post fringe round up 2020

And there it is, the end of another Fringe.

Unsurprisingly I feel a little like this year's Fringe very much passed me by. On the upside, everything we saw was excellent. And I didn't really get a sense of missing out on things until the last show we saw.

It could also turn out to be a good thing given everything that's currently going on in the world, that I didn't spend a month rubbing shoulders and elbows with twenty plus groups of strangers.

At least that's what I'm telling myself for right now.

What I will say is that when it came to arranging these four shows in a ranking, I realised that not only were they four very different shows, but they could more or less have gone in any order. And I reorganised them at least two or three times while working on this post.

So this year, the order absolutely doesn't matter... but for the purposes of right now, the order below is the subjective order I finally decided on right before I finally hit the publish button.

1. The Bakers
   "I loved their chemistry and their clowning and the twists and turns of the story... and a very sweet ending." 5/5
   
   One of the things I love most is having my expectations completely and totally shattered. I had no real idea what I was walking into with this show beyond the basic premise, but it ended up being brilliant.
   
   
2. The Will To Be
   "There is so much lightness and deftness to his performance, and so much specificity." 5/5
   
   The thing I've said to so many people about this show (and in my review) is that the writing was so solid that there wasn't a disconnect between play and Shakespeare, which is incredibly impressive.
   
   
3. The Tempest - The Handlebards
   "I think I may have actually laughed more and harder and longer tonight than last time." 5/5
   
   I do love me some comedy Shakespeare, and both incarnations of The Handlebards are now at the top of that particular list.
   
   
4. Barbaroi
   "I think I can safely say that After Dark did things that I have never seen other circus performers do." 5/5
   
   Although the performer I originally went to Barbaroi to see wasn't there (I didn't mention it in my review because honestly it wasn't relevant and didn't effect my enjoyment), I had an amazing time and this was one of the more impressive circus shows I've seen.

Current mood:

fringe: barbaroi

It is very likely that one of the few art-forms to survive the end of the world intact will be physical theatre (or circus if you prefer).

Barbaroi by After Dark Theatre is perhaps a little glimpse into this Mad Maxian future where a band of circus performers roam the land, using their skills and the things they've found along the way to entertain the masses and each other.

And I'll say this about tonight's excursion into the wasteland... I love circus shows, a lot. In the past 10 years of attending the Fringe I've seen at a rough estimate at least 40 circus shows. It's one of the first sections I go through in the Fringe guide.

So I think I can safely say that After Dark did things that I have never seen other circus performers do.

I've never seen anyone use handcanes that tall, which Ryan Darwin did with grace and power. I've never seen giant sheets of perspex (that light up no less) used as balance beams like Karina Schiller did... and that was a sequence I didn't want to end.

Then there's Byron Hutton's juggling... I've never seen someone juggle rings using their ears, or flick them around like he did. I also didn't know that musical juggling balls were a thing... but they are, and they're amazing and I want some, even though I can't juggle. I loved that the focus would come back to him between acts, just showing him do a "simple" balance trick that got more and more complex as the show progressed.

And even the things I had seen versions of before were done brilliantly here. Watching Darwin work on the corde lisse (and I realise now that I possibly saw him in By A Thread a couple of years ago) was so stunningly beautiful, as was Stan Ricketso on the aerial straps... but then I do love watching strap performers. Ricketson also looked super familiar, but I honestly don't know from what.

I was also totally blown away by pretty much everything Jon Griffingham did. I always say that the circus bases don't get enough love... they're the ones throwing everyone around and Griffingham did it spectacularly. Plus he did twists and dives during the hoop diving section that absolutely blew my mind.

And Schiller's finale on the Chinese pole was sensational. So manic and powerful.

Last but by no means least was Amy Nightingale-Olsen who I ended up thinking of Psycho Pixie throughout most of the show (it was that thing with the flick knife, honestly) was just a delight. I especially loved her interactions with both Griffingham and Hutton and she did some amazing foot juggling.

All in all this was exactly how I like my circus, fast, frenetic, powerful and with excellent music.

yani's rating: 5 juggling clubs out of 5

fringe: the bakers

I will freely admit that if I hadn't started making my own bread last year, I might not have gravitated to The Bakers by The Latebloomers.

But I did, and I am so very grateful that fate led me to this sweet, funny, moving little show.

The Bakers is about a father (Jonathan Tilley, centre) and his two sons, Jean-Pierre (Oliver Nilsson, right) and Jean-Claude (Sam Dugmore, left)... and as you can guess by the names, they're a family of French breadmakers.

Crazy, miming, slapstick, farcical French breadmakers.

Tilley folds his long and lanky frame into that of an older man as Papa, takes forever to answer the phone, loves his sons and his bread in equal measure but he has a secret.

Dugmore has a fabulous moustache, his Jean-Claude dreams of better ways to do things, and taking petty revenge on his brother.

Nilsson has one of those wonderful, contortable faces going from one extreme to another, his Jean-Pierre bullies his brother and chews very loudly.

I don't want to give away too much about this show... you could say that not very much happens in it, and that's true, but it's all in the details, and the way the trio convey emotions through mime and slapstick and a little French here and there.

But I can say that I loved the show very much... I loved their chemistry and their clowning and the twists and turns of the story... and a very sweet ending. Plus their interactions with the audience (and this is definitely one of those "sit in the front rows at your own risk" shows).

So now The Latebloomers go on that "will definitely see again" list.

yani's rating: 5 imaginary loaves out of 5

fringe: the tempest - the handlebards

Last year we saw the male company of the Handlebards doing Twelfth Night.

It was fantastic, and as such, when the female company showed up with The Tempest for this year's Fringe, it was a given we were going to see them.

