The Umbilical Brothers

Australian comic duo

The Umbilical Brothers are an Australian comic duo formed in 1988, consisting of David Collins and Shane Dundas. Their performances heavily feature physical comedy and surreal elements. Stage shows by the Umbilical Brothers include Heaven by Storm (1996), Thwack (1999), SpeedMouse (2001), Don't Explain (2007), and Kidshow: Not Suitable For Children (2015). In 2006, Collins and Dundas created and starred in a children's comedy series called The Upside Down Show, which won a Daytime Emmy Award and a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Children's Program. The series was inspired by the Umbilical Brothers' adult oriented comedy act SpeedMouse. The duo's other television appearances include regular skits on The Sideshow and guest performances on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Rove.

The Umbilical Brothers — nicknamed "Umbies" — started performing professionally in the early 1990s. Their collaborations began when Collins and Dundas were both studying at Theatre Nepean's three year acting course at the University of Western Sydney. A year later, in a jazz class, Collins broke Dundas' nose during a dance move. Their tutors, perhaps believing a burgeoning comedy partnership should wait until after graduation, put Dundas and Collins in separate classes. The pair defied this, sneaking into the auditorium afterhours to play with the PA system and invent moves to match.

The Umbilical Brothers' performances combine mime with ordinary dialogue and vocal sound effects. They use puppetry, pantomiming, slapstick, mimicry and audience participation, and make scant use of props and lighting. After having performed for years, their routines are highly scripted. Their style can be described as simply "microphonic mime".

They have performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Broadway, Rove, Sarvo, Good News Week (expressly for the 'So You Think You Can Mime' segment) and The Sideshow. They have also performed at the Cat Laughs, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Just for Laughs, Sydney Opera House, Adelaide Fringe Festival, Tampere Theatre Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and also at Woodstock 1999. The Umbilical Brothers also guest starred on Double the Fist. In the episode "Ultimate Weapon", Shane played a pair of mystical guards to the TimeSaw, one who lies and one who tells the truth. Both characters explode when The Womp tricks them into doing the opposite of their role. David won best actor at the world's biggest short film competition, Tropfest with Silencer, which he also co wrote, co directed and starred in. He also co wrote and starred in The Luck Child for the Sydney Theatre Company, which won best production at Sydney Theatre Awards and Adelaide Fringe. He has also starred in the feature Red Christmas, as well as the TV shows Drop Dead Weird, Oh Yuck!, True Murder, The Let Down and Disney's Book Of Once Upon A Time. Short films include Puppets Versus People: Asylum (which has over a million views), Tay Man, Emissary, The Detectives Of Noir Town and The Kiss. His voice over work includes Helmut, King Dino: Journey To Fire Mountain and Cat God. In August 2006, the Umbilical Brothers began appearing as the main characters on the Logie Award winning children's television program The Upside Down Show. The show, developed by Sesame Workshop for the Noggin channel, makes extensive use of their particular style of mime and humour. In December 2006, in a New York Post interview, Shane Dundas expressed doubts about the return of the show for a second season. On 1 June 2007, the Umbilical Brothers announced on their website that the series would not be renewed for a second season, and that Noggin USA had decided to end The Upside Down Show after a single season. In 2017, the Umbilical Brothers became the storytellers on the Disney mini series The Book of Once Upon a Time for season 3. In 2021, the Umbilical Brothers took their new live show "The Distraction" across Australia, including Brisbane (at QPAC), Western Australia and Sydney. The show features David and Shane using props and green screens, whilst using special effects to create the show.

In 2022, Dundas and Collins appeared in The Tourist as helicopter pilots who help Jamie Dornan's character find his way in the country.