FRINGE TROUPES
Wanna be In our ang?
Blood is thicker than water, but something stronger than both motivates two Fringe troupes. DEREVO and ACROBAT explain the virtues of dedication and urine drinking.
Words: Peter Ross and Brian Donaldson
24 musr 22—28 Aug 1997
Acrobat
I DON’T KNOW if anyone has ever accused Simon Yates of taking the piss. but if they did. an unexpected ‘why. yes I do. actually’ would be forthcoming.
The leader of the Australian physical theatre/dance troupe Acrobat and ex-Circus 07. member has been quaffing the stuff for some time. He began after falling from an experimental pendulum known as the Russian Swing. leaving his shin minus a chunk of flesh. Walking became difficult after the wound became infected and traditional healing remedies failed. As life and career were threatened. Yates sought the help of a German natural therapist.
‘He slowly and quietly asked me if I‘d heard anything about urine therapy.‘ recalls Yates. ‘I told him I‘d pissed on blisters before but he then suggested ingesting it.‘
A period of water and urine supping ensued and six days later the infection cleared up. reducing ‘a very large gaping hole which seemed to be bottomless and bad stuff oozing out. to a standard graze on the leg‘.
The news of the ‘cure‘ spread. and his fellow acrobats read up on the subject. discovering that such tastes are more common than you‘d imagine. Apparently. urine contains properties which boost the immunity
system. The group have now graduated from that first dry retching. to gargling at will. Perhaps they even have urine swirling competitions at home — they all share a big. big house in the country.
‘lt sounds cliched, but it is like a family situation where you get up each other’s noses. but ultimately you love them and care about their welfare.’ admits Yates.
‘We come from diverse backgrounds but share an obsessive nature. I tend to get extreme
’He slowly and quietly asked me if I’d heard anything about urine therapy. I told him I'd pissed on blisters before, but he then suggested ingesting it.’ Simon Yates
in a way that seems to be appreciated and frustrated by people — the way l train. the things I eat. the lifestyle I choose to lead. 1 get up. train. swim. train some more. do some somersaults off the bridge. train again. build some equipment and then I‘ll read literature on properties of materials or food and nutrition.’
Not that hedonism doesn’t exist in the Acrobat world. ‘We like trashy. crappy culture and doing stupid. inane shit. Circus O'l. tend to appeal to a broad audience base and families. whereas we don't mind being a bit offensive.’ (BD)
Acrobat (Fringe) Assembly Rooms (Venue 3), Edinburgh, 0131 226 2428, 21—25 Aug, 10pm, £9l£10 (£7/£8).
Family ties: Acrobat walk on the wild side together