And I think I may have actually laughed more and harder and longer tonight than last time.

Tempest is not quite as "everybody pretending to be everybody else" as Twelfth Night, but there is definitely a lot going on, and once again, in the Handlebards style, there's a lot of roles but only four actors, so in parts of the show both random pieces of costume and random audience members stand in for some of the characters... or in on particular instance, every other character but one.

And all of our Handlebards were excellent, Lucy Williams in the green socks as Prospero, Tika Mu'tamir in the blue socks as Ariel, Gonzalo and Trinculo, Roisin Brehony in the red socks as Ferdinand, Caliban and Antonio and last but not least Katie Sherrard in the yellow socks as Miranda, Alonso, Stephano and Sebastian. I'll be honest that I'm not 100% about the sock colour this time, but I think that's right.

But there are always favourite actors and favourite roles, and Williams was scenery-chewingly sensational as Prospero, and I don't say that just because I ended up interacting with her a number of times from my front row seat. It started out with me being thrown her cloak, then replacing the cloak, tying it in a bow (I don't do bows well, it was horrible), and then later being brought up on stage to assist Prospero with her big magic show. Not my first time being dragged up on stage, but definitely a memorable and hilarious one.

Mu'tamir was great throughout, although I think I liked her as Ariel the most, just because of the rapport with Williams. But her beatboxing moment as Gonzalo was a standout.

Then we come to Brehony as "Babyhands" Caliban... I genuinely thought I was going to pass out from laughing so hard. From the hands to the helmet to the voice, a tour de force!

Sherrard was excellent, however she ended up with the characters who don't especially steal their scenes (she had some stiff competition), but she gave it her all, and worked that clamshell bikini.

I was also entranced by the "briefcase accordion" they had... I don't know what in the world it was, but it was beautiful.

And on top of all of that, some beautifully spoken and acted Shakespeare.

So once again, hats off to the Handlebards for providing an afternoon of quality entertainment

yani's rating: 5 magic cloaks out of 5

fringe: the will to be

The year is 1962. The place, an office in the English department of Melbourne University.

In that office is a man, William O'Halloran, played so beautifully and specifically by writer, co-producer and performer Mark Salvestro. And he just received a letter that will change his life.

This is the story of two Williams, O'Halloran and Shakespeare. And how the love of the bard led to our English professor finding love with Henry, one of his students, and then being fired as a result.

It was a complete accident that we saw this on the same night as Mardi Gras, but it definitely felt appropriate.

Salvestro is amazing. There is so much lightness and deftness to his performance, and so much specificity. From his continued eye contact with the audience at specific moments, to his use of a slight stammer to indicate the abject terror of this man whose life has begun to unravel before his eyes thanks to the dismissal letter from the university. His mannerisms as he tells his story just captured my heart, and I had the overwhelming urge to tell William that everything would work out okay eventually and that there was nothing wrong with him.

There is also the way that Salvestro weaves in passages from Shakespeare into his writing without it seeming jarring or glaringly obvious. In fact there were several times when I only realised he'd switched to Shakespeare when we were already mid way down the rabbit hole or a line I recognised came up (I know there was some Romeo and Juliet, some Hamlet, and then I think there were a lot of the Henrys and possibly some of the Richards). And it wasn't just the strength of his performance, it was also the strength of his writing, allowing his prose to stand up against extracts from Shakespeare.

At the same time, his description of that first forbidden kiss, that first new touch, the insecurity melting away under the warmth of action and emotion that just feel right, that make you feel alive, felt painfully real. And all the more painful given the background of the times, where homosexuality wouldn't be decriminalised until 1980 in Victoria and that the prevailing emotion for most men in William's position in his time was to feel deep shame and disgust about themselves and about their perfectly natural wants and desires.

Without spoiling the ending, I was afraid things would take a tragic turn for our William, but I was genuinely pleased that his story went in a different direction, one where he was in control of his own story. So much so that it left me wanting to know what happened next, always a good sign.

yani's rating: 5 unbuttoned shirts out of 5

my adelaide fringe picks 2020

Another very lean Fringe year, although this year it's definitely not for a lack of shows. And interestingly, there seemed to be a lot less "repeat" shows from what I noticed.

Don't get me wrong, I love a repeat show, but I also love seeing new things. I got to combine the best of both worlds in a couple of the shows, as while we saw The Handlebards last year, that was the male troupe, this time it's the female troupe... and one of the performers from Barbaroi I saw in another circus show back in 2013 (and promised that if he showed up in other things I'd go see them).

• The Will To Be: One man's exploration of sexuality, society and shame, laced with the words of Shakespeare.
• The Handlebards - The Tempest: A shipwreck washes the court of Milan up onto a mysterious desert island, inhabited by a magician, sprites and monsters, and where nothing is as it seems.
• The Bakers: Three bakers, one bakery! Dough up the walls, flour in your eyes.
• Barbaroi: Inspired by the world of shadows where anything goes, and the gritty underbelly of society, 'Barbaroi' is a blend of high octane circus, cabaret and physical theatre.

Current Mood:

post fringe round-up 2019

About a week and a half ago I remember seeing something (probably on Twitter) that said "it's the last week of the Fringe"... and I thought to myself "that can't be right, we're only halfway through, surely.

But no... due to the our reduced program of events (I haven't been to this few shows since 2010) the Fringe was over and done and I still left like I was only halfway.

On the up side, because I had to be very specific about the shows on my list, we didn't see any duds, and most of the shows were excellent (more than half of them got a 5/5).

I also got to invoke Rule 3, which I always enjoy.

