Bubble Show for Adults Only – quick links
Bubble Show for Adults Only is an exciting and entertaining performance by professional bubbleologists Iulia Benze and Kurt Murray. It has won Best Show at Newcastle Fringe and has received multiple Fringe awards.
The show, currently being performed as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, features nine vignettes combining physical theatre, comedy and hypnotic visuals. Benze and Murray create a captivating journey into the theatrical possibilities of bubbles, evoking a pantomime-like wonderland. Its appeal lies in its spectacular visuals and intimate moments, using bubbles as portals to new realms.
Bubble Show for Adults Only’s most powerful offerings were the quiet moments amid a cacophony of music and lights, when a delicate spotlight showcases how an ordinary bubble can perform extraordinary things.
Bubble Show: silky skills
Iulia Benze and Kurt Murray’s skill with bubbles throughout the show seems almost literally out of this world. They create bubbles that seem solid, juggling and manipulating them as though sculpting ether. Some glide across the stage, moving as if alive, while others grow to monumental size, enveloping the performers in iridescence.
One moment creates this bubble that seems to reverberate with the music, creating a symphony of transparent waves over two meters across.
The precision of their technique transforms this playful material into a medium of wonder. Bubble cubes inside larger circular bubbles, swirling tornadoes of bubbles going in opposite directions, and giant foaming structures shimmered like living art, demonstrating how mastery and imagination can make the impossible appear effortless and very possible.
The pair’s magnetic chemistry heightens the technical brilliance with these bubbles. Whether performing intricate tricks or clowning with body language between routines, their partnership radiates trust and playfulness. Benze’s bold femme-fatale physicality aligns well with Murray’s boyish charm, creating a tantalising power play.
Their humorous, sometimes absurd and frequently sensual interactions invite the audience to see the performance as a lively dialogue, celebrating fragility and skill.
Bubble Show: the power of subtlety
After energetic acts, Kurt Murray’s solo performance was a standout success. The lighting softened, the music slowed, and the audience was invited for a closer look. Murray, amidst a bubble haze, expressed solitude and vulnerability with gentle grace.
His minimal gestures created maximum bubbles – a soft exhale with a smoke device resembling a long glue gun manifested these pearlescent orbs. It was like witnessing a private exchange between breath and matter. A new show can be made with the pair exploring more acts like this, showcasing their finesse, skill and body control.
Another highlight is their work with shadows in the latter half of the performance, which, without wanting to spoil anything, was reminiscent of the American dance theatre company Pilobolus.
Numbers before were dynamic, but the energy was pushing out to us. These two numbers did the opposite. The audience physically leaned forward to see the subtlety of what they were doing, and in that lies the secret sauce in their bubbles.
Dramaturgy can elevate this show to new heights. The most powerful moments aren’t when something is spoken to the audience or a camp story is set to 1980s-style synth music; rather, they occur when there is precise editing and choreography that allow partnerwork to shine — both through their connection and the bubbles they create.
Less production means more focus on their skills. This performance doesn’t need more production elements; it requires less because their talents shine on their own.
Bubble Show: a safe escape
Bubble Show for Adults Only turns the humble bubble into a symbol for creating a safe escape from corporate life. Not all work needs to be political; work can be fun and help us forget the day’s stresses. This show is like an antidote to the hustle of life, offering 60 minutes of liquid magic and sculpted abs.
Benze and Murray elevate their craft to fine art through humour, intimacy, and astonishing technique. By the show’s end, as bubbles rise and burst in the air, audiences feel a sense of wonder and the quiet realisation that even the most delicate things can carry significant meaning.
Bubble Show For Adults Only runs daily at 9:30pm at Meat Market, Melbourne, until 11 October 2025 as part of the Melbourne Fringe.
This review was written as part of Circus.txt, a professional development program designed and delivered by Oozing Future to engage arts writers with contemporary circus and physical theatre practice, and increase the visibility of critical dialogue within the sector. This project was funded by Creative Australia through their Victorian Circus and Physical Theatre grant round.
