Feb 23

FRINGE 2013 – Inside By Frank Woodley & Simon Yates – 2.5K

By Peter Maddern

Frank Woodley is a well-known Australian comic and Simon Yates is an acrobat. For Inside they play twins Russian Viktor (Yates) and Vasily (Woodley) stuck together in a cell, seemingly with no hope of the future but for the prospect of escape.

It has to be said it is not clear just what this performance was meant to be – theatre, comedy, or comic theatre – under any category Inside is all a bit of a mess.

Not that this production lacks preparation with an excellent stage setting of a wired enclosure that opens to the audience, good lighting effects and even better sound ones. But as theatre it all sort of lacked dramatic structure – why and where were these brothers incarcerated, where was the meaningful debate between them about their lives. While there were familiarities between them as you would expect of siblings, sometimes the physical aspects of it all overreached.

As comedy, well Mr Woodley has earned quite a reputation but a string of obvious cracks aided by a silly look is not, what one would say in the commercial world, a sustainable business model. As for being the ‘nonsense’ the Fringe Guide (under ‘Comedy’) suggested, the dual attempts at drama and comedy meant it all came up horribly short of being coherent on this front.

A brave attempt at no doubt a new angle for Mr Woodley’s comedic talents, but Inside just doesn’t much work.

Kryztoff Rating   2.5K

Feb 22

FRINGE 2013: Music – Suicide Songs for the Ukulele – Grace Emily Hotel – 4K

High above a rather cramped looking stage at the Grace Emily, a ukulele hangs in a noose. It’s an oddly beautiful sight and that feeling reflects the content of the show to come. The clue is in the title really: this is an evening of tunes that are about suicide – or aren’t actually about suicide but people think they are – all delivered, at least in part, on the ukulele.

Simon Peter has assembled a mix of talented musicians to perform these songs and the range of artists covered is wide – from Billie Holiday through to Eminem. While Peter takes on the lead vocals for most numbers, the supporting singers provide beautiful harmonies and several special guests also sing a piece throughout the set, providing nice variety.

This is a very relaxed show. There is no specified seating; you just find a spot on the floor or leaning against a wall. The performers seem to be having a good time and transitions between songs are filled with joking and mucking around while the requisite people take to the stage. In terms of musical quality, there are no weak links.

While for the most part the night is light-hearted and focuses more on the ubiquitousness of the topic in music rather than the intensity of the subject matter, the serious side is given its dues near the end with a speech from someone who has personal experience in the area. It’s good that this was addressed but it also went on longer than felt necessary, and having it so close to the end meant that the final feeling around the show was heavier than might have been intended. Perhaps slipping this in a little earlier would still have highlighted the importance of acknowledging, talking about and addressing suicide but also allowed the audience to leave on more of an up.

Kryztoff Rating: 4K

Feb 22

Myths and Mysteries In The State Mid Year Budget Update – Part 3

PART 3  – The Myth of Weatherill Not ‘Withdrawing’ From The Economy

As readers of this series will have noted, there is a substantial gap between the rhetoric of this Labor Government and realities when it comes to its financial management of the State.

In Part 1, (CLICK HERE FOR PART 1) we saw that no matter how many times the Government produces figures that show how things will soon be pointing in the right direction, since the GFC, Labor just doesn’t ever get there, whether out of malevolence towards the voters or just sheer incompetence. The classic case is cuts to the public service which get big talk but have never happened and any gambling person would do well to bet on their current program of cuts not eventuating either by the time of the election in 12 months (if you can find someone who will back what the government says.)

Then in Part 2, (CLICK HERE FOR PART 2) we ripped apart the spin that Government deficits are okay where the money is put to good economic use. There we showed that this State could have avoided having any increased debt since the GFC if it had simply not spent money on projects and people that add nothing to the local economy – think the Desalination Plant, Adelaide Oval and 10,000 surplus public servants.

This week we look at a similar piece of spin, the notion Premier and now Treasurer Jay Weatherill keeps promoting that his government will not ‘withdraw’ from the economy.

Weatherill’s Silent But Massive Withdrawal

Well despite the massive fear campaign drummed up at the merest hint of cuts (think this past fortnight’s brouhaha over funding for the police), the reality is that the withdrawal of the Government from the public that feeds it is already happening.

Grants

Using more data calculated from the State Budget papers it is clear there is a massive boil erupting around public servant jobs that will one day just have to be lanced.

