Burlesque In Preview

“We’re mostly circus performers and musicians. We also tend to take our clothes off once in a while.”

For siblings Tanya and Adrienne, otherwise known as the Wau Wau Sisters, their performance is a whole lot more than your bog-standard burlesque show. “We call ourselves the only two-girl circus in the world.”

The girls have been performing their act for the past 11 years, playing an abundance of festivals and winning awards for their unique show. “When we were kids we both did gymnastics and both sung songs like we were superstars, and we’re both doing the same silly things now,” says Adrienne.

The duo fuses together circus performance such as trapeze, tongue-in-cheek musical numbers and cheeky costume changes. The result is a fun, frivolous journey into the realm of the unexpected. “What you come out with isn’t what you’d expect. We fuck around with our audience a lot. We bring them up on stage or we sit on their laps as we change outfits. As performers, we like to go further than we’ve ever gone before. Doing something we’re afraid to do is liberating.”

Although their show is not solely a burlesque show, the girls do spend a fair amount of stage time sans clothes - though the act doesn’t depend on it. “I find performing liberating - if I’m taking my clothes off is besides the point. A lot of men are doing it now but it’s rarely referred to as burlesque; it makes me laugh because people will be like ‘Oh, he’s a magician’ and I say ‘I know, but he just took all his clothes off to music!’” laughs Adrienne.

Nudity aside, the pair cite music as a major influence on their act and have released four albums over the years. “Our music is very tongue-in-cheek. It’s not something you’d want to listen to all day but you may have a friend over and say, ‘You need to hear this song, it’s so silly and dirty!’
“We also like cheesy ‘80s rock. One of our signature trapeze acts is to ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ by Guns N’ Roses. I like everything we do to be funny and to make the audience laugh.”
As for the future, the Wau Wau Sisters are setting their aim high. “We’d like to keep touring, release a movie, a fashion line, a perfume, a book of poetry and a reality show.”

Catch the Wau Wau Sisters at the Harvest Festival, Brisbane Botanic Gardens on November 19.