Madame Eva, Kartie, Vrushka and Miss Elsie have rolled their Gypsy caravan into town and want us to feast on their Kunst – so why not, I say. Sexy, kooky and invigorating - like a dip into a freezing Russian lake after a naked sauna session - this is exactly the titillation Melbourne needs to awaken from its winter slumber.

A little late to start, the long audience queue waited with baited breath in the corridor outside the Lithuanian Club Ballroom. Appetites were quickly wetted with an operatic vocal taunt “I don’t think you’re ready…. “ mimed by a demure cabaret-clothed marionette. Then, in the immortal words of bootylicious Beyonce, the marionette continued, “I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly” and the show began.

The enjoyment of Caravan of Love… Pure Kunst hinges on the surprising absurdities dreamt up by the ladies, and their well executed comic interjections. A highlight for me included a trip down memory lane – and be warned of the participatory commitment required of the front row seats – with a choreographed “Pony” skit, Genuwine’s 1996 hit, complete with horse tails and, on the night I happened to attend, an excitable Richard Watts starring as Pony number two.

Each multi-skilled performer offers the audience something unexpected, like the type of surprise you get from cheap, oozing, soft-centered chocolates imported from Eastern Europe. There is the operatic Madame Eva, with a set of lungs no doubt appreciated by neighboring suburbs, and kinky Kartie whose switch (hair piece)and ‘tude (attitude) have come straight out of a Nordic Viking pantomime. Then there are the brunette babes: Vrushka, a prima ballerina who really knows how to stuff a chicken and; Miss Elsie whose pole skills demand a fireman’s attention to extinguish the hot loins of many an audience member.

It was a joy to be part of an engaged and appreciative audience who were feasting on confident sisters who actually were doing ‘it’ for themselves. Too often I sit in an audience where women performers are merely artistic passengers. And although this was my first Caravan ride, it is clear that after four years together, the quartet still gel and Michelle Boyde’s dramaturgy has remained well above the shoddy and clichéd burlesquery.

In show like this it’s hard to know where to look when there is so much for the senses to inhale: panties and ponies and Ken doll phalluses - oh my! Eva Johansen, Kate Sumner, Alice Palermo and Carla Rinaudo offer a brand of Kunst (the German word for ‘art’ no less) that is funny and cheeky. Like playschool for adults, the audience is taken on a journey of learning that is essentially innocent and you feel as though you are in the hands of adults you can trust……

Fringe Hub - The Ballroom, Lithuanian Club
44 Errol St North Melbourne

Transport
Tram: 57, Stop: 12
Melways: 2A J10

Time
10.15pm, Sun 9.15pm (60min)

Tickets
Full Price: $ 18.00
Concession: $ 15.00
Tuesday: $ 12.00
Group: $ 12.00 (per person for 5 people)

MELBOURNE FRINGE FESTIVAL
23 September - 11 October