fringe festival

CVNT

Sophie Power: CVNT

Sophie Power: CVNT Rating

★★★★★

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Do you think you know your way around a cvnt? Do you know a cvnt? Have you ever had a cvnt walk around on stage in front of you and encourage you to please her?

After this show you’ll be able to confidently answer yes to all of those questions.

The stage is set, the lights are pulsing purple and red, the music is playing, everyone’s in their seats, and you’re serenaded by a glove that’s appeared from behind the curtain. Follow the glove, meet the cvnt, and be prepared to be taken on a seemingly nonsensical journey. You won’t be able to tear your eyes away from the cvnt in a frilly robe as she flounces around the stage, sharing her stories and building a rapport with her audience.

Cvnt has a high level of consensual audience participation – if you don’t want to participate, you can give the signal and the cvnt won’t interact with you, but you can still expect some heavy eye contact, the cvnt leaves no audience member feeling uninvolved. Participation involves laughter, growing self-confidence, and telling those cvnts in your life where to stick it. The cvnt is very attuned to her audience, and will lovingly tease out the answers to your life you were too scared to face before seeing the cvnt. There’s a level of participation for everyone, with some audience members on the stage, some answering questions, and some losing their voice amongst the stomping and yelling which was stimulated by the cvnt, of course.

 

Sophie Power: CVNT
Sophie Power: CVNT

 

The progression of the performance focuses on one topic: the cvnt. There isn’t one story, but more of a vibe for the cvnt to follow and enjoy, while attempting to figure out who in her audience appreciates a good cvnt, who is a cvnt, and who needs to yell at a cvnt. The audience steers the progression of the performance in a unique way, and the cvnt is more than happy to go along for the ride and maintain order.

The cvnt herself dances, stomps, twirls, and slides around the stage, completely in her comfort zone as she educates and encourages the cvnt’s in her audience to fully embrace the cvnt. With a powerful voice and amazing vocal control, the cvnt is hypnotising, engaging, pleasurable, and just a little silly. Be prepared to be serenaded just as much as you’re made a little uncomfortable with how comfortable she is. Embrace the cvnt.

To book tickets to Sophie Power: CVNT, please visit https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/cvnt-af2026.

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Hannah Maxwell: I, AmDram

I, AmDram

I, AmDram Rating

★★★★★

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Set in a small outdoor space, Hannah Maxwell is larger than life as she takes you through her traumatic, amusing, and relatable mis/adventures with her thespian theatre family. Up close and personal with Hannah means seeing every minute facial change, being meditated through set changes, and if you’re lucky, shoes will exit stage left right by your head (no offence taken, it was a terrific throw).

Hannah sheds a lighthearted approach to her coming out story to share with her audience. Connecting with everyone in the audience as she regales us with her tale set in the year 2010, it feels less of a theatre show and more of a gossip session with your friend. You will find yourself leaning forward in your seat to listen more closely, not because of how she is speaking, but because you want to hear what she has to say next. The story isn’t difficult to follow, but it’s very real, and you won’t want to miss a single word or dance move.

 

I, AmDram
I, AmDram
I, AmDram

 

With minimal lighting that was outshone by the setting sun, a stage floor of bricks, props that have been with Hannah for years, the performance gives a raw, homey feel … but with the masterful story manipulation of a seasoned thespian who isn’t afraid of having people staring at her without the safety net of the curtains. “I, AmDram” doesn’t need to indulge in complex sets and overly complicated props. There is a small TV and sound system to add layers of backstory, depth, and extra sounds effects while Hannah bounces around the stage; they only deter from the show when the remote decides it doesn’t want to work, but Hannah takes it all in her stride and makes it feel a part of the show. Hannah is captivating as she dances you through her story in a whirlwind of songs, nostalgia, and that one song she can play on the piano with two hands.

Hannah will encourage you to talk back and sing along, and if you’re very lucky, you may even get to assist with holding props. Just as you think you know where the story is going, Hannah takes a breath and throws a new obstacle or belts a musical number. Expect the unexpected, be prepared to ball change and laugh your way through.

Theatre kids, anyone who’s come out of the closet, and everyone in between should have “I, AmDram” on their 2026 Adelaide Fringe to-watch list, and be prepared to laugh, sing, tap your feet, and participate.

To book tickets to I, AmDram, please visit https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/hannah-maxwell-i-amdram-af2026.