I noticed a horrible little development in Gluttony this year... previously Bank SA members can access the Fringe program a day earlier than everyone else... which is fine, stuff isn't going to sell out in one day... but this year they had a program where if you showed your Bank SA card you could jump to the front of the queue.

Excuse me? That is some bullshit. Especially because I'm a Fringe Member... where's my jump to the start of the queue ability. That is completely ridiculous. But then Gluttony has been slowly turning into a copy of the Garden over the last few years instead of the scruffy little weirdo it started out as.

Anyway... enough ranting.

On to ratings.

1. You and I
   "Not since 2015's Bromance have I been this moved by a circus show... in fact, much like that show, I was brought almost to tears on multiple occasions." 5/5
   
   Such a beautiful, beautiful show... and as always with the shows that really speak to me, it was less about the acrobatic tricks (which were impressive) than it was about the story and the characters of the performers. Tell me a good story and I'll love you forever.
   
   
2. Twelfth Night - The HandleBards
   "It's fast, it's dangerous, but it's a hell of a ride." 5/5
   
   Shakespeare at the speed of laughter... The HandleBards are definitely a group that gets added to the "must see again" list.
   
   
3. Macbeth in space! (and two other locations...)
   "And the whole thing was actually funny. I think, beyond the performances, it was tying all of the tropes from the three different scenarios to Macbeth that managed to bring out the humour." 5/5
   
   This was not the least little bit what I assumed it was, but totally exceeded every expectation I had. And it's never bad when a show leaves you wanting to see more.
   
   
4. Railed
   "The boys have put together a hilarious, ridiculous, entertaining and very high energy show that had me hooting, hollering and cheering from beginning to end." 5/5
   
   Head First never disappoints, both with their sexy men and the quality of their shows... they've definitely got another hit on their hands.
   
   
5. Another Night at the Musicals
   "It's camp, it's ridiculous, it's hilarious, it's gorgeous, it's a good old sing along with songs you know. It's always worth the price of admission. Go see them." 5/5
   
   Chocolat and Woo... back again. Really, what's not to love... I'll keep showing up until they run out of musicals to celebrate and mock.
   
   
6. Quest Time!
   "It was an excellent show... it never went completely off the rails (which I tend to prefer in both my DnD and my improv), and I had a lot of laughs." 4/5
   
   I didn't realise that this was going to be one long game of improv DnD for the whole of the Fringe... a friend went to see it a couple of weeks after me and they were playing the same characters. So definitely a show you could have gone to again and again and again.
   
   
7. The Measure of a Man
   "Roach is an engaging performer who seems to effortlessly capture the attention of an audience, even when the themes got a little heavy." 4/5
   
   This definitely made me think... but it was perhaps a story that spoke to me less than some of the others.
   
   
8. Box and Cox - Married and Settled
   "But I have to say, much like the first show, Austin steals every single scene she's in as Bouncer. Up to and including improvising with the crowd before the show officially starts." 3/5
   
   I very much appreciate that they managed to make a play from 1852 feel, if not modern, then at least give it a freshness and a comedic bite. It's just unfortunate that I don't think this one holds up to the original.

Current Mood:

fringe: twelfth night - the handlebards

What a delightful end to our 2019 Fringe adventure.

The Handlebards combine bicycles with Shakespeare, and peddle their way between venues (hopefully they got a plane all the way from England, then peddled once they got here). And they take on Shakespeare like a bike with no brakes going downhill.

It's fast, it's dangerous, but it's a hell of a ride.

In a lot of ways, they reminded me of Sound and Fury... between the quick changes, the crossdressing, the audience interaction, the insanity (plus the Shakespeare)... which is an excellent thing.

Our Bards (based on their socks and braces colours) were Ross Ford (the green bard), Mark Collier (the blue bard), Will Fawcett (the red bard) and Luke Wilson (the purple bard)... and they were amazing.

Twelfth Night isn't the simplest of Shakespeare plays... there's a lot of she's pretending to be a he and he's in love with her but she's in love with him... made even worse when you only have four actors playing all the roles. I say worse... it was manic and I loved it. Especially when there are four actors on stage but a minimum of eight character. And that each of the bards took on at least three characters over the course of the show.

It was also interesting that their characterisations (and costumes) were so good that you always knew exactly who they were, even if that bard had only been on stage seconds before and had rushed off one side and come back the other side.

I will say that Ross as Lady Olivia was my personal favourite, but everyone was fantastic, especially Mark as both Viola and Olivia's maid, plus Luke as Malvolio and Will as the jester.

What I was especially impressed by was that even when they were neck deep in quick changes, swapping characters and running around like maniacs, they still kept their performances going... and making sure you're actually performing, nailing your comedic timing AND getting the Shakespeare right isn't easy.

But they do it exceptionally well.

This was their first time at Fringe, and I hope we'll be seeing them again for years to come.

yani's rating: 5 bells out of 5

fringe: railed

I've detailed on more than one occasion my love affair with the boys from Head First Acrobats... from 2014 to 2017 to 2018, and this year they're back with a new show and new boys.

Cal Harris and Thomas Gorham have been joined for Railed by Adam O'Connor-McMahon and Harley Timmermans for a cowboy themed show of circus tricks, comedy, a little magic and some buff bodies.

Sadly we didn't get to see Gorham this time as he injured himself earlier in the run, but the adorkable AJ Saltalamacchia is doing an amazing job filling in for him.

Railed is to Westerns what Elixir was to zombie movies, with that Head First twist.

The boys have put together a hilarious, ridiculous, entertaining and very high energy show that had me hooting, hollering and cheering from beginning to end.

