adelaide fringe

CON 2077: A Wildly Inventive Comedy

CON2077

CON2077 Rating

★★★★★

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One man. Hundreds of sound cues. A time-traveling plot. That’s all you really need to know before stepping into Con 2077. That, and that Con Coutis is easily one of the funniest performers you’ll see this Fringe season.

The premise? Delightfully ridiculous. In 2027, a meteor strikes Earth, wiping out every comedian—except one. Fast forward to 2077, when an Arctic researcher stumbles upon the lost art of comedy and resurrects the world’s last comedian from cryosleep: Con Coutis. Now, humanity’s fate rests on one man’s ability to rediscover the joke. No pressure.

From the moment Con springs out from behind the red curtain, he commands the stage with an infectious energy that never lets up. Armed with a few props and an impossible number of sound cues, he masterfully blends stand-up, sketch comedy, and physical performance into a high-octane, laugh-out-loud spectacle. His physicality is next-level—flinging himself across the tent, weaving through the audience, dodging invisible ninja spikes, and racing against time to answer a phantom phone call. Very impressive, and the ease at which he moves in and out is a true skill.

Coutis’s ability to balance the absurd with razor-sharp comedic timing is born from natural talent, creativity and dedication to his craft. His deadpan delivery of high-concept sci-fi lunacy—interwoven with spot-on stand-up about everyday life—creates a perfect contrast. One moment, he’s breaking down the price of safes at Bunnings; the next, he’s deciphering cryptic voice recordings left by past Con for future Con. It’s chaotic, it’s clever, and it’s utterly hilarious.

 

CON2077
CON2077

The show’s technical elements are equally as impressive. The precision of its lighting, sound design, and audio effects make Con 2077 feel like a full-blown theatrical production disguised as stand-up. And when the occasional technical hiccup occurs, Coutis rolls with it so smoothly that the audience is left wondering whether it was planned all along.

The real magic, though, is how effortlessly he connects with his audience. The playful participation feels like goofing around with a friend rather than a spotlight interrogation. It’s a testament to Coutis’ warmth and natural charisma—he makes the ridiculous feel relatable and the surreal feel strangely familiar.

So, can Con save the world with comedy? No spoilers here. But one thing’s for sure: Con 2077 is a wildly original, utterly bonkers, and unmissable ride that will have you laughing out loud and leave you in awe. Coutis delivers innovative, fresh, and thoroughly entertaining content. It needs to be seen to be believed, and I encourage you to get yourself to the BankSA Theatre this week.

To book tickets to CON2077, please visit https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/con-coutis-con-2077-af2025

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Adelaide Fringe Festival: Holden Street Theatre Collection

Holden Street Theatre Collection

Holden Street Theatre Collection Rating

★★★★★

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The Holden Street Theatre is in full swing, hosting numerous shows in this year’s Adelaide Fringe(running from 21st Feb to 23rd March), and we were very privileged to be granted the opportunity to review three distinct but high-quality shows in one day.

Shellshocked
Shellshocked has its Australian Premiere at Holden Street Theatre for the Adelaide Fringe 2025. This play is by Phillip Stokes, an award-winning playwright from Leeds. The British Library recognises him as a culturally significant playwright of the 21st Century.

This production stars Jack Stokes and Lee Bainbridge as Wesley and Mr. Lupin (Sir). It opens with Mr. Lupin on stage, staring at a blank canvas on a large easel. The rest of the settings are a desk, a table, a solitary chair, a coat stand, a carafe of whisky, and two glasses.

Wesley has returned from serving in the military in WW2 and needs a job to support his single mum and three sisters. So, he applies to the local portrait painter for an apprenticeship, and his mother delivers his portfolio.

Wesley suffers from PTSD, but he is happy to get the position at a very decent wage. As Wesley gets to know Mr. Lupin, or Sir as he sometimes likes to be called, you start to notice that something is not right in their relationship. You sense that Mr. Lupin, who had polio as a young lad, feels that he has been deprived of the war experience and all it entails.

Wesley is taunted by Sir quite a few times through the course of the play. We begin to see why there is a blank canvas on stage and no other completed artwork. And we begin to wonder who the better artist is.

