Nama-wine! Tash York implored us in her one woman show to open our minds to true Winefulness, and we sure did. Just like her previous cabaret shows, Tash invites the audience into her world through parodies and original songs, delving into both the deep and the hilarious moments of life. Throughout her one woman show, Tash, alongside her truly talented accompanist, brought laughter and smiles to all who attended. The lighthearted gags and silly stories brought the audience to fits of laughter, while also connecting them to her story.
Presenting this show in The Parlour at Gluttony, along with the stunning lighting choices, assisted in this by making the atmosphere as intimate as possible.
Winefulness is by far well worth the price of admission. And without a doubt I know Tash York has in fact reached true Winefulness.
Three comedians rewrite a variety of your favourite film scripts with jokes and plot-holes, before getting an array of unwitting actors to read them live, for the first time. This haphazard, live read rushes through your favourite films leaving you lost for breath as both you and the performers discover the hilarity of the script together.
Dreamgun: Film Reads is presented by Hey Boss – a collaborative, award-winning production and management company working with cutting-edge, thoughtful and future-minded theatre, music, and comedy shows on the global festival circuit. In this production, performers with other Fringe shows skillfully read a script for the first time, and make the show well worth the ticket price.
In the small, close venue, it was easy to get swept up in the show and let yourself be taken along for a great ride.
Dreamgun reads a different film script every night, rewritten with jokes and performed by unprepared comedians, including crowd-favourites from ‘Harry Potter’ to ‘Silence of the Lambs’. There is some minor swearing, but it is a good show for ages 15+. This show runs every night remaining for Adelaide Fringe 2020, so get out and see it.
Soaring to spectacular heights, Le Aerial did not disappoint! The one hour show was fabulously constructed with amazing feats of strength and skill both on stage and off, with the fly team working hard on the sides to allow the on stage artists to perfect their routines. With silks, hoops, chains, and even some floor routines, there was a bit of everything you could hope to see. Credit to the two gorgeous live voices who accompanied most of the performance, with masterful technique and sassy stage presence. It’s a fine art to provide a wonderful performance without detracting from the athletic stars of the show.
A big shout out to those involved from Aerial Artists Adelaide, helping to not only pull together a fantastic show, but for also providing pre-show entertainment just outside the venue. Their students were able to showcase their learnings and give a taster for what’s to come. I’m sure we will see some of them on stage in the future!
New Zealand actor Stephen Papps took the stage with his dead pan, observational comedy act. He has a polished, clearly well rehearsed delivery, with very little (if any) ad-libbed content. The main themes of the comedy show explored navigating sex and relationships, particularly in the context of growing older in our modern society.
The size of the audience lead to a very intimate show, with Stephen taking the time to make eye contact with each audience member throughout to really drive home his delivery. While Stephen’s particular style of straight-faced delivery and short story jokes may not suit every comedy-goer, he is clearly a professional and has his act down to a fine art.
Some of the content didn’t seem to resonate with the predominantly younger audience at the performance I attended, but I would recommend it to audiences at a similar life stage to Stephen Papps himself. Some audiences may be concerned with a couple of the jokes regarding women, especially trans women, as this does feature in Stephen’s punchlines.
For a few moments within the show, Stephen showcased his brilliant talent in vocal sound effects to provide background for his storytelling. This was a clear highlight and I found myself wanting more throughout the show.
Mim Sarre takes the audience through the basic course of how to be a Feminist, debunking a few myths and singing a killer set of fantastic original songs – with an incredible female band behind her! In her 50 minutes, she covers to A-Z of feminism, consent, and toxic masculinity in its several forms.
The atmosphere of the show was electric within the little Bally tent, packed to the brim with people who were very obviously enjoying every second of the experience. Mim Sarre and her team turn the Bally into an attention grabbing little place, with fantastic lighting by her female technician Maddy Gibbons that perfectly matched every mood change.
The show was beautifully written, covering a myriad of topics that were entertaining or useful to all within the canvas walls. With the low point of the show being a bit longer than expected, the meaningful segments of the show really hit right where they were meant to.
The ideal audience for this show would be anyone aged 14 or over; there is considerable swearing, but the content is extremely important.
The 2020 Adelaide Fringe season for Friendly Feminism has had three extra shows added, an obvious testament to its fantasticness! But if you somehow aren’t convinced by this review… just go anyway to see the Tea Song – she doesn’t lie when she says it’ll be stuck in your head for days!
Oliver Mol’s story of a ten-month migraine is so deeply immersive that it is, at times, uncomfortable. For anyone who has every experienced enduring pain, Mol’s interpretation of a migraine via storytelling and stage production feels very true to reality.
This 60-minute one-man show one-man show is a true, funny and heartbreaking tale about Oliver Mol’s chronic migraine, his departure from his work as a writer, and subsequent job on the railway when he couldn’t do anything else. Performed to music and visuals, it is a story of hope, laughter, pain, relationships, drugs, failed orgies, mothers, fathers and love.
Oliver Mol is such a regular sort of guy at first impression, that the depth he went to took me by surprise. His daggy “costume” of running shoes, baggy pants and white singlet tucked into his belt was a stark contrast to his eloquent storytelling and engaging performance.
Clever visuals projected to a screen behind Mol, and he used the small stage to good effect – often blending himself into the projection. This was particularly effective during the scenes depicting migraines, which built tension, and the scenes that took the audience on a ride along train tracks, which released the tension.