O'Connor-McMahon, Timmermans and Saltalamacchia fit perfectly into the Head First style, bringing a whole new set of skills and an equal amount of enthusiasm. Timmermans performs with both the Cyr wheel (still my personal favourite) as well as aerial straps (while wearing a unicorn head of all things), Saltalamacchia naturally fills in for Gorham's clowning and O'Connor-McMahon is a great juggler and magician.

I'd forgotten that Harris showed off whip-cracking skills in 2017, but they've definitely progressed and given the theme of the show, it's even sexier this time around. And what that man can do with a ladder and a set of chairs will make you gasp.

What I love most about Head First is they never take things super seriously, there's always a lightness and fun to everything, even when Harris is in the middle of a complex trick... you get to see "behind the curtain" and I always appreciate that from them.

I will say that they've turned the absurdity in this new show up to about 76... from the western theme to the outfits in the latter part of the show, to... let's just call it "horse costumes". And every moment of it was fantastic.

Cal Harris, Adam O'Connor-McMahon, Harley Timmermans and Thomas Gorham

And if that's not enough of a reason to check them out... I don't know what is.

yani's rating: 5 kerchiefs out of 5

fringe: you and i

Three years ago I saw Jesse Scott and Lachie MacAulay from Casus Circus in Tolu and was incredibly impressed... so when they returned with You & I, a show about "the loving relationship between two circus artists", I knew I had to see it.

And it was so beautiful.

Not since 2015's Bromance have I been this moved by a circus show... in fact, much like that show, I was brought almost to tears on multiple occasions.

Given the description of the show, I assume Scott and MacAulay are in a relationship... and this show is a sweet, simple, funny and moving look into that relationship.

And they're able to draw the audience into their world.

It made me so happy to see a gay relationship presented so matter-of-factually within a circus show, it wasn't subtext, it was just the text of the show.

From the sweet tumbling routine that opens the show to Scott's hula hoop routine, their hilarious attempts at playing dress-ups to two-person chair balancing, culminating in an amazing trapeze routine that drew gasps from the audience, everything about this show serves the narrative of their relationship.

But the part of the show that really struck me was when MacAulay disappears from the stage, leaving Scott alone, and the ways he deals (or doesn't) with the loneliness. It was more than a little heartbreaking even if his solo trapeze work was exceptional, but when MacAulay returns and "heals" Scott made my heart swell.

There are moments when it might feel the tiniest little voyeuristic (the flashlight sequence for example), but just because of how sweet they are together and how much in love they seem to be.

I'm so glad that they let us into their world, and I hope we see more shows like this from them in the years to come.

yani's rating: 5 chairs out of 5

fringe: macbeth in space! (and two other locations...)

As I've said on multiple occasions, Macbeth and I go way back. We have a connection. I can't explain it, not entirely sure I want to.

But it's one of the first shows I look for at the Fringe. And I've seen a variety of versions at this point.

Full text versions, classical productions, modern political retellings, Australian gangsters, World War 2... the works.

What I've never seen is Macbeth played as a comedy. And it absolutely should not work. At all.

But somehow, some way, the Scrambled Prince Theatre Company (a touring youth theatre company based at Eltham High School in Melbourne), managed to do it.

And so we have the very literally titled: Macbeth in space! (and two other locations...).

This is Macbeth as a Star Trek episode, Macbeth as film noir story, Macbeth as a western.

It's also at it's heart an ensemble piece, where different actors play the required characters during the different locations. Space Macbeth is a pompous Zapp Brannigan/Kirk hybrid, Noir Macbeth is a slightly stupid New York mafia boss and Western Macbeth is a very trigger happy black clad bandito.

And this is, somehow strangely, the only interpretation of Macbeth I can really think of where the play is going out of it's way to tell you that Macbeth is a bad guy. I mean I know he does horrible things, but often times there is more than a little part of me what wants him not to fall all the way down the rabbit hole of the latter part of the play, and remain the Macbeth from the first two acts.

But here, he's no hero, not even an anti-hero... in all three parts of this production, he's straight up the villain (and often also a thundering moron) in each setting.

Most of the story gets told across the three segments, although a lot of the details are left by the wayside... which normally I would find problematic, but I didn't mind here since this was more interpretation rather than recitation.

I also think that you can judge a lot about a Macbeth production not just by it's titular lord and lady, but by the interpretation of the witches. And here we get, in order, a hive mind, a trio of beat poets and three poncho wearing singers. With the exception of the hive mind, the same three actors play the witches (technically I guess the same three take part in all the versions, since the hive mind uses the voices of everybody who isn't a main character at that point), and do so very well.

I do need to specifically call out the young woman who played both Space Banquo at the start, as well as the western version of Young Siward (I'm blanking on the character's in-universe name)... she was great as the Kif to Space Macbeth's Brannigan, but she was AH-MAH-ZING as Kid Siward... right from the opening of that section with her tiny cowboy hat, tiny guns and repeated ridiculous expressions she had me in stitches.

In fact the list of people who impressed me or at least made me laugh is fairly extensive. From Space Duncan to Space Lady Macbeth... Noir Gumshoe (again, the character name escapes me) to Noir Fleance to Noir Lady Macbeth... Western Malcolm to Western Lady MacDuff... in fact almost everyone who stepped up into a speaking role did remarkably well.

And the whole thing was actually funny. I think, beyond the performances, it was tying all of the tropes from the three different scenarios to Macbeth that managed to bring out the humour.

Staging was minimal, confined to a few black stools, but each genre change came with a complete, on-stage costume change for the entire cast (all twenty-something of them)... and often the ensemble actually became the staging.

The other thing that shouldn't have worked was putting music in... but there it was, and work it did. The singer, who also doubles as Noir Lady Macbeth, did a fantastic job both with the singing and the acting... although given the aforementioned laughter at Western Siward, I did feel a little guilty that all my attention was focus over there and not on her beautiful rendition of Desperado.

