Bourgeois & Maurice: How to Save the World Without Really Trying: 4 star review by Louise Jones

By Louise Jones
|
22nd Aug 2016
|
★★★★

2016’s been a bit of a bumpy year to say the least so, it was only a matter of time before we started receiving advice from extra-terrestrials. Stepping out from a substantial amount of smoke looking like the love children of a drag queen and Ab Fab’s Patsy Stone, the Bourgeois and Maurice present an hour of cabaret with an edge that’s perfect for the clicktivists of the world.

There’s a very millennial vibe to Bourgeois and Maurice.

Georgeois Bourgeois is our host for the evening, with Maurice Maurice taking a seat behind the piano and providing a range of musical numbers throughout the show. Bourgeois is a natural crowd-pleaser with some easy digs at politicians and eyelashes that touch the ceiling. His effervescent personality clashes just right with Maurice’s robotic disdain for everybody around her. The show takes on a traditional cabaret theme only to have the party crashed by a Facetime from some familiar figures. Having this element of interaction gives the duo the opportunity to play off one another as well as signalling breaks between songs. The songs on offer this evening vary in a range of genres: from techno to ballad, each suit the theme of the lyrics and provide a fabulous atmosphere even if they’re admittedly not too tightly linked to the show’s overall world-saving theme.

There’s a very millennial vibe to Bourgeois and Maurice. That’s not a bad thing, of course they are reaching out to the generation that is statistically least satisfied when it comes to jobs, debt and having their say represented. The show ties up the problems of our generation in a neat little package: there’s anger hidden by a veneer of apathy, especially when it comes to Maurice and her solo number. Quick to accelerate, her take on feminism comes to a brilliant conclusion once Bourgeois joins the stage again. Their tongue-in-cheek reconciliation shows that the duo aren’t afraid to point out any inconsistencies in their ideological viewpoint, and do so with a cheeky wink to the audience.

Whether this show will reach out to a wider audience is unclear, but if you’re willing to take a trip into unknown territories you’ll find that this pair certainly deliver on catchy tunes and fabulous outfits, which is enough to save the world from doom and gloom for one evening.

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Performances

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The Blurb

Riotous original songs meet hyper surreal, high fashion in this political rally slash arena spectacular, performed in a damp cave, by a pair of absolute weirdos with a dubious moral compass. Critically acclaimed musical satirists Bourgeois & Maurice present a provocative, thought-provoking and cuttingly hilarious guide to engaging with the complex issues of today’s geo-political climate... without too much effort on anyone’s part. ‘It’s hard to think of any other act delivering such clever, funny and sharp material’ **** (Time Out).