We're only halfway through the month, but Mad March has officially come to an end.The Adelaide Festival is over. WOMAD is over. The Clipsal 500 is over. And the Adelaide Fringe is over.
Yep, they've returned The Garden of Unearthly Delights to parklands, put away the lighting rigs, dismantled the circus tents, deflated the spacemen and moved on for another year.
This year is the most I've ever gotten immersed in the Fringe, and I probably could have seen even more than I did… there was a psychic illusionist that I wouldn't have minded experiencing, and an apocalyptic take on Hamlet that might have been interesting (although as I've said before, I have more of an affinity with Macbeth...).
But I ended up seeing/going to/experiencing 11 different events from the Fringe calendar (7 shows and 4 "events").
As I was pondering My Fringe Experience, I realised that it's a little bit like the cupcakes from yesterday... there's only so much you can do before it all gets too much! And in the cases of theatre over cupcakes you start to develop Fringe Burnout rather than lapsing into a sugar coma. I don't know how the people who see 60+ shows do it... they must need some time out in a little padded room for a couple of weeks following the Fringe.
Although after all the excitement of the past month it's a little bit of a let down to go back to "normality"... even if I'm not actually experiencing it myself, just knowing all that "Fringeness" is out there was nice to know.
But this post is really supposed to be my reflections on the things that I've seen over this past month!
From the best to the worst (including quotes from my original reviews)...
- Josh Earl vs The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book:
"The show has singing, it has dancing, it has actual real live cake, it has photos from the AWWCBCB projected on the wall, it has an adorable skinny little hipster boy with self confessed lesbian hair and spray on jeans... and it definitely has laughs."
This is definitely my Top Pick from the 2010 Fringe! Gold star, go to the top of the class, do pass go & do collect $200! While there were other shows that were as funny (or possibly even funnier), I had an emotional connection to the topic of this show that bumped it up to the top spot. - The Boy with Tape on his Face:
"The Boy is exceptionally talented... he has the most expressive eyes, and is very skilled at turning a big box of junk and a roll of gaffer tape into an entire show."
Coming in just below Josh Earl is TBwTohF. The show is expressive, inventive, witty and brilliant, all without saying a word. Although I am relieved and disappointed in equal parts that I didn't get picked for audience participation. - The Kransky Sisters - Three Bags Full:
"They were as dour and creepy and droll as I was expecting. And they also manage to make exceptional music with an old 60’s reed keyboard, guitar, musical-saw, tuba, and a cooking pot..."
Rounding out the Top Three are the Weird Sisters from Esk in Queensland! They go straight to the top of the "must see" list for returning artists too. - Amococo:
"It feels completely alien, but it's absolutely gorgeous, and a photographer's dream once you manage to avoid all the other people who are in there, but the whole thing is so segmented and labyrinth-like that you don't need to wait long until you feel like you're completely alone."
My only regret about Amococo was that we never got the opportunity to go back and experience it for a second time... it was truly beautiful, magical and unique. - The Grimstones - Hatched:
"Two very enthusiastic thumbs up... and absolutely one you should go and see!"
This lyrical poetic puppetry is other entry in the "must see again" list, I can't wait until they bring the sequel/prequel along to a future Fringe. - Briefs:
"All in all it was fun... a little bit crap in spots, and very, very, very low rent... but fun and sexy and worth seeing."
In a lot of ways, this was a very fitting start to my Fringe experience... somewhat chaotic, a little bit tardy, kinda low rent but still very enjoyable... but it definitely got me into the right headspace for everything else that was to come. - Street Dreams - Painted Dumpster Exibition:
This was my introduction to the Format Gallery and a chance to see my favourite street artists at work… plus the chance to buy more fine art street art (if that makes sense). Chaotic, but a fantastic set of experiences involving street art. - Format Festival - Zine Fair:
While I didn't stay long at the Zine Fair, it did play an integral part in my birthday, and brought me back to the Format Gallery for another set of fairly unique experiences. - Josh Thomas - Surprise:
"This is not the "Josh Thomas stand-up show about gayness" I really want to see. What I want to see is the routine he does in ten years time when he's an old hand at this gay thing and he's more sure of himself from that perspective.
Coming this far down the list doesn't bode particularly well, but as I said in my original review, he was funny, he just wasn't "Adam Richard funny". But I also went to a lot of exceptionally good stuff, and he was only average. - Drags Aloud At The Movies:
"With a couple of minor rays of sunshine, the whole show was more than a little "m'eh"!"
As Briefs was a worthy beginning, Drags Aloud was a slightly disappointing but fitting end... it brought me back to reality from some of the fantastic experiences in the weeks beforehand... - Prospect Fair:
This was the enormous dud of the Fringe... it didn’t live up to it's hyperbole from the Fringe Guide and was far more of a school fete than part of an arts festival. Big fat "FAIL" stamp on this one's report card!
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