Side Show The Musical

Set in America in the mid to late 1930s, Side Show is about Daisy and Violet Hilton, real-life twin sisters conjoined at the hip. We meet them as the star attraction of a side show and follow their journey through emancipation from ownership and their struggle to lead a fulfilling life.

“It sounds heavenly, and there is something moving about this beautiful sound being produced by society’s outcasts. There is a wonderful pathos to the story that feels genuine and terribly familiar in the wild world of the freak show,” explained Berynn Schwerdt who plays ‘Sir’ Myer Myers, the ringmaster of the freak show.

“The singing is beautiful, antithetical to the oddities voicing it, and much of the exposition is done through song. There are two styles of movement. There are some vaudeville numbers reflecting the twins’ career. There is also the particular physical world of the sideshow, which is less formally structured and much more detailed,” said Schwerdt.

Identity, isolation and belonging are the main themes explored in Side Show. ‘Freaks’ are visceral representations of otherness, the physical apotheoses of our fears and idealism around standing out and being set aside from society.

The twins were celebrated entertainers in their own right for a time, making very good money on the vaudeville circuit. There were lovers and even marriage, but their celebrity was a two-edged sword. The community of the freak show is a fascination of itself. The twins’ celebrity draws opportunists to them, who are variously charming and bedazzled. The main antagonists are Terry and Buddy, who help the girls’ career and even fall in love with them. (MS)

Sep 23–Oct 16, evenings and matinees. Hayes Theatre Co., 19 Greenknowe Avenue, Potts Point. $49-$83. Tickets & info: www.hayestheatre.com.au or (02) 8065 7337

BY MEL SOMERVILLE