
The coveted Mo Award has spectacularly landed in the lap of comedy stars David Collins and Shane Dundas seven times.
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The pair are more well known as the Umbilical Brothers, also affectionately referred to as the 'Umbies', and they will be performing at the Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre at 8pm on Friday, February 3.
Their latest smash hit show, The Distraction, took out the Best Comedy Award at the 2021 Adelaide Fringe, and with fresh special effects created by the master of visual effects, Doug Bayne, the phenomenal duo promise "a special night" for their Dubbo audience.
Mr Collins said he's checked out the seating arrangement at the DRTCC for Friday's gig and gave the hint it could be best to "sit as far back as possible".
"You're coming to a live show that will be put up on the wide screen with special effects. Everything is live and Doug is with us on stage, we're turning the camera to the audience and we are doing all sorts of things with lively audience participation," he said.
At least Mr Collins has warned the audience of an impending scenario at DRTCC when The Distraction, a unique mix of mind-bending live comedy with back-breaking physicality is presented by the Umbies, who are known for their signature mime and slapstick comic effects.
Mr Collins and Mr Dundas, along with with Bayne's prolific talent on visual effects, will take the audience to a live show that also features the audience themselves.
"The idea came from our obsession with screens, everybody is looking at their phone or laptop screens all day," Mr Collins said.
"Then COVID happens and we're trapped at home for two years and everyone at home are just looking at their screen so we created a live show with special effects.
"We turn the camera on the audience so we can make their heads explode ...oh my gosh its blowing our minds, too."
A string of big live shows, TV, and film appearances since the early 1990s has made them a household favourite here and abroad, most memorable for the duo is performing for the late Queen Elizabeth at a Royal Variety Show in London a decade ago.
They performed with Dame Shirley Bassey, Guns & Roses, Cliff Richards, and opera singer Andrea Bocelli and were told, "the Queen loved it".
They were featured as Aussie talents on David Letterman's The Late Show, Jay Leno's Tonight Show, and Stephen Colbert's Late Show among the many TV appearances over the years and were named as two of The Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Most Creative People in Entertainment.
Collins and Dundas met as acting students at Western Sydney University and since 1984's performances at Theatre Nepean, the duo has been making waves on screen and on stage, supporting the N'Sync at late actor Robin Williams's earliest shows at stadiums.
But Mr Collins wants their audience to know his roots in the Central West that's why they made a special tour date at Dubbo, as well as at Orange Civic Theatre on Saturday, 4 February, and Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre on Sunday, February 5.
"My relations came from Dubbo ... my mum Helen Collins grew up in Forbes while her family ran Flannery's Hotel now the Australian Hotel," he said.
"It will be a special night for families and everyone."
The brother with a balding head, Mr Dundas, however is warning audiences, "it's going to be pretty freaky".
"We'll be wrestling with live special effects. David and I have always imagined movie-like visuals when creating and performing."
For more details and to book for The Distraction, click here.