“Porcelain Punch” is both the name of the performing troupe behind the Travelling Medicine Show and the miracle elixir the show intends to share with their audiences. The performing troupe involves, among others, a contortionist, an exotic woman-cross-“Fufu bird” hybrid, and a cowboy magician. These characters exist as testament to the curative powers of the porcelain punch – the tonic. (It is not divulged what the porcelain punch involves, or if porcelain is in fact one of the ingredients.)
“The show was devised originally for the Melbourne 2010 Fringe Festival,” Porcelain Punch performer Emilie Johnston explains. “After copious glasses of red wine, long lunches and coffee-fuelled banters, the dream of turning a ramshackle caravan sitting on a property in Castlemaine into the set of a travelling medicine show was finally realised.”
“The heart of the show is inspired by ye oldie worlds of the medicine shows that once travelled the countryside offering programs of comedy, music, freakshows and other novelties,” she continues. “And in between, peddling medications that claimed to cure any disease.”
Porcelain Punch’s Travelling Medicine Show certainly gives the impression of days gone by, with a heavy Vaudevillian emphasis on both the early 20th century-inspired costumes and the acts themselves, “As performers, we are definitely influenced by old circus and early Vaudeville,” Johnston asserts. “We have been described as carnival carnies, steampunk, macabre… We like the idea that our audiences can dream around all of those things. We indulge that the show is of an era once gone, but it also has a post-apocalyptic place,” she comments, referencing the pill-popping, self-sculpting fervour that characterises much of contemporary society.
The Travelling Medicine Show explores such themes through a wide spectrum of acts: from clown to burlesque, from magic to circus. It’s safe to say the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is not exactly teeming with acts of this ilk, “The Fringe Festivals in Australia are well-accustomed to the exploration of new circus, burlesque and Vaudeville, however the MICF surprisingly doesn’t have much of those things especially in regards to clown [acts],” Johnston confirms, adding that: “The more diverse the MICF can be with regard to the style of productions that are represented and offered to the public definitely makes for a more innovative festival.”
So, if you’re feeling that old encroaching dunno-what-to-do-with-meself-tonight ailment, a good ole dose of the Travelling Medicine Show could be in order. Johnston pledges that Porcelain Punch will administer “a special 60-minute show that’s not quite freak, not quite magic and not quite right, but guranteed to delight and excite… Or your money back!” Sounds just the trick.
Inpress Magazine