It becomes evident that Lupin is a bully. Slowly, this story builds up to an interesting climax, which you need to see to know the outcome. Jack Stokes as Welsey is brilliant; his character development is intense. He is certain to be an actor to watch out for in the future. He is cast well against Lee Bainbridge, who is a very accomplished actor.

This show is a must-see at the Adelaide Fringe before it goes to Broadway. A 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Dear Diary
For about 75 minutes, Kay Proudlove entertains us with a collection of stories and a few well-crafted songs. This entertaining production is a look at Kay’s adolescent life. It starts with Kay being called back to the family home to empty her childhood bedroom, as her mother wants a sewing room. This is well represented with three costume racks filled with her clothes.

A key element is the diary from which her memories spring. Here, we hear her stories of being a teenager and all the issues that entails. It starts with Kay having a night off from work and a gig being cancelled, and therefore, she is at her family home going through the detritus of teenage years.

The delivery is nice and gentle—it is like chatting with an old friend. Kay draws the audience in with her humour in her stories and songs. We hear about boyfriends, girl power, and lost music gigs. The whole story is very relatable to the audience.

The audience appreciated this show’s gentle storytelling approach, effectively conveying the narrative without being overly forceful.

So, join the journey of self-discovery, and you will enjoy the show.

4.5 out of 5

Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse For England
This rollicking production well portrays the decline of a footy (round ball) fan. Alex Hill plays Billy and is directed by Sean Turner. Alex uses the full stage at Holden Street. Alex plays multiple characters, with Billy being the main one.

This is a very physical one-man show that leads us through the story of Billy, a shy, introverted lad who is introduced to football.

Football helps him overcome his shyness and takes his mind off his job. His interest in football leads him to a gang of football hooligans. This is all set against the Euro 2020 competition at Wembley, and for the first time in a long time, England is in the comps with a chance to win.

The title of the production is based on a true incident that involved a flare and someone’s posterior. His life becomes more aggressive as he follows the gang of football fans. He feels he is fitting in and belongs to a crowd of like-minded people.

He becomes intoxicated by the stupid stunts and violence that is part of the culture of football thugs. He is introduced to cocaine, and that releases him from his cocoon, and he meets a girl. Now he must juggle a more complex lifestyle, between a girlfriend or football and mates. There is a theme of fascism in the football gang as you are expected to join in, whether you like it or not.

This production gives you an insight into the football hooligan mentality but in a wonderfully humorous way. It is a worthwhile production. Alex is an amazing talent. He holds your attention for over 75 minutes, leaving the audience feeling nearly as exhausted as Alex. 5 out of 5 stars from me.

These shows alone are well worth getting out to see, but by all means, we recommend getting down to see as many Adelaide Fringe shows as you can. To book tickets to any of the upcoming Adelaide Fringe shows at the Holden Street Theatres, please visit:- https://www.holdenstreettheatres.com/

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MILF And The Mistress

MILF And The Mistress

I must admit, walking into this theatre piece at the lovely Jack and Jill’s Basement, I was cringingly expecting some burlesque/cabaret/kink crossover. I went in with low expectations and left shocked and elated at how brilliant and thought-provoking Jennifer Vuletic presented this show.

At first, as Jennifer showed us some simple rope tricks and talked about the illusory nature of magic, I was sure I was with an accomplished performer, but I was still hesitant about the content I would see. Not that I’m a prude at all – in fact, I love to see real, actual experiences of sex on stage. It’s more that the Fringe is littered with much of the same content; the lure of tasselled boobs and whooping crowds. So, at first, the ropes made me think, well, here we are again. But – we certainly were not.

Soon, we met Ali, an older, suburban, lesbian mum who was married and had two boys. She unleashes a torrent of words describing her life and situation, the somewhat drab and entrenched existence she finds herself in—she’s not discontented; life is fine, but it’s just a little…dull. It’s missing something.

The writing is very fast-paced, and it took me about five minutes to hook in and really listen. It was a little hard to keep track of the narrative initially, but once Jennifer started to talk about being interrogated regarding how her wife got pregnant, I was reeled in.

The shock of the first scene featuring the Mistress is wonderful and exciting. Jennifer is inherently believable throughout and clearly a deeply accomplished actor. Her body and voice are working in incredible sync, and she can use the tonality of her instrument to shift characters effortlessly. This is not a one-woman show where she plays or inhabits multiple characters; however, she sometimes imitates the people who are speaking to her – with brilliant effect. A highlight was Sandra, in the staff room, telling Ali about FetLife and opening her up to a whole world of possibility – icky, scary and pulse-pounding.

