting there thinking ‘wow, how did they do that?’ I am still marvelling at the puppetry skills of David Splatt while the circus skills of the whole troupe left me completely mesmerised throughout the show. That combined with how many times I laughed throughout the night certainly attests to the fact that I had a great night.

Few teams can mix comedy and circus skills together the way that Dummies Corp can and once again they have produced a real winner with Dumtectives In Cirque Noir. This is a show that will leave you stunned at the level of skill required for the performance that is happening right in front of you, and that is further enhanced by the intimate session, and will also have you laughing all night. This is one of the best shows of this year’s festival.

You can book tickets to the show right here – https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2021/shows/dumtectives#