The Umbilical Brothers
Encyclopedia
History
They met in 1988, at the University of Western SydneyUniversity of Western Sydney
The University of Western Sydney, also known as UWS, is a multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in a jazz class, (as part of an acting course called Theatre Nepean), where David swung around and broke Shane's nose. Although their instructors tried to keep Shane and David apart after the incident, they got together on their own, made amends and began writing routines.
Their performances combine mime
Mime artist
A mime artist is someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving miming, or the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech. In earlier times, in English, such a performer was referred to as a mummer...
with ordinary dialogue and vocal sound effects. They use puppetry
Puppetry
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects...
, slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
, mimicry and audience participation, and make scant use of props and lighting. After having performed for seven years, their routines are highly scripted.
They have performed on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, Rove (TV series), Sarvo
Sarvo
Sarvo was an after-school show for kids on Nickelodeon Australia, it was hosted by Maude Garrett and Kyle Linahan, until it was cancelled in Late 2007...
, Good News Week
Good News Week
Good News Week is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that initially aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and resumed on 11 February 2008 to 9 May 2011. The show aired first on ABC TV before it was bought by Network Ten in 1999...
(expressly for the 'So You Think You Can Mime' segment) and The Sideshow
The Sideshow
The Sideshow was an Australian television programme that was broadcast on ABC TV in 2007. The show was a mixture of stand-up comedy, sketches, live music, circus stunts, cabaret and burlesque. The hour long show was hosted by Paul McDermott...
. They have also performed at the Cat Laughs
Cat Laughs
The Cat Laughs Comedy Festival is a comedy festival held over the first weekend in June each year in Kilkenny, Ireland. It was founded in 1994 in response to the burgeoning wealth of Irish comic talent with no clear national outlet for expression...
, Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the third-largest international comedy festival in the world and the largest cultural event in Australia. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks in April typically opening on or around April Fool's Day...
, Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs
Just for Laughs is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1983. It is the largest international comedy festival in the world.- Information :...
, Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
, Adelaide Fringe Festival
Adelaide Fringe Festival
The Adelaide Fringe Festival is an arts festival held annually in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. The event is the Southern Hemisphere's largest arts event and the second-largest fringe festival in the world, second in size only to the Edinburgh Fringe...
, Tampere Theatre Festival
Tampere theatre festival
The Tampere Theatre Festival, or Tampereen Teatterikesä, takes place in Tampere, Finland, at the beginning of August and is the oldest annual theatre festival in the Nordic countries. The festival was started in 1969 with support from Tampereen Teatterikerho...
and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and also at Woodstock 1999
Woodstock 1999
Woodstock 1999, also called Woodstock 99, performed July 22–25, 1999, was the second large-scale music festival that attempted to emulate the original Woodstock Festival of 1969. Like the previous Woodstock festivals it was performed in upstate New York, this time in Rome, New York, around 200...
. They are also credited with the vocalizations on the animated children's show Maisy (with the exception of the show's narrator). Shane has also appeared on Double the Fist
Double the Fist
Double the Fist is an Australian satirical television show which airs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It follows the misadventures of four men and their pursuit of "fistworthiness": host Steve Foxx , and his three offsiders; Rod Foxx , Mephisto , and The Womp .The series has also been...
in the episode Ultimate Weapon, playing a pair of mystical guards to the TimeSaw, one who lies and one who tells the truth. Both characters explode when The Womp tricks them (accidentally) into doing the opposite of their role (how many fingers am I holding up?)
In October 2006, the Brothers (as Shane and David) began appearing as the main characters on a Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
winning children's television program called The Upside Down Show
The Upside Down Show
The Upside Down Show AKA Down Upside is a Logie Award winning live-action daytime children's show featuring Shane Dundas and David Collins that airs on Noggin, Nick Jr. Australia and ABC Australia. The duo gained fame as physical comedians, The Umbilical Brothers, playing brothers who lived...
, that airs in the US on Nick Jr. and in Australia on Nick Jr
Nick Jr. Australia
Nick Jr. Australia is a 24-hour children's channel in Australia designed for pre-schoolers. Nick Jr. was a morning programming block on Nickelodeon until 2004, when Foxtel arrived and it was launched as a full 24-hour kids channel. The channel is run by XYZnetworks, under license from Viacom, and...
and the ABC. The show, developed by Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world...
, makes extensive use of their particular style of mime and humor. Nickelodeon is not renewing it for a second season.
Shows
The Umbilical Brothers have performed six shows, two of which appear as DVD's: (The Upside Down Show)- SpeedMouseSpeedMouseSpeedMouse is a Stage Show and DVD By The Umbilical Brothers.-Plot:Taking advantage of the latest advances in performance technology, the boys have upgraded their acting to digital. Using this technology they are able to immediately jump to any routine or fast-forward through the boring bits....
: Taking advantage of the latest advances in performance technology, the boys have upgraded their acting to digital. Using this technology they are able to immediately jump to any routine or fast-forward through the boring bits. Unfortunately, the remote control has gone missing. Tensions arise when their 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. The situation gets worse when their show controller, Tina, starts playing mind games with Shane. The conflict continues throughout the show.
- Don't ExplainDon't ExplainDon't Explain is the title of the second Umbilical Brothers DVD, released in November 2007. The show was filmed at the Athenaeum theatre in Melbourne.The Description on the back of the DVD:...
: Don't Explain is a selection of tangent skits that contain no overall plot; the title is a reference to this. There are, however, continuing themes throughout the show, one of which is Dave's attempt to get the hand-held microphone off Shane; this leads to a climax in which they both have microphones and have a Face, Race and Chase Off. There is also a dog, which is first seen in their first skit of their show, and is the main focus of the second. Another is the performance of European Visual comedy by Hans and Klaus. Conflict again is one of the main factors keeping the show entertaining.
- Thwak!: a modified version of Don't Explain currently being performed
- Heaven by Storm: Heaven by Storm is a more plot based show by the Umbilical Brothers, which Shane tells Dave that there is a new character in the show, which Dave then finds out is a cricket which he had accidentally killed beforehand. Shane then chases Dave throughout the show trying to get money, or just 20c as Shane says, off Dave for Andrew's (the cricket) funeral.
DVD releases
- SpeedMouseSpeedMouseSpeedMouse is a Stage Show and DVD By The Umbilical Brothers.-Plot:Taking advantage of the latest advances in performance technology, the boys have upgraded their acting to digital. Using this technology they are able to immediately jump to any routine or fast-forward through the boring bits....
- Live from the Sydney Opera House. - Don't ExplainDon't ExplainDon't Explain is the title of the second Umbilical Brothers DVD, released in November 2007. The show was filmed at the Athenaeum theatre in Melbourne.The Description on the back of the DVD:...
- Live from the Athenaeum theatre in Melbourne