My hat goes off to every one involved in this production, they did a great job and I had an amazing time.

yani's rating: 5 bouncy chairs out of 5

fringe: the measure of a man

The Measure of a Man was not the show I was expecting.

Or not exactly anyway.

I also didn't realise when I picked the show that I'd seen Gavin Roach six years ago in his Confessions of a Grindr Addict show.

Like it's predecessor, Measure feels like an incredibly autobiographical show, but unlike it, there is no line between persona and performer, which makes the whole thing have an extra level to it that is incredibly raw and personal and revealing. Maybe not revealing... maybe exposed is a better word.

Doubly so when Roach spends the majority of the show in nothing but a hat, a denim jacket and a pair of briefs that put his "package" right out on display and at a lot of the audience's eye level.

Roach presents a show that talks about his penis, his relationship to it and sexual dysfunction in a confronting, amusing, frank, unabashed and frankly sad way. And there's an additional layer of confrontation given that he's discussing sexual dysfunction within the gay community, or perhaps just within gay relationships.

As gay men sex is "supposed" to be vital to who we are, how we relate to other men, how other men see us. So to approach the issue of a gay man who isn't the biggest, the thickest, the hardest, the most virile and what that does to him and how he sees the world is an interesting approach to a show. And one that made me more than a little sad and annoyed at the behaviour of the men he was describing.

Roach is an engaging performer who seems to effortlessly capture the attention of an audience, even when the themes got a little heavy.

yani's rating: 4 flops out of 5

fringe: another night at the musicals

First there was A Night At The Musicals (and again in 2018 to be honest)... this year Le Gateau Chocolat and Johnny Woo return with the very imaginatively titled Another Night At The Musicals.

And as before, the duo proudly proclaim the show to be the place "musical theatre goes to die". And if by die they mean put on a lot of sequins and leotards and have a very good time, then, yes, I totally agree.

The line up is (mostly) new this time around... but I mean you wouldn't throw out Summer Loving from Grease.

But otherwise, this time around Cabaret, Cats, Gypsy, Les Miserables, The Little Mermaid, Grease, Xanadu, Rocky Horror and The Sound of Music all get the Chocolat and Woo treatment.

Johnny did a fantastic version of my favourite Disney villain song, Poor Unfortunate Souls (complete with quick change dress), followed by Chocolat murdering (in the best possible way) Part of Your World as the most fabulous mermaid ever (the DRESS... and the crab bra!). Though, between you and me, one of these days I really want to hear Chocolat demolish Ursula's song, but he was pretty fantastic as Ariel.

Also amazing is his outfit for the Xanadu number, this big pink fluffy tulle coat that is so very extra and so very Le Gateau.

I'm not sure if this is something I just noticed for this new show, but other than the beginning and the end of the show, this is much more of a "hand off" show, where one of them takes centre stage while the other goes off for presumably the next quick change before they swap out. Which isn't a criticism, it's just something that felt more noticeable this time around than previously. And both the beginning and end of the show are awesome, especially that the "singalongability" of the show ramps up as it goes along (honestly though, they had me at Little Mermaid), culminating in The Sound of Music (how the fuck do I know all the damn words to both Do Re Me and So Long Farewell... I mean I know why, but I really shouldn't still know them), followed by the Grease Summer Loving finale.

As I've mentioned on previous occasions, I adore any and all moments when Chocolat goes for "comedy non-vocals warbling" instead of song lyrics... LOVE! IT!

It's camp, it's ridiculous, it's hilarious, it's gorgeous, it's a good old sing along with songs you know. It's always worth the price of admission. Go see them.

yani's rating: 5 unicorn string guitars out of 5

fringe: quest time!

Quest Time! by Improv Adelaide kind of brings me all the way around to my first experience with both improv and a number of the performers.

It all started with Dungeons and Improvisation Adventure Show in 2013, then Improvise To Go in 2014 and back-to-back Unplotted Potter in 2016 and 2017.

And while all of the shows have had a fantasy vibe of one sort or another, Quest Time is a VERY Dungeons and Dragons based show.

Unsurprisingly, I enjoyed the living daylights out of it.

Of the four shows I've seen, there is just something that happens when Master of Ceremonies, and in this case, actual Dungeon Master, Joshua Kapitza is there (in this case, it's that there was at least a partially coherent story, or at least someone giving them prompts), and I always enjoy his reactions to the insanity that is happening on stage.

For tonight's show, Eden Trebilco, Kendra and Rene were our "player characters", a gnome bard, a gnome fighter and a dwarf warlock respectively (and yes, Rene, while you may not have known anything about DnD including what any of your spells did, you still basically acted like 90% of all the warlocks I've ever had at my table) while Curtis Shipley, Marshall Cowan and Nathan Stavridis were everybody else in the world (or the "non player characters").

The amusing thing was that all three PCs asked for race and name suggestions from different parts of the audience, so they didn't actually know they were going to be the "all short-arse" party until they introduced their characters at the beginning of the show.

Aided by both story prompts and dice rolls from Kapitza (some very, very, very good dice rolls, I will say... I even checked one of his natural 20's when he asked), the merry band of heroes adventured in a bathhouse/day spa, ran afoul of nobles, met some crap magicians, escaped on a boat, set off to rescue missing children in exchange for getting to level 5 "via montage", heard voices and fought a shapechanging monster (in this case a wendigo).

As with all improv shows, your mileage will most likely vary.

I also got a kick out of the references to actual DnD spells... more so when Rene was guessing what they did based on their names, which in some cases, completely reasonable... in others, no way you're ever going to know. I also may have to steal Eden's idea that his character's "healing word" was HEAL, shouted at the injured individual.

