Delicious Aerialicious

Delicious by Aerialiscious Entertainment

Delicious by Aerialiscious Entertainment Rating

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3

Delicious is a scrumptious hybrid show mixing your favourite Burlesque and Circus acts, all themed around food and drink. The show as a whole imbues the audience with ecstatic energy, and satiates our hunger for entertainment.

It seamlessly blends comedy, acrobatics and eroticism in an extravaganza for any appetite. Our fantastic hosts, Chocolate Boxx and Clara Cupcakes bounce off each other brilliantly with quick witted remarks to introduce us to the world of ‘Delicious’ and its’ acts.

Initially we are met with Aline Chapet who performs a quirky routine with ‘Champagne’ bubbles. Her act brings the awe of a magician and the skill of a bartender to the stage, creating bubble art and playing with trapping and releasing smoke. Her act creates suspense and wonder as we wait for bubbles to pop, or not, as she skillfully crafts them. We were then rewarded with other unique acts such as Indie Berlin who performed a hilariously creative ‘Bread-lesque’ routine.

This combined the glitz and glam of burlesque with the comedic premise of feeding pigeons lots of bread; which was executed with elements of mime as well as expert choreography. Another creative act was Cello Bordello and her ‘hot-dog’ routine. This showcased a spunky burlesque number and a twist on sword swallowing except with a balloon. We were also delighted by some women’s Jelly Wrestling (Grace Law and Rachael Gibson); where you were still in the splash zone multiple rows back, causing eruptive laughter from the audience.

Our final unique act was Johnny Gash presenting a sweet ‘Candyman’ styled Drag King performance. Johnny Gash gave us the only vocal performance of the night, which was absolutely phenomenal and all but identical to Christina Augileira herself.

The circus acts included were incredible, with Andrea James Lui skillfully showcasing her amazing floorwork and Aerial Pole skills. With a quirky mad-hatter style, but incredible strength and fluidity she dazzled from the air. Elena Khaw graced us with an incredible show of contortion and flexibility, all whilst glazing herself in honey, keeping to the sweet theming.

Ambrose and Latonya brought some classic circus action with trapeze and Hula Hoop acts. Their Flow Art was smooth and polished, taking much coordination and strength. Finally, Tami Dawson presented hair suspension to close us out, which takes incredible, hair-raising skill.

With such a smorgasbord of talent, the audience was engaged and cheering from the start and this did not lull for the entire performance. The lighting and use of haze made all the performers look spectacular whether they be on the ground or in the air. The song choices were recognisable and energizing, bringing much enjoyment.

This show exudes confidence and really comes together beautifully, a perfect collection of talent, theming and taste. The cast and crew should be applauded for a delightful addition to the Melt Festival line-up.

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

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The FUTURE is disappointing

FUTURE

FUTURE Rating

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2

The theatre collective PIGEONPIGEON showcased their play ‘FUTURE’ in the Melbourne Fringe Festival 2024. The original concept of taking different predictions about the future and turning them into a theatre production sparked my curiosity, and the hopeful tone of the synopsis intrigued me further.

I was disappointed by the incongruence of the synopsis and the show that I saw. It was very bleak. That’s not to say the show wasn’t without its strengths. I must give props to their use of props- giant jenga blocks and a large tome both full of predictions- were a couple of these that supported the show well. Some props were a little off-putting, such as a large notepad used to give prompts to their on stage “audience member”.

They built pace effectively to demonstrate a crescendo when reading through scripted predictions contained in a box, with the bits of paper left scattered around them. Following this an emotional monologue was delivered, where the very real, confronting, question many of us struggle to reconcile was raised- Is it fair on a child’s welfare to be brought into this world, when the climate crisis threatens their safety and wellbeing in ways we cannot yet even fathom. Unfortunately, the poorly synced text that was projected on the large screen behind them significantly detracted from the actor’s performance, and continued to irritate me throughout the entire show.

‘FUTURE’ felt structurally confused. I’d expected they would be dramatising different predictions on the future, instead it felt very bitsy with large chunks of the show entirely relying on audience participation. At the start of the show, they warned the audience about any loud sounds or bright lights to expect, painstakingly demonstrating the level of intensity that could be expected with each. This information was already provided in the ‘event warnings’ of the show summary. I’m sensitive to sound myself, but when I go to a play I expect my senses to be engaged and surprised throughout.

 

What I think was intended as a sensitive warning came across as pedantic coddling, delivered without any snappy energy to relieve the tension. It felt ironic, but I don’t think that was the intention. It provided an interesting subtext on the pervasive fog of anxiety Gen Z have grown up in, and the pendulum swing between action and inertia that often manifests. It would seem the entire framing and response is technology based, the cell phone is the gatekeeper, gateway, and fence. I wonder the level of awareness PIGEONPIGEON had on this, or if it was intrinsic.

A sore point for me was the en masse bagging of Taylor Swift from the cast and audience for her use of a private plane- is there really a practical alternative? As if she is the only carbon emitter on the planet, would she be so demonised if she wasn’t a powerful woman. Yet many far-left identifying people seem to have no issue fueling this hateful rhetoric. They might be surprised to know that her donations to various local UK foodbanks covered a years worth of meals for those organisations. I linger on this detail for two reasons- 1. It really frustrated me, and 2. It is emblematic of the show- a lot of negative commentary with little consideration for solutions.

