The Umbilical Brothers

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The Umbilical Brothers
Umbilical Brothers with fan 2014.jpg
Dundas (left) and Collins (right) with a fan in 2014
Medium Television, stand-up
NationalityAustralian
Years active1988–present
Notable works and roles
MembersDavid Collins
Shane Dundas

The Umbilical Brothers are an Australian comic duo formed in 1988, consisting of David Collins (born 19 January 1969) and Shane Dundas (born 30 March 1971). Their performances heavily feature physical comedy and surreal elements. Stage shows by the Umbilical Brothers include Heaven by Storm (1996), Thwack (1999), SpeedMouse (2001), Don't Explain (2007), and Kidshow: Not Suitable For Children (2015). [1]

Contents

In 2006, Collins and Dundas created and starred in a children's comedy series called The Upside Down Show , which won a Daytime Emmy Award [2] and a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Children's Program. [3] The series was inspired by the Umbilical Brothers' adult-oriented comedy act SpeedMouse. [4]

The duo's other television appearances include regular skits on The Sideshow and guest performances on the Late Show with David Letterman , The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , and Rove .

Beginnings

The Umbilical Brothers — nicknamed "Umbies" — started performing professionally in the early 1990s. Their collaborations began when Collins and Dundas were both studying at Theatre Nepean's three-year acting course at the University of Western Sydney. A year later, in a jazz class, Collins broke Dundas' nose during a dance move. Their tutors, perhaps believing a burgeoning comedy partnership should wait until after graduation, put Dundas and Collins in separate classes. The pair defied this, sneaking into the auditorium afterhours to play with the PA system and invent moves to match.

Style

The Umbilical Brothers' performances combine mime with ordinary dialogue and vocal sound effects. They use puppetry, pantomiming, slapstick, mimicry and audience participation, and make scant use of props and lighting. After having performed for years, their routines are highly scripted. Their style can be described as simply "microphonic mime".

Performances

They have performed on the Late Show with David Letterman , [5] The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , [6] The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , [7] Broadway, Rove , Sarvo , Good News Week (expressly for the 'So You Think You Can Mime' segment) and The Sideshow . [8] They have also performed at the Cat Laughs, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Just for Laughs, Sydney Opera House, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Tampere Theatre Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and also at Woodstock 1999. [9]

The Umbilical Brothers also guest-starred on Double the Fist . [10] In the episode "Ultimate Weapon", Shane played a pair of mystical guards to the TimeSaw, one who lies and one who tells the truth. Both characters explode when The Womp tricks them into doing the opposite of their role.[ citation needed ] David won best actor at the world's biggest short film competition, Tropfest with Silencer, which he also co-wrote, co-directed and starred in. He also co-wrote and starred in The Luck Child for the Sydney Theatre Company, which won best production at Sydney Theatre Awards and Adelaide Fringe. He has also starred in the feature Red Christmas , as well as the TV shows Drop Dead Weird , Oh Yuck!, True Murder, The Letdown and Disney's Book of Once Upon a Time. Short films include Puppets Versus People: Asylum (which has over a million views), Tay Man, Emissary, The Detectives Of Noir Town and The Kiss. His voice over work includes Helmut, King Dino: Journey to Fire Mountain and Cat God.

In August 2006, the Umbilical Brothers began appearing as the main characters on the Logie Award winning children's television program The Upside Down Show . The show, developed by Sesame Workshop for the Noggin channel, makes extensive use of their particular style of mime and humour. In December 2006, in a New York Post interview, Shane Dundas expressed doubts about the return of the show for a second season. [11] On 1 June 2007, the Umbilical Brothers announced on their website that the series would not be renewed for a second season, and that Noggin USA had decided to end The Upside Down Show after a single season. [12]

In 2017, the Umbilical Brothers became the storytellers on the Disney mini-series The Book of Once Upon a Time for season 3.

In 2021, the Umbilical Brothers took their new live show "The Distraction" across Australia, including Brisbane (at QPAC), Western Australia and Sydney. The show features David and Shane using props and green screens, whilst using special effects to create the show.

