Review: The Exploitation Of The Famous Conjoined Twins Plays Out In The Heartbreaking SIDE SHOW

Wednesday 28th September 2016, 7:30pm, Hayes Theatre

SIDE SHOW, the musical about the sisters that were quite literally joined at the hip makes it's Australian Premiere at Hayes Theatre under Richard Carroll's direction. Bill Russell (Book and Lyrics) and Henry Krieger's (Music) adaptation of the tragic and true story of Hilton Sisters takes the audience back to a not too distant era when the unexplained and unusual were freely exploited and gawked at as carnival attractions.

Carroll and Set Designer Lauren Peters take the audience back to the Victorian and Edwardian touring carnivals that still made the rounds across the world well into the 1930's Depression era and a time when Vaudeville was building in popularity. The scene is set with a well-worn old carnival tent advertising the price of admission to witness a "Freak Show" made up of tattooed ladies, fortune tellers, human pin cushions, hermaphrodites, savages, a 'Lizard Man', and of course, the famous 'Siamese twins'. SIDESHOW takes the audience behind the scenes of the seedy showbiz world where "Sir" (Berynn Schwerdt) owns the Hilton sisters in an arrangement that equates to enslavement regardless of his protestations that he is their guardian or father. Whilst in their mid 20's the girls are dressed as cutesy twins, a marketing ploy "Sir" employs to keep the crowds coming. Whilst the girls were really conjoined twins, this age altering costuming is in keeping with the rest of the troupe which for the most part employed smoke and mirrors to convince people they were 'freaks'. Angela White's costumes play up these deceptions with wigs, body stockings and makeup which get stripped away when the "crowds" aren't watching.

Whilst the media night did suffer from technical sound issues, which the producers have advised have been investigated and rectified, the cast presented a beautiful poignant performance and soldiered as if nothing was wrong. It was unclear if some sound balance issues for some of the roles were connected to the identified fault but in the moments when it was clear that the sound levels had been dropped to manage the faults which manifested most notably in the second act, the raw vocals of the leading ladies were pure and clear.

As Daisy and Violet Hilton, Laura Bunting and Kerrie Anne Greenland respectively convey the fact that the twins, despite looking alike and being permanently attached, had very different personalities. Bunting takes on the star struck ambitious Daisy who has aspirations of fame and fortune whilst also being the more grounded and realistic of the two. She presents Daisy with a ballsy guts and she has a solid vocal, giving warmth and power to the lower setting of Daisy's voice. In contrast, Greenland gives Violet a sweet innocence as the more reserved shy sister who dreams of settling down with a husband, a house with white picket fence, and most importantly being out of the spotlight. Whilst Violet was naïve, Greenland makes sure that she isn't seen as a pushover, presenting her quiet strength and courage with a subtlety that makes the moments when she does stand up for herself even more surprising. Violet's vocals are pitched higher than Daisy's, helping to reinforce her more innocent demeanour and Greenland tackles this well even though she has a richeR Lower range as evidenced in Feelings You've Got To Hide. The two ladies work together beautifully as they remain joined, through a wonder of costuming and special effects, at the hip to dance Amy Campbell's fabulous choreography that draws on the jazz and tap of the 1930's. They display a comfort of the union that would have the audience believe that they've been at each other's side for a lot longer than the rehearsal process ensuring a convincing portrayal of such unusual characters.

As the entrepreneur Terry, who seeks to 'liberate' the sisters from "Sir", Daniel Belle manages to keep his portrayal on the side of sincere, at least where it counts, hiding Terry's true nature as yet another person out to exploit the sisters. He exhibits the bold confidence necessary for Terry to take on someone like the oily "Sir" and convince the girls he cares about them whilst still exhibiting the racism and prejudice that saw him treat Jake as a servant. His vocals, whilst warm and rich, were however over amplified so his physicality wasn't matching the volume leading to an incongruous expression.

Terry's assistant Buddy is presented with a vibrant sweetness by Gabriel Brown. Brown highlights the apparent contrast between Buddy and Terry as he gives him a gentler nature which appears sincere in his love for Violet. Whilst Terry deals with the business side of the act, Buddy deals with getting the girls onside so that Terry will let him perform when they make it to the Orpheum circuit. Brown presents wonderful dance routines with Joshua Mulheran who takes on the role of Buddy's friend and fellow dancer Ray and the Freak Show's hermaphrodite, and the rest of the ensemble.

The sister's loyal companion and minder Jake, an African American who was painted with war paint for the Freak Show's Cannibal, is presented with a stoic brooding strength by Timothy Springs. Springs has a wonderfully rich and warm tone that sets him apart from the male ensemble and ensures that the audience recognise that Jake is different from the other characters. His rendition of Jake's declaration of love to Violet, You Should Be Loved is heartbreaking and bitter all at the same time, expressing the common response of someone that knows their loved one is making the wrong choice.

This is a heartbreaking story presented with a sensitivity that exposes the emotion, prejudice, manipulation, deception and exploitation that surrounded the Hilton sisters. It moves between back stage, 'real life' moments, and performances Terry has booked them which has the girls even busier than they were with the Freak Show. The ensemble takes on the roles of the other freaks, vaudeville dancers and the general public that the sisters encounter on their journey. White's costumes track the transition from Freak Show attractions to the stars of the vaudeville stage and the toast of Society, albeit a gawking curious society, to ensure that Bunting and Greenland maintain the image that they are physically joined, except for Daisy and Terry's dream sequence. Small changes allow the freaks to adopt the roles of minor characters such as those that make up the sequence recounting the girls childhood, whilst more dramatic changes help fill out scenes of 'normal' people.

A mix of hope, joy, laughter whilst an undercurrent of sadness runs through the story, SIDE SHOW is a great insight into a world gone by and raises the question of whether the issues the Hilton Sisters encountered have really gone away. They were treated as curiosities; their closest friend was subjected to racism, and the gay men in their lives were forced to hide their true identity, entering into sham marriages to satisfy a public image. For those interested in history, musical theatre fans, old world carnival and vaudeville or just simply wanting a night out seeing something a bit different, SIDE SHOW fits the bill.

SIDE SHOW

Hayes Theatre

23 September - 16 October 2016

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