Outrageous, anarchic, and gleefully unfiltered, PO PO MO CO (Post Post Modern Comedy) have built a cult reputation for their fiercely physical, queer feminist approach to clowning. Now celebrating a decade of pushing bodies, and audiences, to their limits, the award-winning ensemble brings their riotous Best Bits to Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2026, promising a gloriously unhinged collision of camp, chaos, and comedy.
Led by Artistic Director Kimberley Twiner, the troupe’s work strips comedy back to its most primal, embodied form—where butts can sing, farts can dance, and the “perfectly flawed” human body takes centre stage. Ahead of their Space Theatre takeover, we spoke with Twiner about reclaiming clowning traditions, challenging cabaret norms, and why you might want to bring a spare pair of underwear.
Kimberley, you’re the Artistic Director of PO PO MO CO (Post Post Modern Comedy). For the uninitiated, what is PO PO MO CO?
PO PO MO CO is a queer feminist physical comedy troupe. From that point people often ask what is physical comedy? We define it as a style of comedy that privileges the body as the main comedic device. The extreme use of embodiment and pushing physicality to its limits is what makes a PO PO MO CO show unique. We rely less on text and more on our bodies.
You’re bringing your Best Bits show to Adelaide Cabaret Festival. How does a clowning act fit into cabaret?
There is room for clowns in every genre. Historically, clowns emerged in a circus context. They would provide comic relief after the audience was witness to very tense, death defying, virtuosic tricks. Clowns really thrive in contexts where there is a status quo set up. So it makes sense for us to punctuate the immensely talented performers of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival with a troupe of clowns. It’s like balance!
How did you choose the acts to fit into your Best Bits show?
Quite a few acts for Best Bits have come from our recent show Flutter and Flounce which won awards at Melbourne Fringe in 2019 and then Best Ensemble at New Zealand Fringe in 2020. This show was on a roll and we were performing it in New Zealand just as the COVID outbreak was starting. So it is a good show that sort of got put on the shelf. This was a great reason to call back some of that great work! The acts we have included are classics that we know get a great response from the audience.
As outrageous femme queer clowns, how does Best Bits use camp and sex-positive vibes to challenge norms in a cabaret setting like Space Theatre?
Cabaret is a rebellious form and should retain its anarchic spirit. I think we see that so clearly in the work of Reuben Kaye (the festival director) , whose work is endlessly inspiring. Yes, our work is camp and sex-positive, and we think the femme body is FUNNY! And we think sex is funny! We think human life, animal life, plant life, and the life of minerals and gasses is FUNNY! This outlook is kind of taboo in a world where the femme body has to be sexualized to be appreciated or acceptable. Breast feeding breasts, our imperfect bellies and hairy armpits are on full display in a PO PO show. That in itself might challenge Space Theatre – but maybe not?! We think our work desexualizes the body so it can be appreciated in its perfectly flawed, floppy and flappy natural wilderness.
Yes, our work is camp and sex-positive, and we think the femme body is FUNNY! And we think sex is funny! We think human life, animal life, plant life, and the life of minerals and gasses is FUNNY!
You’re a graduate of École Philippe Gaulier and specialise in ensemble physical comedy (clown, bouffon, character) and physical theatre grounded in the Lecoq pedagogy. What drew you to Gaulier and Lecoq?
As a feminist collective we cannot support the methods of Philippe Gaulier. We cannot endorse any teacher who uses humiliation and shame as a core teaching principle. It is not okay for a teacher to ‘jokingly’ call on misogynistic, racist, sexist or homophobic comments to provoke a student. So, we really separate ourselves from the Gaulier tradition. The work we do sits inside the Lecoq Pedagogy of Mask, Mime and Movement theatre and we have learnt that primarily from our wonderful Italian teacher Giovanni Fusetti. We also credit our other clown teachers Liz Skitch, Deanna Fleysher, John Bolton, and Scott Alderdice. We have also spent a lot of time working together and learning from each other. I think we have shared a very matriarchal collective learning environment.
As a feminist collective we cannot support the methods of Philippe Gaulier. We cannot endorse any teacher who uses humiliation and shame as a core teaching principle.
What made you choose Lecoq over other clowning types?
Jacques Lecoq is a pioneer of 21st century physical comedy for his recovery of Commedia d’ell Arte aka Italian Comedy. He is also one of the greatest contributors to our modern theatre, his key principle being ‘tout bouge’ which translated means ‘everything moves’. By sticking with this we are in a constant embodied investigation. We asked: How does a ‘butt sing’? The answer is a hilarious lip sinking butt puppet! We asked: How does a fart move? The answer – an utterly ridiculous contemporary fart dance. The list goes on. If it moves we can play it. The Lecoq pedagogy is crucial to our work and we have chosen it because it is the most generative and is abundantly physical.
When did you know that you wanted to “run away and join the circus” as the line goes?
We are all performers from way back. Our troupe is made up of a motley crew of performers. We have someone who cut her teeth on the big stages of Vegas as a show girl. We’ve got an ex-nurse who can do the deepest squats you’ve ever seen. We’ve got the Green Room Award winner of best legit actor in the state. We’ve got the founder of Melbourne Physical Theatre School. We’ve been running away to join the circus for ages!
We’ve been running away to join the circus for ages!
Your tagline says that PO PO MO CO dares to “play where no nip has slipped before”. How do you balance puerile absurdity, eccentric dance, and queer subversion without crossing into discomfort for diverse festival audiences?
Our work is grounded in red nose clown, it is highly naïve. There’s loads of nudity, yes, but it retains something naïve. It’s more like a three year old doing a nudie run down the hallway than a late night burlesque act. For some people an empowered nude female body that is not being sexualized may seem subversive and we are okay with that. (By the way – we highly recommend you check out Bettie Bombshell’s burlesque show as part of Adelaide Cabaret Festival!!)
There’s loads of nudity, yes, but it retains something naïve. It’s more like a three year old doing a nudie run down the hallway than a late night burlesque act.
You’ve just celebrated 10 years of PO PO MO CO. What are the secrets to longevity in a circus/clowning troupe?
At rehearsals we dance to a musical theatre playlist chock-full of Jesus Christ Superstar. We have a live in a wet-nurse. Coffee enemas. We fired our HR team and replaced it with a guinea pig. Monthly wiccan ceremonies. We eat a lot of vegan meat. We wash our anus’ prior to rehearsals to respect each other’s dignity and to honour the muses. Clowning troupes are weird and wonderful organisms with unique quirks that just seem to work.
Why should people come to see PO PO MO CO Best Bits at Adelaide Cabaret Festival?
Look, we are funny. Nowadays we often get people coming up to us saying – that they literally wet themselves. BYO spare pair of undies. You have been warned.
Nowadays we often get people coming up to us saying – that they literally wet themselves. BYO spare pair of undies. You have been warned.
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We thank Kimberley Twiner for this interview and can’t wait to see PO PO MO CO’s Best Bits at Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2026!
KEY INFO FOR PO PO MO CO BEST BITS AT ADELAIDE CABARET FESTIVAL 2026
WHAT: PO PO MO CO Best Bits
WHEN: 5 June 9pm & 7 June 6pm
WHERE: Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre, ADELAIDE
HOW: Purchase your tickets for the show tickets here
HOW MUCH: Single ticket prices are as follows:
- Premium $54
- A Reserve $49
The 7 June show is also part of a Premium package with tickets to two other shows which can be purchased here.
Discover other Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2026 shows with links to France here.