Like I said, it was an excellent show... it never went completely off the rails (which I tend to prefer in both my DnD and my improv), and I had a lot of laughs.

yani's rating: 4 hurdy-gurdy out of 5

fringe: box and cox - married and settled

Mr Cox, Mr Box and Mrs Bouncer are back together again. And this time Messrs Cox and Box have found themselves wives.

Maniacal Arts have returned with another farce written by John Maddison Morton in 1852, a sequel to last year's show. Reprising their roles are Jake McNamara as Box, Declan Carter as Cox and Emma Austin as Mrs Bouncer, while the additions of Mrs Box and Mrs Cox respectively are Ashton Koroneos and Tess Branchflower.

And the new ladies definitely hold their own, not least of all Koroneos and her singing voice. They just slot into the cast perfectly and add to an already excellent group.

But I have to say, much like the first show, Austin steals every single scene she's in as Bouncer. Up to and including improvising with the crowd before the show officially starts.

The staging is simple, but effective, and the addition of the window was used well.

I do think though, while it was quite funny (especially for a 166 year old play), the script wasn't quite as good as the previous one... the first one seemed a little sharper somehow.

And there were times when the cast was a little hard to hear, especially in a play with such rapid fire dialogue.

But those are very small quibbles on what was otherwise a very good start to the Fringe.

yani's rating: 3 kidgloves out of 5

my adelaide fringe picks 2019

Well, we got there in the end...

It's going to be a lean Fringe year this year... I can never tell whether it's lean because there aren't that many shows I'm interested or if I become less interested in shows when I know I'm on a budget. Maybe it's both at the same time.

And there's only one show I'm going off to by myself. Which feels a little weird.

We are going back to see a number of old favourites in new shows however... A Night at the Musicals, Box and Cox, Head First Acrobats, Improv Adelaide and Casus Circus. And a good selection of Shakespeare this year... including the requisite weird version of Macbeth.

The full list for this year is...

• Box and Cox: Married and Settled!: All the flavour and fun of the original farce, with new characters and new antics sure draw a smile on any face.
• Quest Time!: Watch as the performers hilariously fumble their way through levelling-up, saving throws, and spell casting; all while exposing dark and sinister plots.
• Another Night at the Musicals: Adelaide's most beloved ridiculous and beloved assholes are back with a brand new party; a melting pot of musical theatre karaoke, vaudeville, variety, sing-along and dress up madness.
• The Measure of a Man: A perfect balance of comedy and drama - from light-hearted and uproariously funny moments to gut-wrenching, dark moments that expose the scars and open wounds that still remain, hidden underneath the glitter.
• Macbeth in space! (and two other locations....): So, we had a seance, and William Shakespeare made contact. In fact he wouldn't shut up, until he'd dictated this updated version of Macbeth.
• The Works of William Shakespeare by Chicks: The ladies of Humpty Bong TAFE Applied Theatre Level 4 have made a discovery that will change the course of history.
• You and I: This unashamedly authentic journey reveals a fresh narrative where gay stories are not consumed by tragedy but filled with conviction and acceptance.
• Railed: Welcome to Railed, a western themed circus spectacular, combining the trademark physical talents, finely chiselled bodies and hilarious comic timing of the Head First Acrobats.
• The HandleBards - Twelfth Night: The world's first cycling theatre company pedal from venue to venue with all the set, props and costume necessary to perform environmentally sustainable Shakespeare across the globe.

Current Mood:

post fringe round-up 2018

It's that time of year again... no, the other time... when Fringe goes away and everything seems that little bit less bright and exciting.

We only saw 18 shows this year, originally it was 17, but then we were fortunate enough to get to see The Man In The Mail for free, so that was lucky (especially since it was a good show).

Venue-wise we were pretty much back to our usual haunts, although we did get to visit the Wine Centre, The Kings Head and Marion RSL, all of which were new for us. We were also generally very spread out this year... Gluttony being the main place that got multiple visits as always.

I managed to invoke Rule 3 at least three times this year, which I love to do whenever possible... plus I got a hug from one of my favourite circus performers and a short-lived balloon animal from another. Plus a Le Gateau Chocolat hug, which is always a bonus.

I finally remembered to start scoring my Fringe reviews out of 5 (and just like I do with the movie reviews, they all got a cute little nomenclature assigned to the score depending on the show) and tailoring my review tweets a little more, although the fact that I ended up posting most of my reviews at about 1am (regardless of what the individual posts say) was an issue.

It also became very apparent very quickly that my usual refrain of "the top X number of shows are all barely separated in quality" is pretty apt given the scores I ended up giving most of the shows... 13 of the 18 shows are either a 4 or 5 out of 5.  I've included the ratings in the round-up below.

I was kind of surprised this year that I never fully hit that "I need to go hide in a hole away from people" mood that usually hits me towards the end of Fringe, but that may be due to a) not seeing as many shows as usual or b) not having to deal with people all day every day in my regular life.

So...

1. The Displaced
   "This is absolutely the kind of show I could watch, leave and then turn around and go back and see again right away. And Time in Space Circus have proven that they're a force to be reckoned with." - 5/5
   
   This was my "mention it to everyone because it blew my mind" show for this year's Fringe. And it wasn't just because the company had matured and was so very different to the last time I saw them, this was genuinely the most amazing circus show I saw this year.
   
   
2. Flesh and Blood
   "The show goes from hilarious to moving to thought provoking and back again at the flick of a switch and had me welling up towards the end." - 5/5
   
   And this was usually the second show I mentioned to people. The writing and the characters here were exceptional and I'm not surprise at all that this took out the overall Best Theatre show in the Fringe Awards and the Week 1 Theatre and Week 3 Critics Choice awards.
   
