Mar 10

ADELAIDE FRINGE 2013 – Desperately Seeking The Exit – Peter Michael Mario – The Austral

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–>dse

Have you ever seen the 1985 classic Desperately Seeking Susan, where Rosanna Arquette loses her memory and takes on the identity of Madonna as a street-hustler on the run from the Mob? If not, you should, but if not imagine if this wacky 80s dramady were to be remade as a musical, but set in 1979, and replace the trashy pop glamour of Madonna with the rock and roll sex and bravado of Blondie.

This is the premise of Desperately Seeking The Exit, a rock and roll 70s-80s mash-up musical borne from the incredibly stoned and drunk mind of Peter Michael Marino; director, writer, actor, comedy coach; self-professed angloholic, borderline alcoholic; raging queen and hyperactive creative genius. The project even gets the approval of Debbie Harrie and Madonna themselves! AND IT’S ALL TRUE!

Unfortunately for Peter Michael Marino this is where the fairytale ends, as his show is set to play out of the West End and his baby is seized by lunatic British choreographers, directors, producers, actors and financiers. This is the Desperately Seeking The Exit, as Peter Michael Marino works through the demons of a hellish year in the UK. He drinks and jokes and yells and is a one man laugh riot. At one point I wrote in my note book the words “Gay? or just Really Camp/Hyperactive?”, later on putting a big tick next to both of them. Peter Michael Mario is fucking brilliant.

Despite being wedged into a tiny room up at the very top of The Austral, Desperately Seeking The Exit is one of the funniest Fringe shows, nay, comedy shows I have ever seen. Why was this amazing show tucked away so? It’s a shame. I didn’t even know who Peter Michael Marion is, or what Desperately Seeking Susan was, but I have and do now, and my life is all the richer for it. I learned a lot of colourful phrases that just aren’t fit for print alas, but will no doubt serve me well later on in life.

Desperately Seeking The Exit is a hilarious, vulgar, crass and (eventually) heart-warming story that anyone with a rough sense of humour really ought to see. Desperately Seeking Susan is also a brilliant film which you really should see as well. Listed to some Blondie and some 80s Madonna too.

5K

Mar 10

THE CHANGING FACE OF THE FRINGE – INTERSTATE COMEDIANS RULE SUPREME

By Peter Maddern

In this morning’s Sunday Mail, columnist Peter Goers quips that the Fringe has become ruled by the ‘Garden of Melbourne Entrepreneurs’ providing entertainment for ‘the Great Unwashed’ comprised of ‘comedy and tits’n’’teeth.’

One probably does not need to be as keen an observer as Goers to have picked up on these trends but an analysis of the Fringe program from 2011 to this year bears out his barbs, raising questions of where to now for the Fringe.

After three or more years of very rapid growth, this year Fringe registrations were slightly down on last year’s peak. Over the past two years, ticketed fringe productions (Productions) have increased by around 30% while total ticketed shows (Shows) are up over 50%. But by genre, the biggest increase in Productions and Shows is unquestionably Comedy, with Show numbers up a huge 75%, accounting for over 60% of the entire growth in the Fringe over that time. Comedy now accounts for just over 50% of all Shows.

And Goers is also right to suggest that interstate artists are the ones providing the extra content. Comedy Productions emanating from interstate have nearly doubled in two years, providing all the growth in that genre relative to local and overseas Productions, whose numbers have stalled.

Indeed the role of South Australian artists in the Fringe is one that must be starting to get people concerned. For it would appear the ability of our local performers to contribute to the Fringe has basically maxed out across the board with only Cabaret Productions showing any increase over the past two years. Our share of all Productions has dropped from 48% to 44% and while an analysis of the number of Shows has not been done, anecdotally these must now be well down.

While Comedy has grown massively, as noted other genres are starting to show the signs of stress. Visual Arts shows have declined markedly (over 30%) since the 2011 Fringe and now Theatre is starting to exhibit signs of decline. Over the past two years, the number of Theatre Productions has increased by just 10% and its percentage of all Shows has decreased by about 15% to 17%. Further the number of local productions is now in decline.

While theatre artists are endeavouring to increase returns through longer seasons (up from 7.3 to 8.9 Shows per Production), they are doing so unable to get audiences to pay more for the pleasure, with Theatre ticket prices effectively stagnant over this time. In contrast, such issues are not there for the comedians who have enjoyed a massive 20% increase in their average ticket price over the same period.

