Pictured: my dream last night

The Australian Open has begun, kicking off the tennis season, and with it comes immediate controversy.  One of the tournament’s side attractions, a Cirque du Soleil-inspired circus/burlesque show called Absinthe, has come under fire for including obscenity, simulated masturbation, and racial slurs.  Sounds like the holidays with my family.

[Tennis Australia] CEO Steve Wood has defended the decision to include a show in the event’s entertainment line-up that has been described by some reviewers as “sleazy” and “borderline pornographic”. [...]

Performances are scheduled twice nightly… every night of the tournament, with a recommendation that those attending should not be under 18. But it has been slammed by critics who say it shouldn’t be associated with the family-friendly sporting event.

Absinthe first appeared at the acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe Festival, then had a quiet but celebrated run in New York.  By all accounts it seems like an entertaining, edgy variety show for adults, which is probably why people are bitching.  Have a look at this excerpt from the New York Times review of the show:

[Producer Ross] Mollison continued: “For instance last year we had a sword swallower, Miss Behave. But she stubbed out a cigar on her tongue, downed a pint of beer, and then stuck the leg of a table down her throat. So that was a very unique act.”

Some tightasses are destined to get off on complaining about stuff like that.  Not me, though.  I just give a standing ovation and shout, “Great show, Mom!”

[Lion in Oil]