Bourgeois & Maurice: Pleasure Seekers is satirical fun at Adelaide Fringe

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Colourful zany costumes, satirical songs sung in harmony, interpretative dance moves, and a night of fun is what you’ll find at Bourgeois & Maurice: Pleasure Seekers at Adelaide Fringe 2023.

Bourgeois and Maurice call themselves “strange singing siblings, from another dimension”. Georgeois Bourgeois is the fictional brother to his fictional sister Maurice Maurice. They told us in an interview that they live by the maxim “more is more… and then add more” and Pleasure Seekers proves that they truly are. Their makeup is bright and is a mash-up of 80s colours and shapes reminiscent of bird plumage, Kiss and Bowie. And just as the make-up is exaggerated so too are the wonderfully weird costumes which are revealed throughout Pleasure Seekers. These are bright, colourful and OTT. Maurice Maurice’s bouffant is dizzyingly high.

Having had too many bad meals and watched too much bad TV during England’s long COVID-19 lockdown, Georgeois Bourgeois tells us he started to experience the life of a heterosexual. Now that lockdowns are over and borders are open, Bourgeois and Maurice are on a quest for pleasure and they’re taking you with them.

Pleasure Seekers takes us on a journey of songs about topics such as wanting some meat after “swallowing the same old aubergine too long” when going vegan, starting a war on babies “we can’t keep accepting immigrants from the womb”, consumerism and the evil of Amazon. They also explore the metaverse, what they’d each do in an alternative life and a more existential questioning of the point of their lives.

Bourgeois & Maurice have written almost all of the songs performed in Pleasure Seekers and they are extremely witty, sharp satire addressing some of life’s issues. They’re great ear worms and you’ll find yourself singing the choruses well after the show. While the songs from the Pleasure Seekers show haven’t yet been released, you can listen to the back catalogue of their past 15 years of shows on their website and your preferred music streaming platform.

Bourgeois & Maurice Pleasure Seekers was also awarded the Week 3 Best Cabaret Award at Adelaide Fringe 2023 and we can see why. A hidden gem, away from the larger Fringe venues. You’ll find them at the Empire Cabaret Theatre at the Wonderland Festival Hub in Hindmarsh Square. Only 4 shows remain: at 8:15pm tonight, Thursday, and tomorrow, Friday, and 10pm Saturday and Sunday.