While the growth of the Fringe is much trumpeted by the Fringe Office, the strains and consequences of that growth have been less well spoken about. While the Fringe listings grew by 50% between 2010 and 2012, (declared) ticket sales only increased by 20%. Notionally that meant average Show attendances dropped by 20% across those two years. But when one witnesses the hundreds filing into some very ordinary Comedy events at the Garden, one can only guess at how inequitably this average show size is now affecting other venues and performers.

The market is a great thing and we can do nothing to arrest the reality of the survival of the fittest, but with Visual Arts now in decline and the contribution to the Fringe of local and overseas artists along with Theatre effectively maxed out, one wonders what direction the Fringe will now go in. No doubt, as Goers observes, there is a dash to the lowest common denominator of ordinary one man stand-up comedians and that means the Fringe is an increasing distance from its original core and objective.

While all credit must be given to the people who run The Garden, given the rip roaring success of The Barrio, perhaps the time has come for the Festival of Arts to start up its own curated ‘Excess Fest’ to help give better, edgier artists the chance to keep their heads above water at this time of year. Otherwise, this once annual time in the sun for local performers may become like much of the other 11 months of the year. Or, perhaps they will simply see it best to go with the flow and become an interstate artist who comes here as well.

Mar 09

ADELAIDE FRINGE 2013 – Les Deux Amis – presented by Jean Francois Gavanon

It was pleasing to see a show as unique and eccentric as Les Deux Amis, a recitation of various fables from the 17th century French poet Jean de la Fontaine – in French – play to a sell-out crowd during the Fringe.

Performed by Jean Francois Gavanon, in countless different guises including a monkey, a leopard, the king of the beasts, a miserly banker and the bon vivant narrator himself, this show can best be described as charming.  Although making absolutely no attempt at modernisation was a risky move for a 2013 audience, it absolutely paid off – from the 17th century garb to the original text and to the live violin music, Les Deux Amis (named after one of the more touching fables) was delightful. If, like mine, your French has taken a backseat since high school days, fear not, as surtitles helped non-native speakers follow the show.

Despite some minor technical glitches and an initially very poorly tuned violin, this recitation of fables was a courageous and unusual concept which worked fabulously.

This was not a show for everyone. But for those interested in French dramatic history and literature, or those who simply want an enchanting distraction, this show was absolutely enchanting.

4K

Mar 09

FESTIVAL – Van Dyke Parks – Thebarton Theatre – 2.5K

By Ben Nielsen

Billed as a major event of the Adelaide Festival, Van Dyke Parks joined with Kimbra, Daniel Johns and the Adelaide Art Orchestra in a retrospective performance of his career and works.

It’s clear why Parks is one of the most successful composers of his era. There’s a catchiness, and a mesmerising ebb and flow to his work. His compositions possess a typically American nostalgia and patriotism, and also several fleeting but humorous references to other well known tunes.

Harsh, nasal and twangy; it’s hard to say that Parks was enjoyable to listen to. The lyrics and compositional content were the main stars, and far outweighed the quality of singing.

Van Dyke Parks confessed that Kimbra and Daniel Johns were main draw cards; the gateway to a generation unfamiliar with his work. There was something a little unfair about how minimally the two popular artists were featured. Undoubtedly, many of the young attendees left unsatisfied.

The Thebarton Theatre proved to be an incapable host. Besides the inadequacies of the front of house staff and the debacle over GA seating, the sound design was of such poor quality that the fine Adelaide Art Orchestra was a muddy mess, and the vocalists were indistinguishable. Perhaps ‘Adelaide’s favourite concert venue’ should remain a site for comedians and the booming bass of contemporary performances.

Van Dyke Parks with Special Guests certainly attracted a full house, but fell short of the audience’s expectations.

2.5K

Mar 09

FRINGE 2013 – Bombay to Beijing by Bicycle – Bakehouse Theatre – 4K

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By Alana Massalsky

“Bombay to Beijing by Bicycle”:  got quite a nice ring to it thinks Russell, could be a punchy title for a travel book.  Too bad Bombay is now called Mumbai, and to write a book about it he’ll have to actually do it.

Russell McGilton is our tour guide for the duration of this play, taking the audience on a frenetic journey – a  first-hand account unlike any you’d read in a Bill Bryson book or Lonely Planet guide.  It’s completely unsanitised (in more ways than one), and all the better for it.