   
3. Intoxication
   "And there's a lot of great writing and performing from Bryant, but I think that the thing that really pulls the whole thing together into a consistent whole is that sense of intimacy. Because it's hard not to really hear what someone is saying while they're looking you straight in the eye and you're looking back." 5/5
   
   I wasn't really expecting this show... I threw it on the list because I always like to keep something gay themed in my Fringe, but I got so much more than I bargained for.
   
   
4. Kaput
   "With this type of show the comedy and seemingly "out of control" nature of it often belie the skills of the performer, and while the character is often losing control, Flanagan maintains it beautifully." - 5/5
   
   I'm not going to lie, the fact that Ma ended up as part of the show made this even better, but Flanagan really is a master of physical comedy.
   
   
5. Sound and Fury's Cyranose
   "Cyranose was barely controlled chaos. Again, in the best possible way." - 5/5
   
   Sound and Fury on the edge of a total nervous breakdown was something I didn't realise I needed in my life until this show. And even when there's only a third of the original cast present, it still shines.
   
   
6. A Simple Space
   "They're the gold standard as far as I'm concerned, both in the way they put their shows together but also in how they interact with each other and with the audience." - 5/5
   
   Gravity and Other Myths are my OG circus act... they were one of the first (if not the first) we ever saw... and watching them from 2011 to now continues to be pure delight.
   
   
7. Box and Cox
   "The three of them are wonderfully over the top and ridiculous in that Victorian farcical way but everything they do suits the material perfectly." - 4/5
   
   This show is quintessentially Fringe... funny, something you didn't know you wanted more of until you saw it and not quite what you expected.
   
   
8. The Man in the Mail
   "Phillips does a small number of tricks, but does them well and with a lot of personality, including a couple that I really haven't seen other people do before, one including balancing on sticks and the other including a door." - 4/5
   
   This isn't the first time that a show we've been lucky enough to see for free has been excellent, but in this case it's a very sweet show and well put together.
   
   
9. A Night At The Musicals
   "This show, as Woo and Chocolat proudly proclaim, is where "musical theatre goes to die", and if that's the case, then it's a good death." - 4/5
   
   Le Gateau Chocolat, my other OG Fringe star who just keeps getting better and better, even if I've seen the show before (Johnny Woo is also great, but let's be honest, I'm in if for the Chocolat). And any show you can sing along with is a good one.
   
   
10. Attrape Moi! (Catch Me!)
    "The trampoline routine that closes the show was my absolute favourite... the way they dive from the structure down onto the trampoline and then just step back into position as though they hadn't flung themselves into space is breathtaking to watch." - 4/5
    
    Bouncy Canadian circus performers... do I need to say more?
    
    
11. When There's No Strength In Men
    "Lorien excels as Rosalind/Ganymede and steals almost all of her scenes while pretending to be a man. In fact everyone seemed to be on top of their game in this section." - 4/5
    
    I always enjoy bite sized Shakespeare, and it would be fun to have this crew put on one of the comedies since they do those so well.
    
    
12. That Daring Australian Girl
    "Hartstone does a fantastic job embodying Matters, not only through a very proper British accent (even more difficult because Matters was a trained elocutionist), but also through a very energetic physicality." - 4/5
    
    This is one of those shows were you come away both knowing more than you did when you walked in, but also wanting to dig a little deeper.
    
    
13. 6 Quick Dick Tricks - A Dirk Darrow Investigation
    "He's here to amaze us with his keen mind and powers of deduction. Also puns... terrible, horrible, groan inducing puns. I mean they're funny... while being awful. But there are a lot of puns and dad jokes." - 4/5
    
    A master of misdirection and magical manipulation, but with more than his fair share of awful (possibly great) puns.
    
    
14. By A Thread
    "It's an elegant show though, a beautiful show. From the choices of costumes and colours to a lot of the staging and a number of the tricks... it's at times ethereal and weightless. Other times it's bold and flashy." - 3/5
    
    I still maintain that this may be one of the prettiest and most elegant shows we saw this year... it just needed a little more heft at times.
    
    
15. Circus'cision
    "Maybe some days or in some places there's a little more skin, and I won't lie that I was hoping for a little more, but it was still a fun show." - 3/5
    
    The problem with a show with a rotating cast is that you can never know what you're going to end up with... and while it was nice to see some "old friends", I think I was expecting a little more circus. But the circus I did get was great.
    
    
16. Grimm Tales
    "While it may not have been as dark as I was hoping, it does manage some distinct black comedy at times." - 3/5
    
    There were definitely great moments in this show, but a different venue may have helped.
    
    
17. Heathers: The Musical (High School Edition)
    "Camryn Jordans is spectacular in the role (of Veronica), not only does she have an amazing voice that can really belt out the big musical numbers, but she has some serious acting skills and great comic timing. And she makes it hard to look anywhere else but in her direction." - 3/5
    
    To be honest I didn't realise this was going to be a teen cast until after I'd bought the ticket, and it was definitely uneven, but there are a couple of names and faces I'll be keeping my eye on.
    
    
18. The Bridge
    "I feel like they have an interesting, if slightly short, story here, it just needed something more." - 2/5
    
    Definitely interesting... but it just didn't hit the mark for me.

And now there's nothing much to do but wait for Fringe to roll around again.

Current Mood:

fringe: by a thread

By A Thread is seven performers from One Fell Swoop Circus and a long, long length of white rope.

In essence the rope is the eighth performer in the show and changes moods and style along with the rest of the cast.

