Notorious first ladies of crazed adagio, The Town Bikes Gabi Barton and Carla Yamine have amused and bemused audiences across the Australia, Europe, The U.K. and America with their inimitable stylings and high voltage performance. Born from a desire to present entertaining and meticulous work, their unique brand of dance based theatrics has catapulted them into venues as diverse as East German Fishing Ships, Theatres, Mammoth Music Festivals, Spiegeltents, Swingers Parties and a Buddhist Cabaret.

Purveyors of slapstick and curious choreography, The Town Bikes works, reflect their wish to celebrate the pedestrian and champion lifes minutia. Beige can look like a rainbow if you squint a little, really it can.

Inspiration is gleaned from idiosyncrasy and synchronicity, exploring their difference through a prescribed similarity. Employing an endless assortment of far fetched ideas, absurd costumes and incongruous props, The Bikes have spent the better part of eight years crafting and producing numerous works.

From humble beginnings as a renegade act, thrust between a staggering array of musical talents they continue to evolve and hone their particular hybrid of movement based performance art, equally at home in the grandeur of an old theatre or the immediacy of a street corner.

Relentless quests for absurdity, wilful exuberance and flagrant performance antics have inspired collaborations and appearances with a wondrous assortment of creative alumni:

Music

They have both warmed and set stages alight for likes of The 5678s, Andre Williams, The Blues Explosion, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Living End, The Liars, Bob Log 111, Har Mar Superstar, The Black Lips, Extra Action Marching Band, Louie Austen, B(if)tek, Curse Ov Dialect and Clare Moore, Architecture in Helsinki and Clare Bowditch to name a few.

The incomparable Clare Moore even penned a tune ‘The Town Bikes Song’ in their honour.

Guest Artistes

The Bikes appeared as guest artistes for several sell out seasons of Finucane and Smiths, The Burlesque Hour in Melbourne, Adelaide and Edinburgh Festival from 2004-2008.

A collaboration with Yana Alana & Tha Paranas for their smash hit show ‘Bite Me Harder’ at the Melbourne Arts Centre 2008 also brought much elation.

Shows

In 2006, The Bikes successfully premiered their first full length work ‘MILK’ at Melbourne Fringe Festival. Directed by John-Paul Hussey with Costumes by Sprinkle Magic.

The Town Bikes premiered ‘The Meat Show’ at the Famous Spiegeltent, in 2007 before presenting it as part of Adelaide Fringe in 2008 in the Garden of Unearthly Delights . Directed by Merophie Carr, with an original score and live accompaniment by Kelly Ryall, costumes from Sprinkle Magic, sets by Daniele Poidomani and the assistance of Arts Victoria.

In 2007 and 2008 The Bikes produced and presented Dance-A-Thon 5000/6000. A sold out event which brought together a bevy of dance troupes, including Annas Go-Go Army, The Golden Tappers, Swing Patrol, The Body Electric Dancers and insisted that an excess of 1500 punters assist in breaking two consecutive records, involving paper bags, rhythm ribbons and Fleetwood Mac.

 

Festivals

Performances at grand music festivals such as the Big Day Out, Meredith Music Festival, Parklife and community festivals like Moomba, have also provided a platform for well received and wide spread exhibitionism.

Film

 

 

'Meatworks' a filmic collaboration between The Town Bikes and the truly brilliant Cassandra Tytler, screened at ACMI as part of Phillip Brophy's Descore 2004.

Tours

The Bikes have pedalled their wares among several continents. Tours of Germany, The Netherlands, France, The United Kingdom, America and regular appearances across the nation they call home, have stimulated smiles, puzzlement, applause, tears and on occasion, an exodus to the bathroom, from their audiences.

Replete with their swag of curious notions, excess costumes, incongruous props, vivacious characters and insatiable thirst for connecting with the outside world, self proclaimed ambassadors of Mutant Cabaret, The Town Bikes go forth on their endless quest for matching jumpsuits and cheap thrills.