Absolute Trash | Glitter Martini
I love rubbish. You can often find me scouring the streets for ‘treasures’ during Kerbside Cleanup time or, as I like to call it, Poor Man’s Christmas. So, as a raccoon living in the skin of a human, of course I was excited to see Glitter Martini’s trashy comedy circus cabaret Absolute Trash.
Comprised of aerial circus, comedy, contortion, hand-balancing, a brilliant and elaborate bin chicken routine, a hefty amount of PPE, and just a dash of bin juice, Absolute Trash is hilarious, sexy, puntastic, and surprisingly classy for a show about waste.
Our host for the evening was Natrasha Binit who, with dry humour, quick wit and unrelenting innuendo held us in the palm of her disposable plastic glove. I also thoroughly enjoyed her very crafty assortment of upcycled ‘garbage chic’ outfits made from both single-use and reusable items. With a distinct lack of a fourth wall, nobody is safe from Natrasha’s sass. The audience is urged to participate in a variety of ways, even from before the show begins, being asked to text in answers to a very on-theme, very humbling question.
Each one of the circus acts was incredibly well-polished and a real pleasure to watch. These are circus artists with a truckload of experience under their belt, performing some quite technical tricks that had me mesmerised from the very first to the very last moment.
It’s hard to pick out one part that I was blown away by the most. The double lyra routine by Rachel and Darcie showcased an incredible level of synchronicity and symmetry despite being of completely different builds. They flowed beautifully through a string of movements, at times seeming like some kind of stunning, graceful eight-limbed creature. Even to my untrained eye, it was easy to see that these aerial artists are highly skilled at what they do, swiftly and easily whipping their limbs around the apparatus, climbing up, twisting, turning, falling and spinning in a way that held my attention tightly in their grip.
Equally enthralling were the outstanding contortionist Elena who bent her body into such unusual shapes that I felt my mind also bending to make sense of what I was seeing, and dazzling hand-balancer Rachael who demonstrated a superb combination of strength, balance and flexibility. Each of the physical acts were jaw-droppingly good and I would happily watch them many times over!
What show about rubbish would be complete without an appearance by the noble bin chicken? Humorous and heart-warming puppetry by Calum breathed life into this iconic and under-appreciated dump bird in all its glory.
Absolute Trash is nothing if not clever and it was interesting to see how the artists explored the various meanings and connotations of rubbish/trash/garbage. Word buffs will not be disappointed by the array of puns, euphemisms and lame pickup lines relating to themes of waste, sustainability and impending ecological collapse. They even touched on themes of classism inherent in consumer-focused environmental movements. For a show covering themes that are so pertinent to our time, it really doesn’t take itself too seriously and manages to make a point while somehow keeping it light and fun.
My only critique is that the opening housekeeping speech felt a bit cumbersome and clunky but I’m sure that’s something that will easily be sorted out with a few repeats of the show. For their opening night, it was spectacular, and I really cannot fault the show on anything else. I was very impressed with the seamless way that the artists were able to roll with the few technical difficulties that arose - a testament to their professionalism and showmanship.
All the action was accompanied by a pumping soundtrack featuring all the trashy hits as well as some poignant ecologically-minded classics like Stayin’ Alive, Hot in Herre, and Britney Spears’ Toxic.
Overall, this cabaret had a great balance of technically intense, awe-inspiring acts that had me enraptured and thought-provoking dialogue, broken up by plenty of comic relief and audience interaction. There was a nice flow to it through all the different parts and I found myself hoping that it would just keep going.
Absolute Trash is indulgently trashy but not the slightest bit rubbish. An excellent way to spend a night out.
