Adelaide Fringe – 101 Ways

Adelaide Fringe - 101 Ways

101 Ways to Annoy Your Parents And Other Really Old People is in the expansive and expensive Gluttony complex, presented by the supremely
confident and mostly funny comedian Matty Grey. As we waited in line, Matty went out of his way to speak to most audience members, having a laugh at the expense of parents in the line to amuse the kids.

This was a great way to break the ice as we all stepped into the May Wright tent. Matty began the show with a warning about the sweltering heat in the tent and allowed us to head out to grab ice from a nearby bar throughout if required – a good move, considering the temperature in the venue. Being a relatively mild day, I can’t imagine what the temperatures must have been like in the heat last week, so consider yourselves forewarned on that front.

I attended 101 Ways with my Reviewer Jr, my six-and-a-half-year-old daughter. So, consider this review partly my take and partly the view of the intended audience. Matty starts very strong with a funny slideshow, which brings us all in. He is generally a goofy, warm and enthusiastic stage presence, which does well to bring the kids to his side.

The antagonism towards parents is, of course, tongue in cheek, and all meant well, and the kids seemed to really enjoy being allowed to tease their seniors a little bit. Reviewer Jr was excited to remind me how much she would annoy me when we got home.

Adelaide Fringe - 101 Ways

The show includes some light, non-awkward (thank goodness) audience participation, a few games, some longer stories about Matty’s childhood and role as a father, and various ways to annoy your parents. If we had critiques, he lost the audience halfway through and found it hard to get them back. No easy feat, keeping 101 kids entertained in a sweltering tent, and so, we can offer him grace here.

His finale is excellent and brings the whole crowd together, and a smattering more of that throughout could reset the kid’s attention and bring them in again. Also, personally, the “nuclear family” view that Matty employed was a little isolating for the fifty per cent of kids or parents who aren’t in that family structure. Not every Mum drinks wine, not every Dad likes cricket, and these sort of super-binary gender stereotypes are a bit old and easy humour. Even acknowledging that there are many different family structures might help all kids feel included.

The final monologue confused the junior reviewer – revealing how to annoy your parents the most. Most kids would be entering like her, expecting a sort of tool-kit of how to annoy, so the finale could be shifted to that view. Reviewer Jr said, “I just didn’t get that last bit.”

Overall, it’s well-executed and light entertainment that is good for kids and appealing for children over eight years and over. Some of the jokes and concepts, whilst not being offensive or too adult, are too complex for the very young. Reviewer Jr said, “It was good, funny and disgusting. I give it three out of five.”

This review also appears on It’s On The House, and check out more reviews at Dark Stories Theatre to see what else is on in your town.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Adelaide Fringe – Diary of a Magician

Adelaide Fringe - Diary of a Magician

The venue is the Garage International, tucked behind the town hall. It is beautiful: hardwood floors, golden chandeliers, arched windows, and fresh cool air – a good change from hot tents. The crowd is buzzing, packed with adults and children waiting quietly. The stage is well-lit and brilliantly configured. This must be in the running for the best city venue this Fringe.

Diary of a Magician opens with our titular performer — silently entering to some swelling string music, holding a leather-bound notebook and a few white cards. He deftly shifts his hands, and gradually, cards appear from everywhere – one moment they’re white, the next they’re multicoloured – one moment in his hands, the next they’re all over the stage.

The magician moves like a dancer, and everyone is enraptured. We can hear the hushed whispers of the amazed children in the audience, and they try to understand how he’s doing this. As he exits after the first section, there is a surtitle, pastoral music, and a handwritten diary entry. The show’s structure is introduced – a short, poetic diary entry will be projected on stage, followed by a somewhat connected trick. The magician never speaks.

Achieving almost complete attention from the one-hundred-plus crowd without once speaking is impressive and, indeed, a testament to the versatility and skill of the young magician. He moves like a dancer or a gymnast, and several sequences are as much about how he dashes across and about the stage as the sleight-of-hand illusions he constantly achieves.

Adelaide Fringe - Diary of a Magician

The sequence with a firefly and a lit-up stick was the stand-out and had Reviewer Jr spellbound. Several times, both Reviewer Jr and I could see whatever the magician was palming or the thing he was attempting to conceal, and while this took a little away from the whole, the overall artistry, poetry and elegance of the show more than made up for the few fumbles.

We were in the front row and best positioned to see some of the seams. For such a complex and well-considered piece of work, it’s not surprising there are a few bumps here and there, and Reviewer Jr and I both felt this took nothing away from the work as a whole.

Watching this young magician perform this show, with the help of his efficient team, was like watching a young magician start on a road to stardom. It’s hard not to imagine him headlining the more prominent venues of the Garden in the coming years.

Keeping children’s attention is tough; doing it without saying a word is even more impressive. Add to that some wonderful movement and dance, powerful music, great tech achievements and striking, if simple, tricks, and you have all the ingredients for a five-star show.

While I’d say the performer is not quite there yet, he will definitely be in the next few years. Reviewer Jr was a little more forgiving. Reviewer Jr said, on leaving, “I LOVED IT, and my favourite bit was when he did the thing with the stick. Twelve stars out of five”.

This review also appears on It’s On The House, and check out more reviews at Dark Stories Theatre to see what else is on in your town.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Adelaide Fringe: England & Son

Adelaide Fringe: England & Son

A harsh spotlight and blood-curdling cry jolted me out of any prior expectations with Mark Thomas’ one-man rendition of ‘England & Son,’ written by Ed Edwards and Directed by Cressida Brown.