I thought the “audience member” who came on stage had a certain charisma and levity that injected a bit of life into the show. Unfortunately, this impression waned as a function of the poor writing. The hope that was promised was hard to find. I think it was all strained into a bit about crabs that felt like it may have been inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy type absurdism, but rather missed the mark. Maybe if I was born 7 years later the show would have resonated with me more.

I did attend ‘FUTURE’ with another person who is of that generation who found the show stilted as I did; so, it’s not entirely a function of age as to whether the humour that was given was perceived as having landed or not. If you’re looking for some hope, I’d avoid ‘FUTURE’, unless you really like crabs and awkward jokes.

For further information about PIGEONPIGEON, please checkout: https://www.pigeonpigeon.co/

Photographer: Jaimi Houston

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

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Jack And Millie

Jack and Millie

Jack and Millie Rating

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4

So, a story about cancer. A topic and illness infamously known as a big damper on pretty much everything. How does one convey a story with a sense of positivity, of movement, of life still continuing through this unpredictable time?

Enter Alain Beek, Actor and Director with Essence Productions whose story was told through Jack and Millie. And what a story it was!

Beek was joined on stage by Phil Cameron-Smith (who played Jack) and Ross Daniels (who played every other character) in this heart-touching story. Truly a loaded theatre cast!

Beek not only shared this story, but when she was on stage, I felt every one of her emotions, her eyerolls and her smiles. Beek is an inspiring story teller and the depth of her character was highly tangible to each audience member. She helped me understand this story in ways that just reading a script would not. Beeks’ character Millie felt wonderfully lived in, like a familiar coat you put on or a close friend to confide in. And that just helped to draw me in even more.

Cameron-Smith is Jack in this play and represents all the thoughts that Millie has about cancer. Some do hit home hard, but I was surprised to see how many of these thoughts were also comedic. Cameron-Smith had me laughing a lot and helped to put a more wholesome and positive spin on what should be quite a downcast story. He was funny, deadpan and at times unapologetic in his views which made for all the more riotous viewing! I would happily see a play all about Jack and his thoughts and feelings.

And filling in every other character we have Ross Daniels, and my, what stage presence! It was so easy to watch Daniels as he went between characters, especially in the Zoom scene (trust me, watch it and laugh a lot, because I have never seen anything more relatable). Daniels had this incredible focus to him, even off stage, and managed to play characters ranging from cold and informative to a supportive friend and buddy. And each one of these characters was so believable! Daniels also had these unique little movements or actions he would do to get into each character which was fascinating to observe.

As an audience member, I really enjoyed some of the choices that were made by the Director Nigel Sutton, especially props wise! The stage was only set with 2 big white boxes which were used in such simple ways and yet transported me to a restaurant or the park seamlessly. The costming for this play was also very simple, just plain whites for each character. And I think this all needed to be understated to let the story shine through which was more than successfully achieved. 

I did also want to commend the creative uses of sound effects, especially the ring tones for each character that gave such a unique insight into that character. The assumptions were handed to the audience with very little to go off and my imagination thoroughly enjoyed filling in the blanks. And other members of the audience afterwards expressed similar thoughts to me – this was a truly enjoyable experience.

So, in conclusion, please see this play if you can! This is a funny story full of life’s ups and downs, but left me feeling positive. It is said in the program of this show that this script is deeply loved by those who feature in it, and even as an audience member I was able to feel this. This was not a sad story, just an eventful one filled with delicious morsels of laughter to help you on the way. And one (I can confidently say) I would happily see again!

For further information about Essence Theatre Productions, please follow: https://www.essencetheatre.productions/

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

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Maybe He’s Born With It Maybe It’s ADHD

Maybe He's Born With It Maybe It's ADHD

Maybe He’s Born With It Maybe It’s ADHD Rating

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Do you need an emotional rollercoaster of a show that will make you laugh and cry and then, upon further thought, inevitably question all of your actions as possibly neurodivergent?

Yeah, neither did I, and yet I find myself wanting to go back for more!

Upon entering the theatre (and having no previous knowledge of Colin Ebsworth, my assumptions were a comedy show with probable laughs and maybe some relatable content. Little did I know that I would be crying both from laughter and sadness by the end.

Ebsworth is (in short) an insanely talented comedian and wordsmith who managed to convey so many different emotions of relatability, anguish, confusion, satire, wittiness and much more as we are walked through his experience as a neurodivergent child. As someone who has Autism (of which there is a lot of cross-over with ADHD), I found it refreshing to find someone who had some of the same issues as me growing up and was able to articulate it accurately.

All whilst sitting on a stool on a stage in a spotlight with a remote and a few lagers.

 

I also genuinely enjoyed the creative use of both vocal effects and music to enhance the story. And so did the audience! I took my best friend (who is ADHD incarnate) with me and her reactions were vivid and similar to mine. As were the rest of the attendees. We all gasped together, laughed together and felt deeply together. It is no mean feat to be able to create an atmosphere where everyone is invested both individually and as a collective audience.

This show is so important not just for those that are neurodivergent, but also for those that have neurodivergent individuals in their life. It’s content of this show will only continue to become more and more valuable as time goes on.

So, even though this show for Melbourne Fringe is sold out, I would unquestionably recommend that you keep an eye out for Colin Ebsworth and any of his future shows. I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next and will be attending prepared to feel the full range of emotions next time!

For further information about Colin Ebsworth, please follow: https://linktr.ee/colinebsworth

This review also appears on It’s On The House. Check out more reviews at Whats The Show to see what else is on in your town.

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