In the last financial year, the Grants expenditure item – money returned to the community for all manner of projects and purposes was $3.18 billion. But by 2016, the Government projects this will have decreased to $2.87 billion. That’s a 10% decrease.

Meanwhile, the expense of employing public servants is going up by roughly the same amount. Put another way, in 2012, for every dollar of PS wages incurred, 50c would be delivered to the public by way of grants. By 2016, the return drops to below 40c.

What is truly frightening is that from the high water mark of grants to the community of 2010, the annual level of grants drops by $700m by 2016 (56c for every public service wage dollar to 39c – about 30%) but the public service expense just keeps on going up and up.

Weatherill and Snelling before him like to crap on about their ‘5% efficiency dividends’ they are targeting. But efficiency ought to be measured by keeping this ratio about constant instead of ‘nickel and diming’ (where it actually hurts) but ignoring the waste in the public service itself.

So that’s why ‘financial discipline’ associated with proposing to do stuff like shutting down the Cadell ferry and not funding the Keith Hospital looks so silly. But now you have decisions made in a blind panic that will further erode our economic base such as closing a number of the State’s trade offices and the Education Adelaide entity. These guys actually produce income for the state but in Weatherill’s Wacky World, they are a line item that cutting makes him sound tough about.

Capital Expenditure

After managing a capital expenditure program of around $750m pa until 2008, spooked by electoral fears, capital spending took off with the high water mark being the 2010 year (which, guess what, happened to be an election year.)

Then the capital budget had blown out to $2.1 billion but by 2015, Weatherill supposedly under his policy of not withdrawing from the economy is reducing that back by about 50% to $1.2 billion (remembering none of this includes the new RAH). Meanwhile to fund things like the Desalination Plant and the Adelaide Oval asset sales of things that do produce income (the forests, the Lotteries Commission) are being sold off.

Total Withdrawal

So, on these two items alone, compared with 2010 by 2016 there will be a reduction of around $1.75b, representing a massive 10% of the State Government budget. That is, while Weatherill talks of not withdrawing, in truth he and his Government are proposing shrinking what it spends out in the community by 10%. This is very likely the greatest contraction (‘withdrawal’) of government in the nation’s history!

So where is this money going or not going?

One place is into the bank accounts of the lenders to the State Government for its various follies. Between 2010 and 2016, interest expense will have gone up $470m – that is a new Adelaide Oval development (or hospital, concert hall, deep seas port facility etc etc each year) – and all of that is leaving the State having been racked up on dopey, self-indulgences. After 2016, the annual $300m+ bill for the new Royal Adelaide Hospital kicks in on top of that. So, in 2017 our annual interest bill will exceed $1b per annum, up three times in a good deal less than a decade.

Just think about that – $1b a year. Just think about what that could for youth unemployment in the northern suburbs or similar and which by 2016 will be heading into the coffers of banks in Melbourne or London or New York.

‘5% Efficiency Improvements’

So long as the Opposition continues to indulge the Labor Party and the media in talk of about ‘cuts’ to the public service and ‘loss of front line services’ it will continue to flounder. The real debate needs to centre itself not on the size of the government but the scope of the government – that is, what can now we afford to be doing, rather than assuming what we do now is right (and then try to get more blood from a stone through ‘efficiency’ (in the public service? – give us a break.)

Because, for every new piece of legislation or regulation, those laws need to be implemented, monitored and enforced. The debate now needs to be about getting government out of our lives, focusing on what is really important and giving back some portion of the reductions in the bureaucracy involved to the people who carry the can (while former Premiers enjoy their retirement in London.) To take up the thoughts of David Penberthy in last week’s Sunday Mail, do we need five police wandering aimlessly with guns around the Glenelg foreshore on a Tuesday lunchtime or should we be focusing those resources on the blow out in bikie related crimes and misuse of guns?

Only time will tell if the Liberal Party will tweak to this because the contortions they are currently getting themselves into are not going to help get them elected and play nicely into a Labor Party / mainstream media axis of propping up the status quo.

In Part 4 – The Real State Debt

Feb 22

FRINGE 2013: Comedy – Lords of Luxury – Tuxedo Cat – 3K

The Lords of Luxury (Dan Debuf, Luke Ryan, Matt Saraceni and Paul Verhoeven) have made a bit of a name for themselves via their comedy podcasts. They bring their particular brand of humour to the Tuxedo Cat this Fringe.

There’s not a lot to this show: four friends on a mostly blank stage, a few loosely tied together skits, some audience participation, a story by Ryan that has been resurrected after more than a decade in his mother’s cupboard, an astoundingly bad wig and a hell of a lot of idiocy.

