Saving the world, one laugh at a time

The Umbilical Brothers are bringing Speedmouse back to the stage, with one half of the comedy duo reflecting on intergenerational laughs, working with Robin Williams, and why live performance still matters.

David Collins shouldn’t be speaking at all, according to his specialist’s instructions. As one half of the international comedy phenomenon The Umbilical Brothers, both Collins and partner Shane Dundas have swollen vocal folds. It is unsurprising, given the intensity of voice work and sound effects at the crux of their unique brand of physical comedy, and in person, Collins talks as rapidly and exuberantly as he does on stage.

“The ENT said to have vocal rest, but he didn’t tell me exactly what that was,” Collins said. “We just did 80 shows and were doing all these characters and voices, but after 30 years of throwing my body around with the Umbilical Brothers, I’ve never injured myself, until now.”

Named as two of the 100 Most Creative People in Entertainment, Collins and Dundas have worked in over 40 countries, performed for the Queen, toured Australasia with Robin Williams, and gained a fanatical next-gen fan base with their television series The Upside Down Show. Their online videos are viewed by over 200,000 people a month, and an impressive award haul includes two BAFTAs, an EMMY, a Logie, a Helpmann Award, and the Australian MO Award for Best Comedy Group five years running.

It was the intersection of sound effects and mime that created a new performing style, catapulting the pair to stardom. The two met at acting school, and when a mime assessment that Collins couldn’t master was due, Dundas stepped in to help.

“Shane was teaching me how to do it, and it was three o’clock in the morning as I was inventing a three-minute routine for the next day, and then he just started doing sound effects,” Collins said. “Mime itself is quite a slow format because you have to establish the four sides of the box before the audience goes, right, that’s a box, but with sound effects, I can just rip open tape, and they know that that’s a box, and we realised very quickly that we could be 10 times faster than mime.

“We couldn’t believe that nobody was doing it, and to this day, no one has really stolen the idea. Well, people try; some people in Europe have been doing similar routines, but in a shitty sort of way.”

Over the many international tours, the late comedian and actor Robin Williams became a fan and a friend. “He came and saw our first show in LA with Eric Idle, and then took us to dinner,” Collins said. “Robin was a very subdued guy, very caring and soft spoken, but then something would happen to set him off.

“I went to the toilet and there was this paper with something on it about laser vaginal rejuvenation, and I came back to the table, and he just clicked on and went into a five-minute tirade about vaginas becoming basically zippers now, which was freaking hilarious, and then switched back into this gentle, sweet guy.”

The extent of Williams’ compassion was evident when the duo supported the comedian on an Australasian tour. “We were flying on his private jet and everything, and it was great fun, but he found out how little we were being paid,” Collins said.

“In New Zealand, he came into our dressing room with two envelopes filled with cash, like five grand in each, and said he’d just found out from the accountant how much we were not being paid and couldn’t believe it. I said, no, we’re doing it for you, and he kept saying, please, it will make my night if you just take this.

“It was so beautiful, and that was the night he was giving all of the proceeds to the Wellington earthquake appeal, so he wasn’t making any money.”

The eternally youthful performer enjoys a multigenerational fan base, as the shows have done since their inception. “As a parent myself, I know how precious those moments are, and there’s nothing like laughing at the same thing that your children are; it hardly ever happens, but it’s always happened to us,” he said.

“After a show recently, this older guy came up to me. He was tearing up. Makes me cry just thinking about it, and he said, I’m here with my grandchild, and we were both roaring together during the show. She’s going to remember this night forever, and I’m in that memory. It was so sweet.”

Collins is always in perpetual motion with a tour schedule as heavy as ever, and he is adamant that he is in the perfect place. “Theatre is the last bastion of entertainment and it’s going to save the f***ing world,” he said.

“Our film and television industry is down the shitter at the moment, and people are using their screens all the time, in the cinemas, watching TV, even reading books. Theatre is that last stronghold where nobody is looking at a screen because they are looking at art being created in front of them.

“I cannot think of another art form where that happens. I’m telling you, theatre will save us.”

One of the duo’s most celebrated creations, Speedmouse, hits the Twin Towns stage on May 1. For tickets, visit twintowns.com.au/events/theumbilical-brothers.