Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, SANFORD, London, Glasgow, Stockholm, Vienna…
It's not every day that a small Maine community finds itself on the same performance itinerary as the world’s leading cultural capitals. But last month, Sanford earned a spot on the 2026 tour of the Umbilical Brothers, an internationally acclaimed Australian comedy duo known for their imaginative blend of physical and vocal comedy.
Beyond welcoming performers Dave and Shane, whose careers have carried them across 42 countries, to Sanford, the visit included another special distinction: the duo rearranged their flights to accommodate the stop, and agreed to deliver a specially adapted student performance during Sanford High School’s Homecoming Week - something they hadn’t offered in more than 20 years.
The connection that brought these artists to Sanford was Brett Williams, Director of the Sanford Performing Arts Center (SPAC), whose longstanding relationship with the duo began when he saw them off Broadway during a fellowship in New York. After bringing them to Merrill Auditorium in Portland some years later, Brett reconnected with Dave and Shane in 2023, beginning the conversation that would eventually prompt their return to Maine.
For Brett, the motivation behind the visit went beyond an hour of entertainment for Sanford students. The duo’s unconventional approach to storytelling - using little more than their voices and bodies to create characters and get laughs - is, as Brett describes it, “as analog as it gets.” Their performance offered students an opportunity to encounter a different form of artistic expression, providing a valuable contrast to everyday lives increasingly characterized by screens.
Dave echoed that sentiment from the stage, sharing, “I can’t think of another artform where people aren’t on their phones. Live theatre is the last bastion of attention - for an hour and a half, people are…completely immersed in art.” He concluded emphatically, “I think theatre is going to save the world.”
Students responded enthusiastically as the duo brought their imaginative routines into the audience. Shane delivered vocally embellished air high-fives while, at one point, several students leapt from their seats to “catch” an invisible cat Dave tossed into the crowd. SHS teacher and Theater Company co-advisor Kristie Baker observed that “there was a lot of laughter,” adding that students seemed to enjoy the performance.
The duo’s friendliness and approachability extended beyond the stage as well. They stayed for a Q&A session after the performance, patiently navigating through students’ excited chatter to answer questions and offer advice acquired from years in the industry. When one student asked the question on many minds - “Why Sanford?” - Dave’s reply was simple: “Mr. Williams is why we’re here.”
Many students lingered after the crowds were dismissed as Dave and Shane signed autographs, posed for photos, and shared how fooling around with a sound system in acting school eventually led to 35 years of artistic work. Their story offered students a glimpse of where curiosity, creativity, and the boldness to try something new can lead. After sharing his own artistic journey, Dave tipped his hat back to Brett and all of the staff who made the visit possible. “Good on you guys for bringing us here - they should be seeing stuff like this,” he said, adding “I wish I had seen stuff like this at their age."
For student Brody Hartman, who was already familiar with the Umbilical Brothers' work, seeing them live in Sanford was especially memorable. “It was a wonderful performance,” he said. “These guys are huge. I think it's insane they're here in Sanford.”
Brett shared that feeling, describing the Umbilical Brothers as “putting Sanford on the map.” Their presence and personal journey illustrated to Sanford students that, whether in Chicago, London, or Sanford, extraordinary paths can grow from simple beginnings when driven by curiosity, creativity, and a willingness to explore.
As the last students filtered out of SPAC, faint echoes of the performance could be heard in their wake: students testing their own sound effects and mimicking the duo’s craft. Those quiet attempts suggest the performance resonated beyond the auditorium, inviting students to consider with a renewed sense of possibility what they might create, discover, and accomplish through their own unique interests and abilities. As SHS students prepare for their own fall production of Peter and the Starcatcher in the coming weeks, they will have an opportunity to put that inspiration into practice - this time, not from their seats in the audience, but as the storytellers themselves.