It’s silly. It’s boys, being silly. It’s like mates at a party that have had a few too many beers and decided to entertain the other partygoers with their antics. But silliness isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it’s nice to just sit back, not have to think about anything particularly taxing and laugh at people doing stupid things. Sometimes those idiots are what make the party great.

While this party may not be remembered as one of the best ever, it is an enjoyable mix of amusing and bemusing.

Kryztoff Rating: 3K

 

Feb 22

FRINGE 2013 – I Wish I was Him – A Ben Lee Tribute – Palky et al – Star Theatres – 3K

By Peter Maddern

As our host and lead singer, Ben Palk, pointed out early on in this show if you had called it a night of Lee covers no one would have turned up, but call it a tribute show (even if the subject of the adoration is more than alive and well) and people flock.

Well flock may be a bit strong, (though the delightful Star Theatres Chapel room was mostly filled),  but mid thirties Palky certainly intended this show to fulfil a dream – his own Fringe show – and the hell with the rest of us or as he put it ‘it’s all about Palky’.

On stage he brought eight other performers – the Surrenderers – who unquestionably were well drilled and highly competent, even if Palk named another band as the best he had ever played with. The banter was good fun and Palk’s interweaving of his own life’s journey with Mr Lee’s was interesting if at time a tad self indulgent.

Unfortunately, three things dogged the show. The first may have been unavoidable and that was Palky had a cold which clearly was affecting his voice and thus the impact of the songs on the audience. The other two were rather more by choice. The mixing meant that those placed waywardly on the stage – trumpet player Andrew Marshall and the three female singers, ‘the Claire Dames’, were also hardly heard. It seems to be endemic problem with rock bands that look to expand on their sound that despite the best of intentions once the ‘bolts with the volts’ get set there are not too many decibels left in the speakers for the lungs driven talent.

And then finally there was the length of the show! This reviewer left after the designated length in the Fringe guide had been reached which happened to be just as the second half was about to boot up. God only knows when it did finish (if indeed it has) but tributes and dreams are one thing, respecting the patience of your audience is another.

Good fun for 90 mins, better fun for Lee aficionados, best fun for Ben.

Feb 21

FRINGE TICKET BINGE – Angry Young Man & Champagne Cabaret – WIN TIX

With the Fringe now in full swing, Kryztoff is very pleased to offer free tickets to the following two great shows:

TWO DOUBLE PASSES TO EACH OF:

ANGRY YOUNG MAN – SUN 24TH FEB AT 7.30PM – HOLDEN STREET

Quality English theatre is always a joy at the Fringe. Feast out on these four very talented young men and use our review at Kryztoff Review – CLICK HERE as a guide.

CHAMPAGNE CABARET – MON 25TH FEB AT 6PM – UNIVERSAL WINE BAR

A celebration of life in all its froth and bubbles – stories, music and five sparkling unique wines. Not sure, then check out our review of this show at Kryztoff Review CLICK HERE

TO WIN, JUST WATCH THE SECOND EPISODE OF ADELAIDE’S NEWEST COMEDY WEB SERIES – SECRET MEN’S BUSINESS – AND ANSWER THIS QUESTION:

 

What is the nickname of Spaz’s mother?

Then email us at editor@kryztoff.com.

Entries go into a draw tonight at midnight.

Winners advised by email tomorrow.

Feb 21

FRINGE 2013: Theatre – Raton Laveur – Bakehouse Theatre – 4K

Rodents in the roof can drive the calmest person to distraction. Lily (Wendy Bos) comes home in response to a desperate phone call from Phil (Ben Noble), who appears to have developed a rather unhealthy obsession with racoons, and soon realises that something has gone badly wrong. Together, they have to try to determine a way out of this tricky situation. That’s easier said than done and the impact of Phil’s actions on their relationship is going to be massive, however it turns out.

The script, from Amos Crawley, David Patrick Flemming and Caitlin Stewart, is tight and highly entertaining; the dialogue is full of witty interchanges and clever one liners, the story moves along at a good pace and wraps up before it can run out of steam. There are times when Noble’s Phil seems a little too childish – bordering on intellectually challenged – for the relationship with Lily to ring true, but his desperation and emotional turmoil is nicely contrasted by her pragmatic approach to the situation.

This is great black comedy and director Alister Smith has clearly worked his actors hard to get the performances he wants. Noble and Bos fire off each other; their timing is excellent. Beneath the comedy there is the darker, more serious side of the play and both actors also manage to give depth and feeling to this side of their characters.

