Circus artists Jarred Dewey and Olivia Porter performed their award-winning show Party Ghost, which was a ghoulishly good time, at Metro Arts as part of Brisbane Festival 2023.
Directed by Nicci Wilks, Party Ghost incorporated elements of dance, drag, cabaret, circus, and comedy for a delightfully unexpected performance. I was anticipating something darker and more macabre or morbid, but Party Ghost was full of spooks, silliness, slapstick violence, severed limbs and sheets with eye holes cut in them. Props, accessories, body paint, and balloon animals were all incorporated into this sharp show that included foot juggling, instructions on summoning a ghost, and possibly the wildest cover of an Adele song I’ve ever seen.
Dewey descended the stairs into the New Benner Theatre with the audience when the doors opened, weeping and wailing loudly in a black veil and high heels, and offering tissues and condolences at the theatre door. When we were all seated, the show began with Dewey on a static trapeze, still wearing heels and with his impressive acts of strength and balance punctuated by ongoing wails of grief.
Party Ghost did not follow a specific narrative thread, but a number of sequences repeated and evolved throughout the 60-minute performance and the show maintained a quick pace. Transitions included intensive strobe lighting and slow movement, to give the effect of moving in slow motion, set to the teeth-on-edge violins of the Psycho Suite. The show included audio from and references to several horror movies including The Shining, The Exorcist, and Psycho (as far as I could tell – I’m squeamish about horror movies!)
Incredible acts of balance, juggling, tumbling, and physical comedy were seamlessly interspersed with dance breaks and shifting scenery. Party Ghost created a clever visual language, and the show itself was highly polished. Dewey and Porter were a dynamic duo, both with excellent comedic timing and an easy onstage chemistry in addition to their exciting circus feats. Party Ghost used the New Benner Theatre to its full extent, including the audience space, with a pulley system over our heads and a chase scene over the seats and along the rows.
Fast-paced, highly entertaining, and bursting with cheeky energy, Party Ghost was a performance to die for.
Party Ghost was performed at the New Benner Theatre, West End, from 20 – 23 September 2023
For further information, visit the Brisbane Festival website
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