Books are celebrated, and the literary nature of the text is balanced—sometimes, the prose is elegiac and complicated, and at others, it is simple, erotic, and funny. There were plenty of sly jokes and funny turns of phrase throughout, all delivered with aplomb and pace by Jennifer.

MILF And The Mistress

It is, in turn, a piece about the dream of eroticism and the reality of stepping into another world where your boundaries are pushed. It’s a love letter to kink, growing older, lesbianism and literature. It’s an inspirational work that encourages us all to take the risks we were always scared of, to pursue that dream you kept hidden. In this case, her dream is to experience spanking and bondage by a mistress finally, and much of the humour lies in that.

Tawdry as it might sound, how the material is handled means that we can imbue any dream into it. Whilst it is a play about kink and the character’s idiosyncratic and personal experience, it’s also a play about all of us and how we could all take a risk.

This is the sort of play I want to see on the main stage at State Theatre. It has so many powerful and important messages. Sex work is real work. People have desires, needs, and wants even when they are growing older. Sex work is self-care. There is magic in the minute. As the character says, this play beautifully explores “the everything of something ineffable.”

The Milf and the Mistress is a five-star theatre show that should be experienced by as many as possible. Jennifer is an uncommonly good performer, and the play shows us a world that might be unfamiliar, even scary but is, in fact, the world we all live in. The Milf and the Mistress is at Jack and Jill’s Basement on Pirie St, til Sunday, 10th March.

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Jon And Jero: Stuff!

Jon And Jero: Stuff!

Accompanied by Reviewer Jr, my six-year-old daughter, we were keen to step into the Kingfisher at Gluttony and see Jon and Jero: Stuff! Why? The day before, Reviewer Jr had had a small interaction with them at the entrance to the complex and was immediately charmed by their antics. She should be charmed because Jon and Jero are absolutely fantastic.

The premise is simple; the show opens with Jero (Jeromaia Detto) playing a Neighbourhood Watchman in a beige trenchcoat, bragging about how good he is and, of course, failing to see the robber behind him stealing all of Jon and Jero’s stuff. The chorus of kids screaming “HE’S BEHIND YOU!” in the first moments of the show was hilarious and let us all know we were
going to have a very fun adventure together.

The play is in a loose choose-your-own-adventure style; as Jon and Jero discover the robbery, they have to head out into the big wide world, and the kids are offered an option every few minutes of where they should investigate. This format keeps the kids super engaged and makes me want to see another performance to see all the various options.

Jon (Jon Walpole) and Jero have exuberant energy and perfect chemistry and are very funny at all turns throughout the show. I was not the only adult in the crowd who was laughing the whole way through. The audience was so involved in every moment, and the kids were completely gripped even though they were yelling and giving advice the whole time. Reviewer Jr. had a smile as wide as Bass Strait throughout the entire hour.

Jon And Jero: Stuff!

The beats of the show – the hunt for a hot air balloon, a booger bog, a great sequence where Jero becomes a robot through the power of aluminium foil (as Jon said, “For $3 you can turn your friend into a robot too!”), their butts getting stolen, the cactus man, and more – have a sort of loose, improvisational vibe, but that’s absolutely fine. Jon and Jero seem able to roll with any punches and keep entertaining. The huge photo-real cutouts of each character that were employed any time the other needed to be off stage were some of the best props I’ve seen at this festival.

For Reviewer Jr., the highlight was going on stage and telling a joke; she looked over to me and gave me the thumbs up as she was about to tell her joke. Her thumbs up is like Ebert’s—a glowing recommendation. I take notes throughout each show to keep track of what I’m seeing, and I see my final note for “Jon and Jero: Stuff!” is “This show rules.” And it really does.

You couldn’t choose a better pair to entertain your little ones and keep you laughing. This is five-star family entertainment of the best variety, and I will definitely be seeing the next iteration when they (hopefully) return next year.

In the meantime, you can see Jon in “Butterfly” until the 10th of March at the WEA, and Jero in “MUSH”, until the 9th of March, at the Bally in Gluttony.

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