There’s something inherently joyful about watching a grown man make art out of bubbles. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of backyard bubble wands or maybe it’s just the sheer weirdness of seeing them elevated to theatre, but Bubble Show for Adults Only at The West End Electric is one of those experiences that sits somewhere between cabaret, science experiment and fever dream.
Fronted by Kurt Murray and Iulia Benze, the show bubbles over (pun intended) with colour, light, and a very particular kind of chaos. They’ve taken something as simple as soap and air and stretched it into 70 minutes of visual spectacle.
It’s a bit whimsical, a bit sexy, more than a bit unhinged, and that’s sort of the point. This isn’t your standard night at the theatre. It’s bubbles like you’ve never seen them. Not just blown, but engineered.
Bubbles inside bubbles, cubes, octagons, fog-filled orbs that glide across the stage like tiny planets. Hypnotic in every sense, and I found myself grinning from ear-to-ear for reasons that I didn’t expect. Even when things went wrong, and they did go wrong, it was easy to forgive and forget, knowing the fickle and fragile nature of the material at hand.
Of course, it’s not just a bubble show. The “for adults” tag adds a cheeky twist. If I’m honest, though, the sex appeal sometimes feels like a costume change rather than a concept. There are moments where it leans a little too hard into the naughty, more about shock value than substance.
The thing is, the bubbles don’t need any help being entertaining. Strip away the lingerie and winks, and it would still be a brilliant, grown-up night out.
The show runs as nine quick-fire scenes, each with its own oddball theme. Between them, a pre-recorded voice tries to set the mood, though it’s a bit muffled; I caught maybe half of what was said.
Not that it matters. The visuals do the talking. One scene feels like a psychedelic trip, another like an alien invasion. Then suddenly there’s a balls-to-the-wall puppet show that artistically blows things to a whole other level (if you catch my drift).
At one point in the evening, I even found myself dragged on stage, covered in soap and wondering how on earth this became my Sunday night.
Behind the silliness, the technical side is seriously impressive. Lighting and sound are spot-on, each sequence getting its own rhythm and tone. The pair use an arsenal of odd tools: rings, tubes, smoke machines, gadgets that look like they were nicked from a science lab, all to create patterns that shouldn’t even be possible.
One second, they’re creating a bedsheet-sized wall of a bubble, the next, juggling smoke-filled spheres under spectacular light. It was weirdly beautiful.
In short, it doesn’t try to be something it isn’t. It’s self-aware, overtly ridiculous, and happy to be both. Murray and Benze clearly love what they do, and that joy blows over the entire venue at The West End Electric. There was a shared sense of “what did we just see?” among the crowd, and that kind of sums up the whole night.
By the end, I walked out both amused and mildly confused – but in the best way. It’s rough around the edges, occasionally too much, and yet completely original. There really isn’t anything else like it.
With tickets to Bubble Show For Adults Only starting from a little over $30 – I loved it – my partner didn’t. And that’s exactly why you should go… to find out which side of the bubble you’re on.
Bubble Show for Adults Only runs to 9 November at The West End Electric as part of Melt Festival 2025. 125 Boundary Street West End Qld 4101.
TIckets: https://www.melt.org.au/events/bubble-show-for-adults-only/
Website: https://adultbubbleshow.com/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/bubbleshowforadultsonly/
Hero image: photo by Cris Berserker, Third Eye Shoots
