Spencer Maybe: The Last Trilogy

Spencer Maybe is an excellent all-around performer. First off, he is incredibly sexy, and has a tendency to lock eyes with audience members in a steamy stare. His dancing oozes understated confidence, and his signature move, a quick, sharp drop to a low squat (words can’t do it justice) crackles with energy and strength. Not only does he have a good voice, but he uses it as an instrument — controlled, playful, nuanced — as he sings the songs that he writes himself. And he’s confident, even when faced with a quiet, discouraging afternoon audience. Not to be dismayed, he tries to engage them with audience interaction…including assisting him with his striptease!

As for the structure and content of the performance, however, there’s definitely room for improvement. Admirably, Spencer’s show has a message, and is about what’s important to him, rather than being just another example of burlesque that uses too thin a premise as an excuse for stripping. But Spencer’s message is an incredibly hard sell, especially to a typical Fringe audience who have come to be entertained. He attempts to stimulate thought (and hopefully action) about climate change, and tries to impress upon the audience that they can do whatever they put their minds to.

Spencer’s first alter ego, Jake Wellington, is a jaded climate campaigner, singing at something like a Live Earth concert. As he sings his second, powerful song, images are projected onto the screen behind him: cities lit up at night by a billion energy-sucking lights, freeways crowded with the same number of cars and majestic icebergs crashing into the sea. This dramatisation of climate change — showing the causes and effects in juxtaposition, to heart-wrenching music — is extremely effective, and, as Jake sings “I’m scared of what the future holds”, I definitely feel the same. It is clear that Spencer is not merely a burlesque artist with a slight interest in living a ‘green lifestyle’. He has gone on demonstrations and has a deep understanding of the issues. Jake hits the nail on the head when he identifies the cause of our problems: “our crazed consumerist society.”

Just as things are getting really serious, Jake/Spencer shifts gears: “This may never happen! It’s all speculation and conjecture! Breathe a sigh of relief. You’re here to be entertained!”. With this wry, insightful comment on modern society’s behaviour (especially at the Festival!), Spencer creates a path to segue into his next character: the devil, and the voice in Jake’s head that makes him think things like the above. Spencer proceeds to distract and entertain the audience with a strip tease, in front of a bunch of stripping women (projected onto the screen), and to the sound of his own song Flesh.

However, after Spencer changes into his white costume, the performance loses its cohesiveness — and its edge. The third character is supposed to be the angelic counterpart to the devilish voice in Jake’s — or in anyone’s — head. But this isn’t made clear, and the audience is left wondering what’s going on, and why this burlesque artist has started singing two corny, motivational songs about how we can all do anything if we put our minds to it. Towards the end, Spencer does connect this to the rest of the show, by saying that if we can all do anything, and if we do it together, then we can stop climate change. Apart from using an invalid syllogism, the connection is tenuous, and not enough to provide a context for his third character.

Spencer is in a very difficult position. Because he is trying to use his performance to communicate his messages to the unconverted, he often faces crowds who are reluctant to take his ideas in. It is impressive and admirable that he sings about what’s important to him and bases his show around such good messages. But he could use those themes to create a performance that hangs together and engages the audience better. And, since he’s using the medium of burlesque, a performance that is more risque, more playful, more political, more sexy throughout.