News
Adelaide Fringe organisers have asked for Rundle Road to close for six weeks next year in order to expand the Garden of Unearthly Delights and Gluttony to include two new venues of 800 and 1000 seats.
News
The organisers of popular Fringe venue Gluttony say they’ll have to consider how they operate, charging entry or shrinking in size after an Adelaide City Council decision to re-introduce fees for hiring the park lands for events.
Business
Adelaide’s festivals are continuing to prove a powerhouse for the state’s economy with the Fringe releasing more record figures today showing interstate visitors pushed a 40 per cent increase in economic expenditure at this year’s event to $105.5 million. At the same time, it made the top 10 mentioned brands on Instagram.
Festivals
With just a couple of days left to make the most of the summer festivals frenzy, here are some InReview recommendations from both the Adelaide Festival and Fringe programs – including dance, comedy, music and theatre shows.
Jennifer Wong transmutes her diagnoses of depression and degenerative eye disease into a quick-flowing hour of self-deprecating, hilariously absurd situational stand-up. ★★★★½
Feisty and feminist, Helen of Troy lobs some truth bombs about unattainable beauty standards and the problems of being female in both the ancient world and this one. ★★★★
This world premiere, presented by South Australian creatives, offers a unique and stunning expression of one of the most common mental illnesses in Australia. ★★★★★
Comedian Mel Buttle’s social media followers know her largely as her suburban mum character Lynn, and in her hour-long Adelaide Fringe show she gives us that and more. ★★★★½
There’s persuasive rhetoric that depicts art and science as opponents – we can either have creativity or facts, emotion or logic – but a number of intriguing shows at this year’s Adelaide Fringe highlight what can be unlocked when these two different schools of thought come together.
Adelaide Fringe
In an elegantly decorated room at The Jade on Flinders Street, Lauren Edwards steps up to the microphone to share her gripes with the modern world and today’s broken capitalism, and sing a song or two. ★★★ ½
Adelaide Fringe
Lano’s recounting of Melville’s classic novel Moby Dick is disjointed as Woodley, in his typical role as earnest but annoying sidekick, constantly threatens to derail proceedings by helping out. This show is a joy. ★★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
A comedian recounts the experience of trading a live audience for the blank walls of a warehouse studio in this compelling exploration of art, creativity, and mental health in the age of COVID. ★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
Blisteringly anarchic and devilishly clever, Creepy Boys would like you to attend a birthday party for some very horny twin teenage brothers in a yurt. ★★★★★
Cruise ships are the vessel for this hour-long satirical musical comedy that has audiences chuckling from start to finish. ★★★★★
Local performer Britt Plummer honed her clowning skills in France, studying under the master Philippe Gaulier. Her latest Fringe offering is Fool’s Paradise.
Sweet-faced and sharp-tongued, The Coconuts make their Fringe debut with Brown on the Outside, White on the Inside – a lively blend of storytelling, stand-up, songs, and slideshows. ★★★★
Female-led venture Powersuit Productions takes a swing at a raft of weighty issues in this fast-paced and feisty story about the power of friendship when love turns toxic. ★★★★ ½
Adelaide Fringe
The art of storytelling depends on two things that Tracy Crisp has nailed: entertainment and believability. ★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
In his previous long-running theatrical show, John Waters mastered the role of John Lennon. His new homage to Lennon is more of a band performance, but it is still compelling. ★★★★★
Current and former Adelaide Fringe ambassadors – from across artforms and continents – chronicle the festival’s evolution and agree there’s one essential characteristic that will secure its future for decades to come.
Not-for-profit theatre group Iran Saye Theatre is presenting an intriguing, though difficult to follow, experimental multimedia performance at this year’s Fringe. ★★★
Beat looping magician Adam Page borrows drum samples from artists ranging from Michael Jackson to Led Zeppelin and Taylor Swift to create a one-man symphony, but it’s when he picks up the sax that his show really sings. ★★★ ½
Charming and skilful performer Kathryn Hall reveals the absurdity of institutional systems in this story of her teenage years, which she spent living in youth shelters while managing cerebral palsy. ★★★★
The class of Year 7C takes audiences on a musical trip back to school PE classes – and perhaps the dread that came with them. ★★★★★
Unabashedly joyful and devilishly close to a copyright violation, Reclaiming Harry fights to reclaim the multi-million-dollar franchise for those who love it most – the fans. ★★★★
In this memoir show wearing stand-up comedy clothes, Colin Ebsworth searches for laughs, larger meaning and a sense of understanding amid the detritus of his years spent growing up in a cult. ★★★ ½
The perfectly paired Nat Harris and Hannah Camilleri present a selection of delectable comedic treats in their new sketch show. ★★★★ ½
Complex relationships and notions of ‘female goodness’ are central to a homegrown Adelaide Fringe show that tells the story of four women from three different generations whose identities are forever recalibrated after one ‘shameful mistake’.