Our journeyman sets out with confidence, but of course things quickly go awry.  Helped out by a little bit of malaria we are ushered through feverish flashbacks.  The infuriatingly curious, ever (un)helpful locals, the unfamiliar gastronomically volcanic cuisine, the toll of endless cycling on one’s bottom and balls.  Factor in a holiday romance that outstays its welcome and a mosquito net that’s not big enough for two, and we begin to put the puzzle pieces together.

Although this is a one man show we get to meet a vast array of eccentric characters.  Russell slips easily into the skin of each, sometimes disconcertingly so.  A stand-out is the absurdly cheerful Dr Chawla who greets our hero with “Congratulations.  You are having the malaria”.

This is a fun show.  Not always funny, but always admirable for Russell’s complete commitment to the production.  He might be ambivalent about bike touring through India, but you’ll find no such ambivalence here.  Get on your bike and head to the Bakehouse, Russell will be telling tales until the end of the Fringe.

Kryztoff rating 4K

Mar 09

FESTIVAL – 2001 A Space Odyssey – 3K or 5K

By Peter Maddern

The Adelaide Festival of Arts is noted for its one landmark musical event – last year Morricone, previously Mahler and the 1000 voice choir and so on – and this year it is an orchestration of the Stanley Kubrick classic – ‘2001 – A Space Odyssey.’

To be frank, one could not say there was all that much challenge involved in the music – iconic pieces from two Strausses (Johann and Richard) played over and over – and not that much of it for a three hour production, though other choral works probably presented all involved with more meat. But the show as a whole was much more substantial.

Being in a room with 2000 others with what seemed the full Adelaide Symphony and Adelaide Chamber Singers crammed onto the stage below the screen just seemed to add an appropriate claustrophobic effect that Kubrick’s spatial space settings tried to deny. The kaleidoscope as Dave plunges beyond Jupiter was not only spellbinding in such circumstances but a good indication that you don’t zillions spent on special effects to move an audience.

So, trying to rate this show provides a conundrum. As a musical concert, it was a bit ho-hum – 3Ks but as an event; those who were there or who get along tonight will find they will be remembering it long after the Festival circus has left town – somehow it was very compelling – on this score a 5K rating applies.

Mar 09

FRINGE – Sister Mary Lucy – La Boheme – 4K

By Ben Nielsen

After a successful season at the 2012 Cabaret Fringe Festival, it’s unsurprising that Lucy Russell returns with her show Sister Mary Lucy.

With an onstage shrine and a well selected jukebox of songs, Russell confesses that her one desire is to become a nun. The tale is genuinely hilarious.

Unlike many emerging cabaret performers, Russell is at ease upon the stage and does not forget narrative direction. The show is casual but sleekly rehearsed.

The straight-face nonchalant humour is a delight, as is Russell’s singing ability. While some gags fell flat, there was plenty to compensate. To much delight, Russell persuades members of the audience to join in with a liturgical dance routine to Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’. A definite highlight.

Lucy Russell is a local talent to keep an eye on.

4K

Mar 09

ADELAIDE OVAL – THE INEVITABLE FIASCO STARTS TO EMERGE FOR THE PUBLIC

By Peter Maddern

Yesterday, the great Rucci revealed in the Tiser that the costs of the SMA are now going to far exceed the original $2m budget, thus reducing potential returns to the AFL clubs. By midday, adelaidenow was finally reporting that the Auditor General had questioned payments made by the Government to both the SANFL and SACA for legal and consultants’ fees that were not meant to be part of the public’s massive largesse to this oval development. (This had been commented on in other media a few days before.)

Now this morning the Infrastructure Minister, Tom Koutsantonis, says he is going to look into the structure of the SMA (which reports to him) to ensure the AFL clubs don’t miss out.

For organisations supposedly ‘on the case’ representing the public’s interest it is amazing it has taken this long, for the development of all these problems was self-evident from as far back as two years ago. (This blog raised them then and so we are not being wise in hindsight here.) Of course back then any who raised issues were hounded down – naysayers and whingers – led by the now whistle blower – the great Rucci (ah, the irony.)

First the issue of the SMA’s board constitution. In 2011, when the SACA members were voting on the redevelopment proposal, Port Power had already hit the wall and the deal that its licence and that of the Crows would be sold back to the AFL by the SANFL as part of its agreement to provide bail out funds had been done. (It should be noted that this was not revealed to SACA members at the time of the vote – thanks to a Govt compliant media.)