Often when we experience theatre, we feel heightened emotions of joy and pathos, but rarely – for myself, anyway – do I feel physical discomfort. To me, this is the genius of the show: the build up of discomfort… the suspended tension… and the release of pain, the release of one’s identity into a new, changed world.
Mol’s 2020 Fringe season has ended, but look out for his book of the same name in the near future.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has been re-imagined with songs, soundscapes and sonic trickery from the exceptional talent that is London’s BAC Beatbox Academy. Experience the power of the human voice breathing life into monsters all around us, and consider: who are the monsters we fear? Who created them? And how the hell did they just do that with their voices?!
The cast was made up of six vocalists aged 19-27, who each showcased exceptional and unique skills in beat-boxing, vocal gymnastics, singing, spoken word, acapella, and body percussion. At times I forgot that all of the sounds were coming only from the performers, as they created amazing soundscapes reminiscent of forests, synthesizers, and stage bands, bending the limits of what can be done with just the human body.
Body shaming, race politics, and social media addiction are just some of the themes covered into this modern interpretation of the classic sci-fi story, where our modern social and economic structures are responsible for creating monsters and then very quickly turning on them. Just like the source material, the true monster of the story is not the creation, but the creator.
The static set, stark stage, and smoke and lighting effects in the RCC’s The Attic (the former Rumours Cafe in Union House) created a dark and gritty atmosphere and allowed the performances and story to shine.
Highlights for me including the process of building the monster, which saw the performers perform acapella samples from well-known songs to represent different parts of the body – from The Prodigy’s Firestarter to Pachabels Canon in D. Another highlight was when the cast turned the spotlight on the crowd to sing a song of insecurity and mockery, making fun of audience members in a catchy song I just can’t get out of my head (Oh my god, she’s so hideous!)
The BAC Beatbox Academy is not just a group of incredibly talented and dedicated performers, it is also an enterprise with an important social mission. Since its inception in 2008, BAC’s Beatbox Academy has pro-actively engaged harder to reach groups in areas of significant deprivation in Wandsworth, including young carers and children at risk of engaging in crime. For the price of your ticket, you are not just enjoying an evening of world-class entertainment, you are supporting the incredible cause of helping people flourish through performing arts.
Beatbox Academy’s Frankenstein is joyful, dark, and mesmerising. Everyone should see this show.
Woah. Just woah. This show was well worth the $30 price tag if not more. Our MC of Blunderland invited us to dive down the rabbit hole. And dive we did. This one hour show of burlesque, acrobatics, cabaret and circus feats brought about a fun loving, queer and beautiful night. The carefree and open attitude of all cast involved in Blunderland made for an entertaining show, which you wished would never end. Among the talented cast were three standout, amazing and quirky clowns who without fail had the whole audience in stitches anytime they came on stage. If you get the chance to go see this show I thoroughly encourage you to go – and make sure to take your biggest smile and loudest cheers to support such a beautiful show.
Mackenzie has sold her soul to the devil and can’t remember her life before this moment. But now she wants to go back on her contact. The story explores the reasons why Mackenzie had signed her soul away to begin with. This show deals with issues of depression, drug addiction, rape, and memory loss – this show is definitely for 18+ with the dark themes present throughout the show.
The show for its cost was worth the money. It was very dark and left open ended so it’s up to the audience to determine Mackenzie’s fate. The Devil and Studio owner played by John Valdez and Tristan O’Neil respectively were standout performers and brought out feelings of love and hate audience members, with one such member saying she wanted to throw her phone at the studio owner.
One highlight was seeing one of Such Cliche’s own Erinn Flavel shining on stage in many roles through the ensemble cast.
The use of lighting and audio visions definitely brought a much needed edge to the performance to complete the show.
Simon Taylor returns to the Adelaide Fringe for the 10th time, and although the formula for this one-man stand-up comedy show doesn’t push any new boundaries, it’s a fantastic night for comfortable entertainment.
His material appeals to a large spectrum of audience members, with jokes that are relatable no matter where you come from. Gender stereotypes play a large role in Simon’s material, as do stereotypes of other characters, including the typical drunk-before-lunch Melbourne Cup goer.
The relatively small venue with a raised stage and flat seating allows you to feel as though you are a part of the act… if you’re sitting in the front row. Any further back than that and you feel distanced from the comedian. Simon combats this by including some audience participation right from the get-go, adding a personal touch and becoming friends with the crowd.
His sharp humour keeps the audience entertained over the course of 50 minutes, with a pace that feels steady with very few dull moments. The time spent on each individual topic feels natural and leaves you wanting more.
Simon Taylor is clearly an experienced comedian, with the delivery and timing of his jokes both precise and natural. He allows the viewers enough time to register and laugh at each jokes, so you’re never left wondering what he just said.
Simon Taylor is a Super Funny Boy is an excellent choice of show for any left-leaning person looking for a night of comedy that doesn’t challenge them in their beliefs and doesn’t make you have to think too hard to find it funny. This is entertainment for entertainment’s sake; and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Simon Taylor is a Super Funny Boy can be found at Spiegel Zelt in The Garden of Unearthly Delights at 9:30pm nightly, excluding Wednesdays, until March 15th 2020.
