Well, this is an interesting, fun show. It’s comedy clowning at its best. It’s a rollicking, frolicking comedy about fruit, its position in society, and its relevance to the main character, Cherese.
We learn why fruit is fun, why she loves all fruit, and why she also loves us, the audience. The show consists of a variety of sketches that flow smoothly from one to another.
For Cherese Sonkkila, this is her debut Fringe show. She has plenty of energy, and it keeps flowing. Hopefully, we will see more work from she/her in the future.
The sketches have a variety of styles, from song and dance to monologues. There are costume changes off stage, although in a couple of places, the performances are a fraction too long. But it was opening night.
This is a show worth seeing. It is a fun event with some audience participation, which I normally don’t like, but I enjoyed it. So, get a ticket or several and take yourself to the Mill on Angas Street.
If you’re in the mood for a wildly absurd, delightfully unhinged, and incredibly physical comedy experience, then Mel McGlensey Is Motorboat is your perfect Fringe vessel. Docked at the Bally in Gluttony, this boat-woman hybrid performance is a riotous ride through high-energy clowning, audience interaction, and some very “nautical but nice” humour.
McGlensey, a 2024 Golden Gibbo nominee and winner of Best Comedy at Adelaide Fringe 2024, fully commits to her larger-than-life character. With a sailor’s outfit ingeniously doubling as boat parts—including some particularly buoyant “floatation devices”—she embraces every wave of ridiculousness with infectious enthusiasm.
From the moment Motorboat sets sail, the audience becomes her crew, each assigned a boat type in a flurry of improvised banter that McGlensey expertly weaves back into the show for maximum comedic payoff.
The story? Motorboat dreams of leaving the dock and venturing into the great unknown, but she’s held back by the booming, omnipresent voice of Captain Daddy. But as any good Fringe audience knows, staying anchored is never an option. What follows is a rollicking, often improvised voyage where McGlensey’s quick wit, expressive clowning, and razor-sharp comedic instincts keep the crowd both on edge and in stitches.
The humour is far from subtle—expect a bit of salty language and some audience participation—the energy and commitment of the performance keeps things afloat for the entire show.
With her formidable improv skills and natural comedic presence, McGlensey delivers a show that is as silly as it is skilful. Whether you’re a tugboat, an ocean liner or a lowly kayak, Motorboat is a high-spirited, side-splittingly funny voyage well worth embarking on. Just batten down the hatches—things are bound to get a little choppy!
A one-man biography of an adventure that went sour. Eoin Ryan presents this version of survival on the high seas.
This is his story as a backpacker in Australia wanting to embark on an amazing adventure, by a little white lie about his skills on a fishing boat. The adventure turns into a nightmare as Eoin realizes how hard the fishermen are. He regrets his decision in the end.
It is a fascinating tale but marred by a voice that disappears into the dark reaches of the venue, making it difficult to hear some of the quieter dialogue. Also, some of the technical elements were a bit rough. This could be attributed to first night jitters.
I am sure that it will improve as the season settles into the venue. The only other issue is mainly a venue problem, that is if the performer steps down to the same level as the seating, the audience do have a struggle to see the performer.
Eoin used the stylised set to good use. The narrative flows smoothly and you get a sense of the emotions he felt on the fishing trip. Which included drinking, fighting and the occasional storm. The toxic surroundings he has found himself in, has become violent. He needs to survive the sea and the crew.
The story is good, and Eoin knows it well as he lived it. Just a bit more volume and energy would make it really sail. Overall the audience seemed to enjoy it.
All sessions are followed by a Q and A, so you get the chance to ask questions. It is worth going along to see, I am sure the kinks have been sorted.
With the show’s title named Booze & The Bard: Macbeth, I had a feeling this wouldn’t be your typical Macbeth play. As part of Perth’s annual Fringe Festival, five young actors bring a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s infamous Macbeth to the stage.
Held at Four5Nine Bar at the Rosemount Hotel, a cosy little venue, the audience and the actors had no idea how the play would pan out. The concept reminded me a little bit of those “choose your own adventure books” where the reader’s choices determine the main character’s actions.
The play started off smoothly; all the standard lines are acted out with an injection of modern language sprinkled throughout (I loved this because, as someone who myself am not a big follower of Shakespeare’s plays, it made the play easier to follow and understand). When the play continued too smoothly, that’s when the actors shook things up a bit. There were drinking games (audience members could also participate if they wished), but either way, the actors are drinking throughout the play.
The major shakeup of the show was the spinning wheel. The spinning wheel had a variety of rules that the chosen actor had to follow when the tab landed on any of these rules, and this could happen at any moment throughout the entire show. The narrator would usually bring the spinning wheel to an audience member to spin.
For example, when it landed on ‘accent’ the chosen actor had to say his lines in an Irish accent for remainder of the play. I especially though it was funny when it landed on ‘western’ and the actor playing Macbeth, Ethan Milne, had to act out the rest of the play as though he was in a western movie, topping it off by wearing a poncho.
There were moments when the actors would be calling out ‘noooo’ when the spinning wheel was pulled out. I could feel their pain. It would not be easy to recite a Shakespeare play and then force put a spin on it at the last minute.
It’s ironic that Macbeth is actually a tragedy, but this show was far from tragic. The Booze & the Bard’s Macbeth, the Scotch Play was a fun, chaotic, silly, comedic retelling of a Shakespeare classic with many twists.
You certainly do not have to be a Shakespeare fan or understand Shakespeare to enjoy this show. It’s clear the actors were all having a lot of fun, and this naturally pulled the audience in.
If you are looking for a light-hearted show with plenty of laughs and, of course, drinking, then this is the show for you.
