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The Umbilical Brothers

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The Umbilical Brothers
Dundas (left) and Collins (right) with a fan in 2014
MediumTelevision, stand-up
NationalityAustralian
Years active1988–present
Notable works and roles
MembersDavid Collins
Shane Dundas

The Umbilical Brothers are an Australian comic duo formed in 1988, consisting of David Collins and Shane Dundas. Their performances heavily feature physical comedy and surreal elements. Stage shows by the Umbilical Brothers include Heaven by Storm (1996), Thwack (1999), SpeedMouse (2001), Don't Explain (2007), and Kidshow: Not Suitable For Children (2015).[1]

In 2006, Collins and Dundas created and starred in a children's comedy series called The Upside Down Show, which won a Daytime Emmy Award[2] and a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Children's Program.[3] The series was inspired by the Umbilical Brothers' adult-oriented comedy act SpeedMouse.[4]

The duo's other television appearances include regular skits on The Sideshow and guest performances on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Rove.

Beginnings

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The Umbilical Brothers — nicknamed "Umbies" — started performing professionally in the early 1990s. Their collaborations began when Collins and Dundas were both studying at Theatre Nepean's three-year acting course at the University of Western Sydney. A year later, in a jazz class, Collins broke Dundas' nose during a dance move. Their tutors, perhaps believing a burgeoning comedy partnership should wait until after graduation, put Dundas and Collins in separate classes. The pair defied this, sneaking into the auditorium afterhours to play with the PA system and invent moves to match.

Style

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The Umbilical Brothers' performances combine mime with ordinary dialogue and vocal sound effects. They use puppetry, pantomiming, slapstick, mimicry and audience participation, and make scant use of props and lighting. After having performed for years, their routines are highly scripted. Their style can be described as simply "microphonic mime".

Performances

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They have performed on the Late Show with David Letterman,[5] The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,[6] The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,[7] Broadway, Rove, Sarvo, Good News Week (expressly for the 'So You Think You Can Mime' segment) and The Sideshow.[8] They have also performed at the Cat Laughs, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Just for Laughs, Sydney Opera House, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Tampere Theatre Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and also at Woodstock 1999.[9]

The Umbilical Brothers also guest-starred on Double the Fist.[10] In the episode "Ultimate Weapon", Shane played a pair of mystical guards to the TimeSaw, one who lies and one who tells the truth. Both characters explode when The Womp tricks them into doing the opposite of their role.[citation needed] David won best actor at the world's biggest short film competition, Tropfest with Silencer, which he also co-wrote, co-directed and starred in. He also co-wrote and starred in The Luck Child for the Sydney Theatre Company, which won best production at Sydney Theatre Awards and Adelaide Fringe. He has also starred in the feature Red Christmas, as well as the TV shows Drop Dead Weird, Oh Yuck!, True Murder, The Letdown and Disney's Book of Once Upon a Time. Short films include Puppets Versus People: Asylum (which has over a million views), Tay Man, Emissary, The Detectives Of Noir Town and The Kiss. His voice over work includes Helmut, King Dino: Journey to Fire Mountain and Cat God.

In August 2006, the Umbilical Brothers began appearing as the main characters on the Logie Award winning children's television program The Upside Down Show. The show, developed by Sesame Workshop for the Noggin channel, makes extensive use of their particular style of mime and humour. In December 2006, in a New York Post interview, Shane Dundas expressed doubts about the return of the show for a second season.[11] On 1 June 2007, the Umbilical Brothers announced on their website that the series would not be renewed for a second season, and that Noggin USA had decided to end The Upside Down Show after a single season.[12]

In 2017, the Umbilical Brothers became the storytellers on the Disney mini-series The Book of Once Upon a Time for season 3.

In 2021, the Umbilical Brothers took their new live show "The Distraction" across Australia, including Brisbane (at QPAC), Western Australia and Sydney. The show features David and Shane using props and green screens, whilst using special effects to create the show.

Shows

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The Umbilical Brothers have performed seven shows, five of which appear as DVDs:

