Eve Miller
The Family Copoli promises a lot, particularly within a 1 hr and 10 mins time slot. It packs burlesque, musical, and post-apocalyptic melodrama into this run time without breaking a sweat. A complex medtiation on the state of the world we live in and the world we prepare for future generations, The Family Copoli confront their audience with humour, pathos, and sex appeal.
A truly novel premise, this production follows the Copoli family as they travel around the US following an apocalyptic disaster that has all but wiped out the human race. Their mission? To encourage humanity to repopulate, by exuding so much sexuality that people are driven to action. Led by ringmaster grandfather Ferdinand, the only one among them old enough to remember the time before the solar flare, the rag-tag family band croon, tap-dance, and strip-tease their way through their performance, advocating for the continuation of humanity. But behind the scenes of their apocalypse cabaret, the family is fracturing. Led by Cantora, the women of the family begin to consider their position in the doomsday world order. The question becomes inevitable: when the world is violent, barren, and oppressive, is it a world that you want to continue?
Particular mention must go to the impeccable set and costume design, by Oscar Llodra and Ana Mocklar respectively, tapping into carnivalesque and burlesque history to adorn the stage and performers with the trappings of a world in ruin still capable of offering up shiny trinkets. After all, one man’s broken airpod is another man’s military decoration! The performances were exceptional across the board, with a cast chock-full of triple – and often quadruple, quintuple, sextuple! – threats. Emily Rubenstein and Tess Lovell provide an incredibly strong emotional core for the show as thirteen year old boy Rolano and his still very young mother Cantora, providing some moments of real pain among the glitter and gaudiness of the variety show. Liv Licursi does double duty as director and matriarch Martula, bringing verve, energy, and stomach-churning internal conflict to the role, as she finds herself caught between her daughter’s plight (and that of all women), and the duty she feels to her family to continue the human race.
This production is edgy and satirical, driving certain societal evils to their devastating conclusions. While handled with humour and emotional sincerity, some of the issues confronted are incredibly sensitive, and I would encourage close attention to content warnings before seeing this production. That said, nothing is gratuitous (apart from the burlesque) and the issues raised are urgent and pertinent, calling attention to the current climate crisis and the ways that catastrophes disproportionately affect those most vulnerable in our society.
The perfect cocktail of philosophy, music, and brazenness, The Family Copoli is an ideal Fringe production. It sits neatly (well, messily) alongside Cabaret, Moulin Rouge, and Katharine Dunn’s Geek Love, with it’s own end-of-the-world flair. Shocking, sexy, and heartwrenching, this production will have you laughing, crying, and questioning the future of humanity.
Drink Recommendation: A nice strong brew of radium tea.
Catch The Family Copoli: A Post-Apocalyptic Burlesque Musical at Lower Theatre at theSpace @ Niddry St between the 3rd and 23rd August (not 10th) at 21:30 (3-5, 11-23) and 23:00 (6-9) (1hr 10 mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jake Mace
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
