We arrived early to get a good spot for extraordinary Japanese show Miss Revolutionary Idol Berserker, even fitting in some divine Filipino-style barbecue chicken on the way, which we elegantly ripped to shreds while watching the finale of Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon on a big screen.
Heading downstairs to a backstage area in the Adelaide Festival Centre, we were instructed by staff to remove our socks and shoes and put on disposable “beach sandals” and plastic raincoats. We sat awaiting further direction, hooded up and ready to get wet.
It felt like an instant version of (subversive UK Stadium-House duo) the KLF’s secret cult performance known as The Rites of Mu, where ticket holders were given robes, requested to bring passports and transported by plane, boat and bus to a mysterious island. In disposable plastic Druid robes, we filed forth into the Rehearsal Room.
There was more build-up from the crew as we took our seats – front and centre, of course. We were gleefully encouraged to take pictures and videos and put them up wherever we liked, and treated to an enthusiastic introduction from Miss Revolutionary Idol Berserker founder/director Toco Nikaido.
The lights went down and a slender figure in a black kimono led us into a sudden explosion of technicolour action.
Dancers burst onto the stage from all angles, singing and miming to a hyper-speed version of “Hi Ho” from Snow White. Thirty wild, beautiful characters with glitter, glow sticks and rainbow frocks zoomed around us, hi-fiving and engaging the audience head-on.
Electric-blue hair, cannily synchronised dance moves and hypnotising stares through alien contact lenses overwhelmed us.
The guys and girls of the Miss Berserker crew all emerged in the same multicolour dress and stripped down, via numerous superhero costume changes, to navy swimsuits. A head-rush of hyper pop music, visuals and up-close dancing reeled on as water and huge squares of pink and gold confetti rained down leaving cute pink marks all over anything exposed.
The repertoire zipped through so many references that they became a blur. There was definitely a flash of Lolita Fashion (an elegant 18th-century-influenced style with frills galore and wide dresses), panda-bear heads and even some ballet.
Each actor had their own take on the group style and any uptight gender boundaries were smashed to pieces. At the end we all stood on stage and marvelled at the rainbow that had been razed to the ground and the gold that clung to us. This night will not be easily forgotten.
Miss Revolutionary Idol Berserker carries with it a wild spirit of unity and serious fun, and they will not let you go without making a connection and giving you a goodbye hug or hi-five. Make sure you take part in this 50-minute love blitz!
Miss Revolutionary Idol Berserker will be presenting shows at the Rehearsal Room, Adelaide Festival Centre, until October 3.
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