Review – Sugartits

There’s a subtle brilliance in calling your social satire Sugartits. If Maurice Maurice (Liv Morris) and Georgeois Bourgeois (George Heyworth) tackle some dry material – the integrity of the Eurozone, for example – they’re going to have as much fickle fun with it as they possibly can. And it’s this levity which characterises the show; no matter how serious the issue, this glamorous duo aren’t afraid to take the piss out of it.

My favourite moment had these teasing devil’s advocates charm and cajole the audience to chant, in harmony, “What did you expect?” and “It was your fault!” in response to stories of racial profiling, homophobic discrimination and violent misogyny. With their disarming smiles, they managed to turn an ABC audience into a mockery of the Daily Mail readership. There aren’t many acts out there with the temerity to pull off something like that, and then move on with the show as if it were nothing.

The aloofness is carried through between songs. Maurice, dressed to the height of sixties chic (replete with a beehive hairdo), is played by Liv with an intense and impressive lethargy. And Georgeois, in his green sequinned suit, keeps up a cheeky banter throughout the show, never threatening to stray anywhere near seriousness. It’s all in good fun, but I thought the lack of sincerity sometimes took the bite out of the satire. “Ritalin”, for example, is a catchy little number which makes the point that we’re over-medicating our kids. But what of it? The song’s featured below, and it’s well worth a listen, but I think it’s played too frivolously to strike its target convincingly. By contrast, their encore song “Forget You” was refreshingly heartfelt, and I couldn’t help but feel that if they’d let a little more of that show through it would have given their silliness more potency. But this is a quibble; in every other respect, Bourgeois and Maurice strike exactly the right balance between light entertainment and cultural critique.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gfR7JivxGs&w=400]