2 Coats and a Hatstand From Hell
Fresh out of Theatre Nepean, David books a theatre and tells Shane they're doing a show. They hastily throw together a mishmash of things they think are amusing, thus establishing their preferred working method. It's meant to be a two-week season.
The producers cancel the 2nd week because no one had bought tickets a couple of weeks before the show, only having to re-instate it after the 1st week sells out. Never underestimate morbid curiosity.
Notable "highlights" are the Glove Sequence, the Brady Bunch Massacre, and musical accompanist Paul Mcleod's insistent renditions of 'Spanish Flea'.
Don't Explain
When asked to explain a little about the show the Brothers simply laughed and referred to the title. Upon further investigation we found that an embryo version of the show was seen in the 1992 Adelaide Fringe. In the intervening years it has grown into its current incarnation: that of an uncontrollable, independent entity not understood even by its creators.
David Umbilical explains: "Its success at the '94 Edinburgh Fringe really went to its head, and then after the London Mime Festival it started hanging around with some of the bigger shows, like 'Cats'. It was caught in a compromising situation with the 'Phantom', which was pretty embarrassing for us, and finally it spent a night in jail after an 'incident' involving 'Dames at Sea'."
Shane Umbilical: "It's been a long and winding road, to quote John Lennon's sidekick. We invented a new show for Edinburgh '95, which drove 'Don't Explain' over the edge. It disappeared and we found it several months later in a nightclub in Bogota, Colombia. I guess all it needs is love, to quote Ringo Starr's boss. We've stuck with it and after a few more therapy sessions it should be ready to come back out of the box." Mrs Umbilical: "Don't Explain is a rollercoaster ride to the surreal and frenetic other-world of chaotic comedy."
Heaven by Storm
In '94 it had been approximately 7 degrees hotter than hell in the packed Edinburgh venue, and the guys had sweated more than the legal limit for bloated opera singers during a game of squash.
Wanting to repeat the experience the following year, they were informed by their new London agent that it is compulsory to return to Edinburgh with a new show. And if they didn't, the Fringe pixies would come over to their house and, in groups of five or more, paint it teal.
Fearing this might be true, the Umbies set about creating their next production. 'Heaven By Storm' was born on the 7th July 1995, and previewed to an understanding Sydney audience. After a few minor adjustments and the assistance of an exorcist, it was flown to Edinburgh 95 where it was re-cast, unfortunately with the same actors. The show is basically about God, Death, Heaven, Terry and twenty cents.
Thwak
You know, there's one thing that can be said about Americans: they've sure got chins. THWAK was the first Umbies show designed to be performed without translation in the USA, and the boys had an unforgettable year in downtown New York.
All the gang were there - Action Guy, Crazy Monkey, The Bruce, Sound Man &Move Boy, The Klapp, The Nipplefondler and Mr Fluffy. Greenwich Village never had it so good.
Speedmouse
The plot, for want of a better word:
Taking advantage of the latest advances in performance technology, the boys have upgraded their acting to digital. That way they'd be able to immediately jump to any routine or fast-forward through the boring bits. Unfortunately, the show's remote control has gone missing. Tensions arise when the Umbies' newly-hired roadie clashes with David (he points out that there's no need for a roadie as there are no props or scenery to move), and the situation gets worse when show controller Tina starts playing mind games with Shane.
Oh, and somewhere along the way the audience get entertained.
If they're lucky.
Any similarity to an Adam Sandler movie is purely coincidental...unless they nicked the idea, because the Umbies did it first.
The Rehearsal
April 2005
With only a week to create their new Melbourne Comedy Festival show from scratch, the lads decide to name it The Rehearsal. That way, no-one would have anything to complain about. They got away with it until Edinburgh 2005, where a savvy punter observed "it just seemed like two blokes mucking around in their lounge room after too many beers". Meanwhile, the critic at The Stage proclaimed the show "a work of genius". Who would you believe: a highly reputable British theatre publication, or some bloke who uses the word "bloke"?
Look, it's at least a show about a rehearsal. Or a rehearsal for that show. Whatever.
Creatively misused multi-media, audience participation, suspicious furry glove puppets, tangents that shouldn't be taken...all for a show that will theoretically happen at another time, in another venue. In this, a very different Umbilical experience, they take you inside their Creative Process, and don't let you out until your brain explodes.
Upside Down Show
(from Wikipedia)
The Upside Down Show is a live action daytime children's show which airs on Noggin and Nick Jr. Australia. It features two brothers, played by Shane Dundas and David Collins, who gained fame as physical comedians The Umbilical Brothers. The show premiered on Nick Jr. Australia in August of 2006 and Noggin in October of 2006 with 13 episodes developed by the highly acclaimed Sesame Workshop.