  • SpeedMouse: Taking advantage of the latest advances in performance technology, the boys have upgraded their acting to digital. Using this technology they are able to immediately jump to any routine or fast-forward through the boring bits. Unfortunately, the remote control has gone missing. Tensions arise when their newly hired roadie clashes with David — he points out that there is no need for a roadie as there are no props or scenery to move. The situation gets worse when their show controller, Tina, starts playing mind games with Shane. The conflict continues throughout the show.[13]
  • The Upside Down Show: A series of 13 comedic episodes first appearing on Noggin, starring Shane and David as two brothers living in an apartment with many doors. The show was released through five DVD volumes in Australia, each including two-three episodes each.[14]
  • Don't Explain: a selection of tangent skits that contain no overall plot; the title is a reference to this. There are, however, continuing themes throughout the show, one of which is Dave's attempt to get the hand-held microphone off Shane; this leads to a climax in which they both have microphones and have a Face, Race and Chase Off. There is also a dog, which is first seen in their first skit of their show, and is the main focus of the second. Another is the performance of European Visual comedy by Hans and Klaus. Conflict again is one of the main factors keeping the show entertaining.[15]
  • Thwak!: a modified version of Don't Explain (not available on DVD)
  • Heaven by Storm: a more plot-based show by the duo. After dying pre-show, Shane and David meet with God, who tells them that only one of them can enter Heaven. Due to their being unable to agree (and other issues), God sends them back to perform the show and resolve their differences. This culminates in Dave having a slight mental breakdown, shortly after which Shane tells Dave that there is a new character in the show, which Dave then finds out is a cricket which he had accidentally killed beforehand. Shane then chases Dave throughout the show trying to get money "or just 20c" from Dave to help pay for the cricket's funeral.[16]
  • The Rehearsal: A new show with video effects including "shadow".[17]
  • Not Suitable For Children: Shavid and Dane attempt to make a show for kids, with horrifying results.
  • The Distraction: With the help of live special effects, The Umbies appear on stage and screen simultaneously.

Other appearances

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In 2022, Dundas and Collins appeared in The Tourist as helicopter pilots who help Jamie Dornan's character find his way in the country.[18] Collins also played Smeg in the 2024 film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga[19] and a cameraman in The Fall Guy.

Video albums

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Title Details Certification
SpeedMouse: Live from the Sydney Opera House
  • Released: 2004
  • ARIA: 2× Platinum[20]
Don't Explain: Live from the Athenaeum theatre in Melbourne
  • Released: 2007
Heaven By Storm: Live from Regal Theatre
  • Released: 2010
The Rehearsal
  • Released: 2014
Not Suitable for Children
  • Released: 2017

Singles

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Title Year
"Don't Dance to This" 2002

Awards and nominations

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ARIA Music Awards

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The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2002 "Don't Dance to This" Best Comedy Release Nominated [21]
2005 The Umbilical Brothers Nominated
2008 Don't Explain Nominated

Mo Awards

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The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. The Umbilical Brothers won seven awards in that time.[22]

Year Nominee / work Award Result (wins only)
1993 The Umbilical Brothers Comedy Group of the Year Won
1994 Won
1995 Won
1996 Won
1997 Won
2001 Won
2002 Won

References

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  1. ^ Chris Hook (13 June 2015). "Umbilical Brothers' Kidshow definitely not suitable for children". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Complete list of 2007 Creative Craft Daytime Emmy Award winners". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009.
  3. ^ "49th Annual TV Week Logie Awards (2007)". TV Week. 6 May 2007. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012.
  4. ^ "The Umbilical Brothers – Speedmouse: The Return Of The Roadie at Royalty Theatre – Adelaide Fringe Interview". The Clothesline. 25 February 2016. Archived from the original on 28 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Umbilical Brothers didn't expect joke to last". The Observer. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2016. We met the Queen and David Letterman and all this stuff you can't imagine. I still can't believe it all happened. I am in the Matrix?
  6. ^ "Umbilical Brothers bij Jay Leno". Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2019 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ "The Umbilical Brothers Grab Donald Trump By The Pantomime". Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2019 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "The Sideshow (TV Series 2007)". IMDb.
  9. ^ "The Umbilical Brothers". The Umbilical Brothers. Archived from the original on 3 March 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Returning: Double the Fist | TV Tonight". 29 July 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  11. ^ "QUITTING KIDS TV – 'UPSIDE' DUO TALK ABOUT GETTING OUT JUST AS HIT SERIES IS GETTING STARTED". New York Post. 27 December 2006. Retrieved 23 September 2016. Doing more episodes "is a big question for us," says Dundas.
  12. ^ "The Umbilical Brothers – Home". 19 June 2007. Archived from the original on 19 June 2007.
  13. ^ "THE UMBILICAL BROTHERS SPEEDMOUSE". “You’re left only to shake your head and marvel” – NY Times. Riverside Theatres. September 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  14. ^ McEvoy, Marc (17 October 2017). "The Upside Down Show". The Age. Retrieved 1 May 2019. Today, their puppet becomes a movie director and asks them to make a film.
  15. ^ "The Umbilical Brothers Don't Explain". Female.com.au. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Umbilical Brothers are all action". Stuff.com.nz. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  17. ^ Blake, Elissa (6 December 2013). "Blood brothers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 May 2019. The Umbilical Brothers are committed to physical comedy and they have the scars to prove it.
  18. ^ Anderson, Hayley (9 January 2022). "The Tourist episode 3 cast: Who is joining the Jamie Dornan series?". Daily Express. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  19. ^ Pulliam-Moore, Charles (22 May 2024). "'Furiosa' is a leaner, meaner 'Mad Max' story". The Verge. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  20. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  21. ^ "ARIA Awards Best Comedy Release". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  22. ^ "MO Award Winners". Mo Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
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