Shows

The Umbilical Brothers have performed seven shows, five of which appear as DVDs:

Other appearances

In 2022, Dundas and Collins appeared in The Tourist as helicopter pilots who help Jamie Dornan's character find his way in the country. [18] Collins also played Smeg in the 2024 film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga [19] and a cameraman in The Fall Guy .

Video albums

TitleDetailsCertification
SpeedMouse: Live from the Sydney Opera House
  • Released: 2004
  • ARIA: 2× Platinum [20]
Don't Explain: Live from the Athenaeum theatre in Melbourne
  • Released: 2007
Heaven By Storm: Live from Regal Theatre
  • Released: 2010
The Rehearsal
  • Released: 2014
Not Suitable for Children
  • Released: 2017

Singles

TitleYear
"Don't Dance to This"2002

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.

YearNominee / workAwardResultRef.
2002 "Don't Dance to This" Best Comedy Release Nominated [21]
2005 The Umbilical BrothersNominated
2008 Don't ExplainNominated

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. The Umbilical Brothers won seven awards in that time. [22]

YearNominee / workAwardResult (wins only)
1993The Umbilical BrothersComedy Group of the YearWon
1994Won
1995Won
1996Won
1997Won
2001Won
2002Won

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References

  1. ↑ Chris Hook (13 June 2015). "Umbilical Brothers' Kidshow definitely not suitable for children". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  2. ↑ "Complete list of 2007 Creative Craft Daytime Emmy Award winners". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 3 July 2009.
  3. ↑ "49th Annual TV Week Logie Awards (2007)". TV Week . 6 May 2007. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012.
  4. ↑ "The Umbilical Brothers – Speedmouse: The Return Of The Roadie at Royalty Theatre – Adelaide Fringe Interview". The Clothesline. 25 February 2016. Archived from the original on 28 February 2016.
  5. ↑ "Umbilical Brothers didn't expect joke to last". The Observer. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2016. We met the Queen and David Letterman and all this stuff you can't imagine. I still can't believe it all happened. I am in the Matrix?
  6. ↑ "Umbilical Brothers bij Jay Leno". Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2019– via YouTube.
  7. ↑ "The Umbilical Brothers Grab Donald Trump By The Pantomime". Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2019– via YouTube.
  8. ↑ "The Sideshow (TV Series 2007)". IMDb .
  9. ↑ "The Umbilical Brothers". The Umbilical Brothers. Archived from the original on 3 March 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Returning: Double the Fist | TV Tonight". 29 July 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  11. ↑ "QUITTING KIDS TV – 'UPSIDE' DUO TALK ABOUT GETTING OUT JUST AS HIT SERIES IS GETTING STARTED". New York Post. 27 December 2006. Retrieved 23 September 2016. Doing more episodes "is a big question for us," says Dundas.
  12. ↑ "The Umbilical Brothers – Home". 19 June 2007. Archived from the original on 19 June 2007.
  13. ↑ "THE UMBILICAL BROTHERS SPEEDMOUSE". “You’re left only to shake your head and marvel” – NY Times. Riverside Theatres. September 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  14. ↑ McEvoy, Marc (17 October 2017). "The Upside Down Show". The Age. Retrieved 1 May 2019. Today, their puppet becomes a movie director and asks them to make a film.
  15. ↑ "The Umbilical Brothers Don't Explain". Female.com.au. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  16. ↑ "Umbilical Brothers are all action". Stuff.com.nz. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  17. ↑ Blake, Elissa (6 December 2013). "Blood brothers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 May 2019. The Umbilical Brothers are committed to physical comedy and they have the scars to prove it.
  18. ↑ Anderson, Hayley (9 January 2022). "The Tourist episode 3 cast: Who is joining the Jamie Dornan series?". Daily Express. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  19. ↑ Pulliam-Moore, Charles (22 May 2024). "'Furiosa' is a leaner, meaner 'Mad Max' story". The Verge . Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  20. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  21. ↑ "ARIA Awards Best Comedy Release". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  22. ↑ "MO Award Winners". Mo Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
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