What that meant was the new, eventual owner of the AFL clubs, (the AFL itself) would not have a representative on the SMA whose board is made up of (only) representatives of the SANFL and the SACA. When the SMA was originally formed, the SANFL was the owner and hence the interests of those two clubs were represented at the board table and thus there would be some certainty about a fair distribution from it.

But with that nexus broken due to the financial problems of Port, the Crows and the SANFL, everyone was back in the same position they had always been – bleating about other organisations ripping money off from the AFL clubs that actually generated the revenue.

The proper solution always required that the owner(s) of the Crows and Power had equal representation on the SMA board (with the SACA.) But the SANFL would have none of it and the State Government was too weak to make it (for fear no doubt the SACA members might tweak to the problems looming and vote the proposal down) and so the AFL put nothing into the whole deal and this problem was always going to arise.

To repeat, this has been inevitable since March 2011, two months before the SACA members vote.

The second issue of the cost blow out of the SMA has also been obvious for 12 months. Mid last year, even The Advertiser trumpeted that the SMA had advertised for three high level appointments, the foremost of which was filled by Andrew Daniels. Well, these guys don’t come cheap and throw in the required infrastructure for them and the idea they could operate on a budget of $2m pa was always ridiculous. (Though the current estimate of $9m seems equally so.)

With the SMA board reflecting their own organisations’ interests, they no longer care what the impact would eventually be on the take for the Crows and the Power. Empire building was always going to be a big risk in this project when you start with the inevitable position that instead of two organisations having two CEO’s plus entourage you would now have three with the total pot of funds to draw on unlikely to be much greater.

What has brought this to a head of course is the failure of the SMA’s marketing campaign to sell its Ultimate and corporate packages. Sales of the former are understood to be less than 50%. This means to fund its own operations, instead of 12,000 people paying it $75 to reserve their right to buy a package, there are now less than 6,000 – a shortfall of around $500,000. So, guess what? The SMA is now trying to claw back more of the total pot there is and the losers are going to be the AFL clubs, not the proponents of this scheme, the SACA and the SANFL.

The problem this whole thing has and which even Premier Rann recognised back in 2009 is that there is no agreement on anything much between any of the parties. (Separate investigations as recently as this past week reveal the SACA has not even resolved within itself basic things like dual memberships and reciprocal rights.) Rann stipulated two deadlines for agreement between the SACA and SANFL and both passed with nothing having happened. Nonetheless, he went ahead with the project.

While it is with great irony that the SANFL and the SACA may be more closely aligned in their interests than ever before (to screw what they can out of the SMA and redevelopment proposal generally – at the expense of the AFL clubs they no longer will have any interest in), the fact they (through the SMA) don’t have agreement to go to Adelaide Oval next year with either the Crows or the Power is a major Achilles heel.

The bottom line is that Rann was right to insist on all this being agreed before the project started but that good idea got compromised by politics.

Now the AFL, with not a spent cent at risk and with impending ownership of both entities, can again call the shots with the very real threat that neither entity will play football at Adelaide Oval in 2014 made plain. And even if some accommodation is made now, the very real possibility of it moving the struggling Power licence to some other place in time for the next TV rights deal in 2017 just gets more likely.

With another election looming in 12 months and this show piece of this Labor Government at risk of becoming a white elephant, one can only expect the price the taxpayer will pay will be substantial to deliver the grail of ‘capital city football.’ Whether there will be anything much left of the current SMA or even the SANFL and SACA by the time the first games of football that are now currently scheduled to be played roll around remains to be seen – the fiscal screw is likely to be tightened massively.

But to be sure, the Government is to blame (including the Federal Government for going along with this state of affairs when it committed money to it as well.) No one should have expended one cent on this project (especially of public money) until all the stakeholder interests and had been resolved and locked in, including significant money from the AFL. (No glee here either for the Liberal opposition as they effectively waved the whole shambles through under ‘Invisobel’ Redmond’s inspired do nothing leadership strategy.)

But all of the local cheer leaders for the project, led by The Advertiser, should have seen this coming (as you can see from the above, it is not rocket science) instead of salivating at the prospect of showing who is boss around this town. The fact that Rucci and The Advertiser are now reporting on the problems shows how far the debate has turned against the proponents, with the new devil, the SMA, clearly established and the fans of the Crows and Port, the battlers for whom the paper will go into bat. The problem with all that is the SMA is made up of the very people Rucci and co cheered from the rooftops two years ago – McLachlan, Olsen, Wicker et al.

