While I appreciate them differently than my heterosexual male or lesbian counterparts, I have to admit that despite being a gay man, I still have a fascination with boobs. I don’t quite understand it. I find that at my height, I often find myself muzzelled in the fleshy mounds of my lady friends.
“Ha ha… that’s not uncommon!” laughs Emma Powell, creator of the hit show Busting Out!, “I’ve had gay men say that to me before. I think it’s quite a natural fascination. Especially if you have big boobs… I mean it’s not like anyone’s going to miss them!”
From more humble beginnings at Melbourne’s Trades Hall in 2006, Busting Out! has grown into a theatrical force that has already been seen by over 200,000 Australians that is currently in the middle of a 12-week tour of New Zealand. The show’s creator Emma Powell, an acclaimed musical theatre performer, surprised everyone with the creation of Busting Out! three years ago.
“I’d actually had the idea to do a cabaret show about boobs for a long time. I was initially going to call it ‘The Sound Of One Tit Clapping’… I’d stashed away ideas for it away over the years – personal stories, funny anecdotes, and yes the physical tricks with my breasts which just come out of the reality of having them. When I decided to do the show, it did take a lot of people by surprise, but I also had a tone of support.” Said Powell.
Sharing the stage with popular stand-up comic, Bev Killick, and under the directorial guidance of Terence O’Connell, Busting Out! combines songs, skits, physical antics and even shadow puppetry to expose the full comic potential of the naked breast. It has been called the female equivalent of Puppetry Of The Penis, and the obvious comparisons have been made.
“As it turns out, it seems like it’s a very Aussie thing to get your bits out and do party tricks. After seeing that show (Puppetry Of The Penis) I remember thinking, that if the boys can do it, why not the girls? The comparison is quite obvious I suppose. But Puppetry is just dick tricks at the end of the day.” Explains Powell,
“Busting Out is so much more than just boob tricks. By now, I think the public has realised that we are not a titillating peep show. This is theatre of the ridiculous. There’s singing, dancing and theatricality… most importantly there’s a much deeper message that we are trying to communicate. At the center of the show is Joy… a celebration of women, boobs, our bodies… Rather than a serious feminist rant, Bev (Kellick) and I are having a laugh and celebrating the reality of our bodies. Both men and women get that, and enjoy it.”
While men and women of all ages are entertained, it’s the show’s transformative effect on many women, particularly older women, which makes it so special. Over the last three years, Powell has given women of all ages, shapes and sizes, the liberating experience of seeing themselves represented up on stage in her hilarious show.
“The audience see Bev and I up on stage with our tops off being completely silly, and that makes everyone feel good about themselves. It’s a life-changing experience for many women who have perhaps been ashamed or embarrassed by their breasts all their life. But the blokes don’t need to be afraid. There’s plenty of laughs for everyone.” Says Powell,
“At the end of the show I usually stay behind to sign programs and meet some of the audience, and the number of women who have come up to me, some in tears, expressing how much the show has changed the way they see themselves… even the men, say ‘thank you, I truly see how beautiful my partner is thanks to your show.’ It’s wonderful to have that kind of effect…”
Emma’s next theatre project will again unite everyday women, and men, through a comic exploration of the universal experience of being dumped. It was a show she has been writing while on the road with Busting Out!, which further taps into the potential for everyday women to share a laugh at the taboo subjects within a very common human experience. Dumped! Will be a new comic musical about romantic disasters and its effect on self-esteem. The show will have its world premiere season at Brisbane’s Twelfth Night Theatre in April next year, and Powell says she’s really excited about it.
“I’ve been flashing my boobs for a while now, and while I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly, I think by the end of this tour of Busting Out, I’m ready to show something else… something that lies beneath the breasts… the heart.”
Busting Out! plays a Christmas season at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre from 8th December 2009, before heading to New Zealand, Perth and Tasmania in 2010. Click here for all the tour dates
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