Meteors chronicles the journey of writer and performer Melissa Pullinger in dealing with the sickness and death of her mother from cancer. The writing cleverly entwines the narrative of the events of her life balancing humour against the darker aspects of the story. Pullinger’s performance is absorbing and connects the audience with her memories making Meteors one of the exceptional hours of this year’s Fringe.
Meteors begins with a funny anecdote of her obtaining glasses to watch an eclipse and the image of waiting to watch meteors in Tea Tree Gully becomes the connecting device of the script.
In a non-linear manner, Pullinger details other stories like a date she had at The Exeter Hotel where she tells her male companion that her mother is dead and how he relates to that in terms of the death of his cat for which she comforts him. Other stories detail how she and her mother had to speed home from a piercing Pullinger was having because her mother’s colostomy bag was full and another of her mother’s treatment of avoiding all light, so the family had to live in the dark. Pullinger further details her and her brother’s experience at her mother’s funeral, which is the first funeral they had attended, and how their neighbours tried to help the family with an overloading supply of lasagna filling their fridge and creating an abundance of still unclaimed Tupperware. She also relates her meeting with her Danny DeVito lookalike counsellor, and the effect counselling has had on her.
The single actor nature of Meteors means that there is nowhere to hide on stage and Pullinger’s performance is highly engaging and her skills as an actor are superb as she masterfully unfolds the narrative for the appreciative audience.
Connor Reidy directs Pullinger across the intimate space of The Breakout at The Mill incorporating Will Spartalis’s sound designs and compositions and signaling shifts in the script by using lighting changes. The stories exceptionally unfold on the minimalist stage with just a floor rug, a wooden chair, and a step to the stage. The other creative collaborators are Ren Williams and Pullinger’s brother Connor Pullinger.
Pullinger, Reidy and Williams are the co-founders of the Cram Collective and Meteors was developed through The Mill’s 2025 Centre Stage Residency in partnership with Adelaide Fringe through their Arts Industry Collaborations program and is their debut show at the Fringe serving as another important example why such programs are crucial for the development of young South Australian talent. While this is their Fringe debut, the Cram Collective have already created a growing list of well received productions.
Brilliantly written and performed, Meteors is an authentic story of a young person’s passage with grief through a series of deftly entwined anecdotes and a show that should be included in everyone’s Fringe program this year no matter how large or small that schedule is.
Reviewed by Rob McKinnon
Rating; 5/5
Meteors season is:
Thu, 19 Feb – Sat, 07 Mar
Times: 6.00 pm
Venue: The Breakout at The Mill
For more information: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/meteors-af2026
To book tickets to Meteors, please visit https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/meteors-af2026.
Photographer: Daniel Marks