That the SACA had a desperate need to be bailed out of its western grandstand debt (that blew out over $47m on an original budget of $70m) and the Government needed a glittering prize finished and ready for the 2014 election should not have driven the timing.

$650m of public money and counting (given the recent legal fee largesse of Part time Pat) is now at risk of going from uneconomic extravagance to white elephant – making it very akin to that other Labor Govt triumph – the Desalination Plant.

As a very great number of those who made comments on this issue on the adelaidenow site yesterday said – ‘Don’t blame me, cos I told you this would happen.’

Mar 08

FESTIVAL – The Kreutzer Sonata – STC Scenic Workshop – 4 K

By Ben Nielsen

As a feature of the Adelaide Festival of Arts and the opening act of the State Theatre Company’s 2013 season, it’s a shame that The Kreutzer Sonata was so quickly besieged by Barry Otto’s departure and a debacle surrounding arts criticism.

The production has risen from its rocky beginnings; and audiences can rest assured that while they may have tickets to a show they didn’t quite expect, the production’s success does not rely entirely upon Barry Otto’s star power.

The performance given by replacement actor, Renato Musolino, is captivating and deeply unsettling. In parts, Musolino stumbles over dialogue or seems unsure of blocking; but with such minimal rehearsal time this is understandable. It’s hard to ignore that the performance is delivered with script in hand, although this does not tangibly detract in any way.

Musolino does an exceptional job, but his multiple characterisations and portrayal of narrative climax would have undoubtedly benefited from more rehearsal.

It’s hard to say whether Tolstoy’s narrative lends itself to a one man show. The multiple characterisations of the opening sequence cause particular confusion. Of course, the audience’s understanding heightens as the production progresses.

The bowels of the Adelaide Festival Centre prove to be the perfect setting. Geoff Cobham’s set design utilises the grungy, industrial STC Scenic Workshop- a physical reflection of the plot’s insidious nature. However, seating was cramped and uncomfortable, and air conditioning was similarly inadequate.

Perched high above the stage, Gabriella Smart and Elizabeth Layton beautifully executed an inspired selection of compositions. Their intermittent soundtrack was too absent though. More could have been made of the partnership between acting and music; as besides misogyny, jealousy and happiness, Tolstoy also explores the power of music.

It’s a production of unmistakeable quality. Renato Musolino deserves much praise for his performance.

Kryztoff Rating   4K

SEE BEN’S INTERVIEW WITH RENATO MUSOLINO ON YOUTUBE BY CLICKING HERE

Mar 08

FESTIVAL – What The Body Does Not Remember – Ultimate Vez – 4.5K

By Peter Maddern

One of the stunning aspects of Wim Vandekeybus and his company, Ulimate Vez’s, performance last night is that it was first undertaken just over 25 years ago. There aren’t many movements in the arts world where a work badged as ‘contemporary’ could appear so fresh and well-honed as a form of art a quarter of a century on.

But that is just one of those stunning aspects. The opening movement will long remain in memory – a bare stage with just one school desk placed towards the rear is then lit by eight shafts of parallel, ground level light and occupied by two male dancers who move, gyrate (even frazzle like a Morteined beetle) to the occasional beats thumped on that desk. It was an exhilarating start.

The themes then created were sustained thereafter with the music mostly of a percussive nature and the dance movement often seemingly random and distorted but quickly regrouping into at times wonderful forms. By the end the dancers were also banging away in a closing movement which tested their stamina while demanding their sustained poise in most unusual ways.

For this reviewer, the inventiveness of the work within the themes laid out was what most captured the attention. For example, the second movement revolved around the progression, building up, tossing, catching and then destruction of white blocks of various sizes (that looked and seemingly had the composition of Jiffy fire starters) around the stage, then the merest of feathers were beautifully blown up and around and beyond that a scene that seemed to combine teenage phone booth mania with an advanced form of musical chairs. That all delivered with a wonderful sense of space on the stage for all the nine dancers who by its end all looked thoroughly adrenalised and beat.

This year’s Festival may lack a Morricone moment but its dance program, amongst those who know, I suspect will long live in memory and this work will be mentioned highly in their dispatches. For modern or contemporary dance fans, this master work is a must.