Adelaide Fringe
A team of top creatives has brought together some of Australia’s most talented theatre and opera performers to present this vaudevillian production that is right at home in the circus-like Wonderland Spiegeltent. ★★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
Cabaret, drag and titillating theatrics aren’t just for after dark. Sate your appetite for something fun, fabulous and risqué during brunch. ★★★★
Drone-art spectacle Electric Skies encouraged us to sit down and gaze skyward – and in return it gave us a whole lot to look at. ★★★★
What happens when you give a Shakespearean cast some liquid courage? The result is a little bit naughty, but surprisingly wholesome. ★★★★★
Olivia Ruggiero tells the story of her love of musical theatre as she skilfully travels through Broadway’s most famous songs for a night of mellifluous delight. ★★★★
Shock factor, nudity and chaos are cornerstones of this year’s big new show at the Garden of Unearthly Delights, where they’re ready to get The Party started. ★★★
Adelaide Fringe
A mesmerising, immaculate contemporary dance production overflowing with emotional resonance, the Australian debut of Taiwanese company Hung Dance’s internationally acclaimed work is a Fringe gem of heart-stirring beauty. ★★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
Over a cringe-inducing hour, actor Ellen Graham takes audiences on a tour of egregious objectifying encounters that lead to an absurdist and logically extreme end. ★★★
Adelaide Fringe
Alex and the Babes spin a three-act play from three lines of poetry and thin air as five rapid-firing minds combine to create improv comedy gold in Haiku For You. ★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
This uplifting hour of well-known Beatles tunes is delivered with theatrical flair, musical punch and, importantly, feeling. It’s not just a tribute show but also great entertainment. ★★★★★
A stint covering a holidaying worker should be a breeze, right? In Temping, a show unique to each audience member, you have a team behind you but you’re ultimately on your own. ★★★★★
Showcasing some of the top acrobatic talent in Fool’s Paradise, Crème de la Crème offers an evening of flirty theatrics, impressive feats and hilarious antics. ★★★ ½
Sarah McLeod and Carla Lippis are electrifying as the Adelaide Fringe’s favourite supergroup returns to rock audiences with their finely tuned hour of rock, grunge and soul, paying homage to famous musicians who never saw the age of 28. ★★★★
They walked among the gods in the hit 2022 Adelaide Fringe show Oracle; now, Bass Fam Creative return to drag audiences down to the depths of hell with the frightening Adelaide premiere of Mansion. ★★★★★
News
The Advertiser is not reviewing performances at the Adelaide Fringe this year after a failed negotiation, the festival’s organisers say, although the News Corp newspaper insists its editorial decisions are not based on commercial considerations.
Adelaide Fringe
Rubber-limbed and deadpan, New Zealand mime wizard Thom Monckton makes an hilarious return as the selfish king whose only subject is himself. ★★★★★
French pyrotechnic percussionists Les Commandos Percu kicked off the Adelaide Fringe with a bang – literally – as they lit up the riverbank with a primal storm of percussion, flame and fireworks. ★★★★
Art meets science in a back-room gallery, and the conversation is quietly fascinating. UK studio Megaverse presents a new collaborative work that explores our relationship with water. ★★★ ½
The ever-energetic Umbilical Brothers keep the laughs coming as they return to the Fringe with their daftly hilarious, award-winning mash-up of live performance, real time footage and green-screen-trickery. ★★★★ ½
The title of this show describes Ross Noble’s wild, stream-of-consciousness style, but doesn’t do justice to the hilarious ingenuity of the content. Celebrating his 21st tour, the comedian again proves himself the virtuoso of improvisational stand-up. ★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
Are the rumours of Sherlock Holmes’ demise true? Has he met his end at the hands of his arch nemesis? All is revealed in this gripping solo stage show starring British actor Tim Marriott. ★★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
Peter Goers takes a trip through Adelaide’s nostalgic past with jokes, friendly faces, and a surprise appearance. ★★★★
This high-energy, tightly professional and foot-tapping slice of soul, jazz, blues and more blends rich melodies, driving rhythms, and global and local talent for a lively hour of captivating music. ★★★★
As the 2023 ‘Mad March’ festival season kicks off, eight of InReview’s writers and critics share their must-see shows and events across the Adelaide Festival, Fringe, WOMADelaide and Writers’ Week programs.
The Adelaide Fringe is set to break its ticket sales record, with the festival likely to hit one million sales over the next four weeks.
From her studio space in Stepney, painter-turned-animator Kate Kurucz is piecing together a personal story of migration, loneliness, and more than a hint of movie magic.
Arts & Culture
This festival season, InReview is the home of professional arts reviewing in South Australia. Here’s how you can support our not-for-profit work.
Adelaide Fringe
In an empty house a young man is waiting to celebrate Mother’s Day, but the more he describes her – and their religious devotions and special bonds – the more uncertain his rapture becomes. ★★★★★
‘Where does the body end and the avatar begin?’ In a series of absorbing interactive spaces, FLEX plays with the links between our physical selves and the environments we inhabit. ★★★★
French performance artists Les Commandos Percu bring their pyrotechnic and percussion spectacular SILENCE ! to the Fringe this year and – amid the noise – ask quietly urgent questions about our future.
Two psychiatrists walk into a bar… and then hit the mike for stand-up routines unlike any others at this year’s Fringe. Adelaide doctor and funny man Dr Kim Le and Kiwi Dr Joanna Prendergast present two very different comedy acts based on observations from their professional lives.
Heading into the city to see a show or 10 is a summer ritual for many South Australians, but hitting the highway for a night of world music in Clare could become a new tradition.
Adelaide Fringe
Why do we work? That’s the key question in work.txt, an intriguing and immersive Adelaide Fringe show in which the audience becomes the cast.
Adelaide Fringe
Let your senses and imagination come alive as you surrender to the beauty of Electric Skies – that’s the advice Electric Fields musician and visual artist Zaachariaha Fielding has for audiences attending Adelaide Fringe’s 2023 drone spectacle.