One of my favourite things about this show is that (almost) any time the rope is being held (or based) by any of the performers, they're on stage, where it can be seen. It becomes as much about the performers providing the support as it does the ones doing the tricks.

The other thing I really liked is that the women seem to act as bases as much as the men do, and conversely it's not just the women doing "pretty tricks"... sometimes it's the men doing pretty things and the women showing raw power. That always gets the thumbs up from me.

I did have the feeling that I'd seen at least a couple of the performers in other things, but I couldn't easily track down who was who or what they'd been in before.

It's an elegant show though, a beautiful show. From the choices of costumes and colours to a lot of the staging and a number of the tricks... it's at times ethereal and weightless. Other times it's bold and flashy. There was more than once where they introduced the rope into a trick I've seen in multiple other shows, which completely changed what happened. And a couple of interesting narrative moments. There are also a couple of "catch your breath" moments.

But I think that's the problem... there are only a couple of those moments. I know that I'm a little bit of a circus snob, but I also feel like I'm a little bit of a "connoisseur" (in inverted commas though) at this point, having seen a hell of a lot of circus acts over the years.

And while One Fell Swoop is very, very good... they're not outstanding. For the most part I was just content to clap, not gasp or hoot and holler like I've done for other shows.

There were a few times where what felt like they should have been relatively simple tricks didn't completely come together, or couldn't be maintained for more than a few seconds. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, they're at the end of their run, maybe they're not at their collective peaks, and it wasn't everything (mostly the tricks not being suspended from the rope), it was just every now and again. And this was the last show we're seeing this Fringe and it had been a long day, maybe I just wasn't feeling it.

If someone was going to see it and asked my opinion, I'd say that it was a beautiful show, and worth seeing, especially if your circus show experience is limited... but I'd probably also suggest at least three other circus shows that they should see after this one.

Don't get me wrong, they are very, very good... and I'll definitely be putting them on the "let's see what they do next" list, they just didn't blow my socks off this time around.

yani's rating: 3 white ropes out of 5

fringe: circus'cision

Circus'cision is what happens when the boys from Elixir invite their friends to come and play...

And because it's a rotating cast depending on the day, the show I saw may not be the show you see. With the exception of the Elixir boys, Cal Harris (acting as the MC), Thomas Gorham and Rowan Thomas.

Oh, and when Harris asks the audience if anybody needs a cuddle during his opening spiel I'm never NOT going to put my hand up. The audience seemed amused and I got a hug from one of my favourite circus performers, so everybody wins.

But back to the show.

Tonight's line up started with Chelsea Angell and some beautiful work on the hula hoops... not to mention excellent music choices and a sassy attitude.

Next up was Paul Dabek who we've seen a couple of times before with a brief magic/comedy act that I think just whizzed over a few people's heads. I think I've said before that he sets the speed of his show at about 100 miles per hour and it's either get on board or get run over.

Then Harris and Gorham did a slightly sexy, slightly disturbing take on season 1 of Game of Thrones... which was one of those moments when I kind of wished I'd sat at the front of the stage rather than the side.

Next up (and I know I'm probably screwing the order up at some point) was a female juggler whose name I unfortunately didn't catch, but she was very good... more of a bouncing juggler than a throwing juggler, but damn she was fast.

After that I think Harris came out and did something weird and a little bit gross, but still interesting with a balloon.

From there it was a gentleman by the name of Squid with acute hypermobility, who proceeded to pass his whole body through the stringless head of a tennis racket. He reminded me of Captain Frodo from La Soiree to be honest, although I suppose there are only so many ways to contort yourself through a racket.

Then finishing up was Thomas and his cyr wheel. I know I've mentioned this about 100 times before, but I honestly think that the cyr wheel is the sexiest of all the circus equipment (as well as the most potentially lethal)... and the fact that Thomas proceeded to strip (to, of course, You Can Leave Your Hat On) while using the wheel certainly didn't hurt.

He also humped my head very briefly at one point... not the first time that's ever happened during a Fringe show, to be honest, I can think of at least three times of the top of my head, even though one of those was a puppet.

And as promised on the poster, there is a brief moment of full frontal nudity when Thomas flashes the audience before disappearing back stage. Maybe some days or in some places there's a little more skin, and I won't lie that I was hoping for a little more, but it was still a fun show.

yani's rating: 3 balloon animals out of 5

fringe: the man in the mail

Every now and again the Fringe drops a show in my lap that I would never have otherwise seen by being in the right place at the right time.

The Man in the Mail was that show for this year's Fringe.

This solo show by Joshua Phillips is incredibly sweet and cleverly conceived and executed, with Phillips playing "the man in the box" who started as "the boy in the box" but then travelled the world having increasingly fanciful and exotic adventures and now finds himself here.

One of the tiny details that I love is that as far as I can remember, Phillips never leaves the space bounded by his wooden box once he opens it to the audience's gaze. It's a tiny thing and one that's easily missed, but once i realised it it made me smile.

The design of the box and all it's props is likewise wonderful, with everything perfectly placed, and containing a number of small details that never really get shown off, but are there anyway.

Part play and part circus/physical theatre, the show sometimes takes its time getting from A to B, but given the theme of the show, it's definitely more about the journey than the destination. Phillips does a small number of tricks, but does them well and with a lot of personality, including a couple that I really haven't seen other people do before, one including balancing on sticks and the other including a door.

I did find myself a little more involved than I've been in most of the shows this year as I was called on first as "chair passer" and then as "hat catcher and thrower", which as anyone who knows me can tell you is not my forte. And it's remarkably difficult to get a hat to fly in a straight line. But I didn't do too badly overall.

This is definitely a show that it's worth your time to get better acquainted with.

yani's rating: 4 black top hats out of 5