Photographer: Daisy King, David Schwab

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Campfire @ Fringe World Perth

Campfire

Campfire Rating

★★★★★

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Campfire is a hilarious jump-scare comedy currently showing at Fringe World Perth. With a rich mix of physical theatre, clowning, acrobatics and floor work, it’s wildly entertaining. This show will delight every member of the family, so pack your bug spray, and let’s head deep into the bush for some hilarious and playful camping chaos.

The premise is simple and instantly relatable. Best mates Louis and Griffin head out on a camping trip, armed with enthusiasm but very little practical skill. They fumble through the basics, but they’re just so excited to be spending time together that doesn’t really matter. After a series of missteps – including a highly relatable moment involving a camping tent that made my day, and a rather awkward moment running out of water – they settle in for the night, toasting marshmallows by the fire. As darkness falls, the tone subtly shifts. A curious, lonely, animalistic bush spirit begins to follow their every move. What starts as intrigue soon becomes a fight for survival, as from sunrise to sunset the friends stumble through the wilderness, their survival skills, masculinity and friendship tested at every turn as the spirit causes escalating high jinks.

 

Campfire
Campfire
Campfire

 

Created by Melbourne/Naarm collective Split Focus, Campfire is a confident showcase of multidisciplinary performance. The storytelling is driven almost entirely through the body, with dynamic acrobatics, aerial work, tumbling, floor work and clowning woven seamlessly into the narrative. The physical skill on display is impressive, with very movement serving the story.

The music and sound design build cinematic tension, while the clever use of lighting and shadow kept the audience on its toes as they are guided through moments of joy, fear and tenderness. I really enjoyed how the performance used clowning to move the audience through this story of hilarious emotional ups and downs. Performed in the close quarters of the Gold Digger tent, the audience is close enough to the action to feel every near-miss, every moment of trust, and every comic pause. There was raucous laughter, punctuated by audible gasps and soft “awws” during the more tender moments.

At its core, Campfire is a playful and generous exploration of friendship, vulnerability and connection, and, importantly, how to perfectly toast a marshmallow. This show is very well executed storytelling. It’s funny, impressively physical, and a joyful Fringe experience. By far one of the best shows I’ve seen at Fringe, pack your bug spray and join this trio into the bush.

To book tickets to Campfire, please visit https://fringeworld.com.au/whats-on/campfire-fw2026.

Photographer: Ven Tithing

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Joe White: Emotional Blackmale

Joe White: Emotional Blackmale

Joe White: Emotional Blackmale Rating

★★★★★

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Back in his hometown for the 2026 Perth Fringe Festival, award-winning comedian Joe White delivered a semi-biographical performance that combines sharp observational comedy with an unflinching account of displacement, migration, and belonging.

The show is a departure from the regular routine of his other shows. Joe White: Emotional Blackmale is very personable as he reflects on his life from a refugee in Sudan to a stand-up comedian in Australia and becoming a first-time father.

A central theme of the performance is identity. White is Ethiopian, born in Sudan, and raised in Australia from when he was 10. He uses this pursuit for identity and wanting to belong into comedy. White’s delivery makes clear that the “identity crisis” is not an abstract concept but a lived reality and one driven by language barriers, racial perception, and the constant need to change oneself for other people’s comfort, including his name. Born Tilahun Hailu, teachers and children often had difficulty pronouncing his name and so the nickname Joe has stayed with him ever since. The choice of “White” as a surname then becomes the punchline. White explains that he selected it because most of his audience members were all white.

 

Joe White: Emotional Blackmale

 

White does not skirt around the seriousness of his refugee background especially in this present time where immigration is such a hot topic. He touches on his family’s time as refugees in Sudan and the gruelling process of seeking humanitarian visas to come to Australia. These moments in the show shift the tone without derailing the performance.

White, one of six children to a single mother, retells his mother’s determination and strength in providing a better life for her six children. White’s treatment of the visa process is particularly effective because it highlights the procedural exhaustion that is the waiting, uncertainty, and bureaucratic hurdles, and the corruption which was behind his family’s applications constantly being rejected. An account which I found quite insightful.

It is evident from his show how much he truly appreciates his life in Australia, so much so that he proudly displayed his Southern Cross tattoo to the audience.

White is a proud Ethiopian Australian. Now a first-time father of an 8-month girl, he wants his daughter to be proud of her heritage too, Ethiopian-Malteser as he describes her as his partner is Maltese Australian.

Emotional Blackmale is a personable show with plenty of laughs and plenty of audience interaction.

To book tickets to Joe White: Emotional Blackmale, please visit https://fringeworld.com.au/whats-on/joe-white-emotional-blackmale-fw2026.

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