Railed (Sydney Fringe) ★★★½

Head First Acrobats. Sydney Fringe. Spiegeltent Festival Garden The Vault. 17-29 Sep, 2024.

Head First Acrobats switch things up for the latter half of Sydney Fringe with Railed, their Western-themed acrobatic/circus/comedy show that goes full bush… ranger. If sexy muscle unicorns and denim are your fetish, you’re in for an eyeful. 

At first I wonder if this was merely going to be Godz replacing the togas with plaid, but here the boys are showing a whole new bag of tricks… okay, maybe not ALL new tricks, one or two acts have been carried across with a change of outfit, but they’re amplified with a few more comic touches. 

Railed is less risqué than the marketing suggests, but these acrobats do get gussied up in the shortest jorts I’ve ever seen that leave little to the imagination. The result is a show that’s a bit less blatant gay-bait and a bit more, drunken, brawlin’ lads mixed with a bit of horseplay. Well, actually, lots of well hung horseplay. 

This quartet of country boys (Juggling – Richard Sullivan, Head Trapeze – Thomas Gorham, Knives – AJ Saltalamacchia, Straps – Stan Ricketson) are as impressive as ever, with feats of balance, strength and acrobatics teamed with endless gags and magic tricks. Of course the acts are all well and good, but it’s the flair, the prestige that really sells them and the boozy, country criminal shtick makes for great fun. 

At times it feels like Railed is genuinely very close to going off the rails and the chaotic energy threatens to go from thrilling to uncomfortable. The abundance of glass bottles flying through the air gives everyone in the front row pause. The addition of knife throwing (with a very funny misdirect) keeps things on edge.

If Godz was just too high on the queer & sexy scale for you then Railed will be your thing. A bit less raunch, and a lot more ranch. But the charisma and good vibes are all here in abundance.