As remarked by Mark Thomas during an interview with Editor David Chatterdon in association with the British Theatre Guide, England & Son is a story about a kid who’s growing up with the violence of empire and family, and about someone who slips through the cracks. It’s about addiction, it’s about violence, it’s about empire, and it’s full-on,” and full-on it was.

Its themes were raw and gave those of us uninformed on the matter a solid insight into working-class England during Margaret Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister, casting light on disaster capitalism, stolen youth and wealth and the desperation of a child who wants to be accepted by his father.

Mark Thomas brought us into this world, a world filled with characters based on Mark’s childhood and Ed Edwards’s experience in gaol; the thought of this is almost unimaginable by the end. Audible gasps could be heard from the audience and myself as Mark burst into our peripherals, seemingly out of nowhere. His cry broke the silence of an eagerly waiting crowd so suddenly that I and others had half jumped out of our seats, startled by his sheer power and emotion.

His 37 years of experience in the performing arts became apparent immediately as I pondered the possibility that only one man could deliver such a complex story. Still, in the case of Mark Thomas, it was executed flawlessly. Mark constantly engaged personally with individual audience members, as if, and if so intended, successfully pulling them into the scene. As I was one of them, I saw the look in his eye that so distinguishably separates raw talent from script recitation, which told me this is ‘real, and I am there.’

The struggles I encountered were so emotionally drawing that Mark’s audience would shake their heads in astonishment on several occasions and were near to bringing a tear to my eye.

Mark’s audible engagement with individual audience members is often underutilised in live theatre, as it evidently built on the already established immersion that reached even the farthest of his audience.

This was most notable when Mark intentionally broke character, humorously criticising the audience for not laughing after a cheesy joke was presented. He deflected it so well back to the story that if it weren’t for the change of context, one wouldn’t have even noticed, even better presenting his skill in the arts.

This was aided more so by the Holden Street Theatre, which was the perfect venue for this piece as it was small enough that Mark’s voice could carry throughout its space but also allowed members of the audience their own space to enjoy the play.

The stage was set simply by Mark. Bearing no props or design of any form, one would be surprised by the clarity of the locations in which this exhilarating performance was set. It was, however, emphasised by a brilliant soundscape and critically timed strobe-lighting effects that ideally fit the surreal experiences lived by each character.

The wardrobe was plain, a polo and tracksuit pants, but in retrospect, it fits well with the attitudes and lives of most of Mark’s personifications, stereotypical of working-class England.

To conclude, ‘England and Son’ was an exhilarating performance, depicting a working-class boy’s life, growth, and struggles. Mark gave a brilliant, enigmatic performance, which I would be thrilled to have the opportunity of viewing again. Highly recommended to all, although the reasonably persistent explicit language may not be suitable for younger viewers.

The England & Son runs through to the 17th of March.

This review also appears on It’s On The House, and check out more reviews at Dark Stories Theatre to see what else is on in your town.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Cabaret De Paris

Cabaret De Paris

Seven Moulin Rouge trained showgirls in sparkly sequinned skimpy bikini outfits, balanced by feather headdresses and boas and in impossibly high heels accentuating their very long legs, flanked by two athletic male dancers who finally take off their shirts in the last number.

This ensemble of highly skilled and sexy dancers are the heart and soul of the Cabaret de Paris: A Burlesque Extravaganza, produced by Michael Boyd and choreographed by Todd Partrick and Matt Browning. But Rhonda Burchmore, veteran cabaret entertainer, is the major drawcard for this Parisian-styled revue.

This show has been kicking around since at least 2016. This post-COVID version of the show keeps the same format but with a few new numbers and some personnel changes, including Rhonda as the new leading lady.

It’s a very portable show, doing three shows in 2 days at iconic theatres across Australia since last year. This explains the minimalist set design and recorded music rather than live musicians. Instead, the $250,000 worth of lavish costumes were a feast for the eyes and brought the era of French cabaret a la Lido and the Moulin Rouge to life.

Musically, there was a lot of variety – from upbeat bass-heavy electronic dance music (Parlez Vous Francais) to jazz big band more traditional ballads evoking old-school Paris (think bandoneon).

The can-can mashup was an example of this in one number – from a modern dance rhythm version, Voulez-Vous, to a 1950 adaptation of Can-Can Polka with kitschy lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy to the original whirling dervish Galop from Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld. The choreography of this number was particularly engaging, with the mix of modern and traditional styles and the oh-so high kicks!

I was absolutely drawn into Michael Boyd’s magic of illusion and was riveted to watching Veronica on the pole and on the floor for her contortion act. Similarly, the short acrobatic act of the male dancers and the intense adagio style pas de deux (acrobatic dance duo featuring high lift poses) were breathtaking. However, Rhonda Burchmore provided the substance of the show with her solid singing chops and personal stories.

Rhonda is celebrating 42 years in showbiz, and I was reminded of Tina Turner, who also flaunted her legs on stage well into her mature years. She looked wonderful in the gorgeous gowns and even entertained us with a very discreet strip tease, assisted by her charming male assistants, culminating in a dramatic costume change.

However, the price of wearing the stilettos that go with such ballgowns is very painful bunions, as she admitted when she rushed to sit down. Most of us ladies are now relishing the current fashion trend of wearing sensible shoes with just about anything.

I would love to see a version of this show where Rhonda gets to wear Hoka One Ones with the sumptuous evening dresses. After all, she’s six foot one “and worth the climb” – she doesn’t need the extra height.

Alas, the Cabaret De Paris was showing only for this weekend, but keep an eye out for this troupe of performers as new show dates are coming soon.

This review also appears on It’s On The House, and check out more reviews at Dark Stories Theatre to see what else is on in your town.

Spread the word on your favourite platform!