This show is not for the faint of heart but is a great laugh for those who enjoy the humour that can be found in otherwise serious parts of life.

Kryztoff Rating: 4K

Feb 21

FINGE 2013 – Limbo – Garden – 5K

571_300_227_80By Peter Maddern

Each Fringe, Strut and Fret deliver a new circus type show – think Cantina, Soap – and each year they never fail to thrill and enthral. Limbo is their latest creation and while the performers don’t seem out to exceed previous troupes’ tricks, this year’s show did carry a couple of new inventions.

If anything separates this show from its forebears it is the music and musicianship. The performance opens with the four band members on the stage circle, led by a Colonel Sanders type figure, who leads the way with all manner of sound inventions and manipulations including some impressive beat boxing that has you often looking back at the band area as the hour progresses to see how it is all being done.

The increased focus on the music also means almost non-stop action even as gymnastic apparatus is carried in and out – Gen Ys be warned – you have no time to txt while this show marches on.

The displays of strength and agility are often awesome and having performers swinging over your head as they rhythmically sway to the music is something quite special. This was one of the new features along with fire tricks (which must have had the troupe’s insurance risk assessors on the edge of their seats) and a little burlesque. Sword swallowing, illusionist trickery and good old fashioned tap dancing add to the mix of an hour of wonder, joy and thrill.

To be sure Limbo is not the cheapest ticket in town but there is no risk of not getting your money’s worth – a thrill for all ages and a reason why the Garden is the centre of the Adelaide Fringe.

Kryztoff Rating   5K

Feb 21

FRINGE 2013 – Gallic Symbol – Marcel Lucont – Tuxedo Cat – 4K

 

Vincent Coleman

marcel-lucont-2008-april

The French have a long held a reputation for decadence and disdain in equal parts. Deserved or not, Marcel Lucont is more than deserving of said reputation, and a lot more. Somewhere between Serge Gainsbourg and Bernard Black, the UK’s favourite English-loathing French comedian is a sweaty mess of charm, misogyny, wit, and arrogance, served with panache that much like fine french cuisine, errs a little of the side of too rich for some, but delectably wicked for many.

It was a particularly sweaty night at the Tuxedo Cat, and Monsieur Lucont wasn’t the only one feeling the heat, the audience visibly dripping in the sweltering humidity, the aforementioned Franc making some a poignant note between visibly unpleasant sips of an unsuitable dry red that “your room temperature is not our room temperature…”. The theatre itself was an eclectic space, recycled old-fashioned cinema seating lined up in a driftwood build room, cleared we were promised, of at least most of the possums – Tuxedo Cat, an exciting venue you always will be.

Introduced through grainy short-film, Marcel entered the stage with a song and dance act, “because I’m better than you”, a mere taste of what was to follow. Jokes about the madness of Australian weather, digs taken at the American in the audience, some classic routine about the effects of alcohol on his feeling towards women’s personal space, followed by lewd entries from a childhood and more song and dance and a bawdy series of “English” impression; it was a rapidly paced cavalcade of tones and images which came across at times as confusing. What one person would find offensive in one part another would find hilarious, only to have the next part of the act seemingly tamed for those formerly offended only to bore the more boisterous humours in the audience.

Marcel Lucont is at times a master of his craft, just not all of the time alas. If anything, Gallic Member could be stretched out into a musical act, a stand-up act, and a series of webisodes and would hold together quite well. The songs felt cobbled together out of French clichés that existed only to the sell the CD and books Lucont was hawking after the show, but hey, I’m not going to hold that against an artist without shoes.

Comedians really need to be aware of the effect that youtube is having on the freshness of their acts, which often feel more “routine” than ever. Fortunately Lucont’s wit is sharp as a tack, and witnessing him both shamelessly flirt with and emotionally crush those in the audience who dare chance a heckle was a joy to behold. With such quick and clever delivery, and such tacky and tactless musical numbers, all I could think as I left was that I wanted more and less all at once. More Marcel, less product, more wit, less sleaze. A little more to drink would have been nice too while we’re at it. I would love to see Marcel in front of a larger audience where an antagonistic audience could really give Monsieur Lucont would have something to really sink his teeth into and play with.

Marcel Lucont has another act inside the Garden itself, Marcel Lucont’s Cabaret Fantastique, a cabaret act promising both magic and tits – one of his favourite subjects – in a setting that would undoubtedly show off his talents in a suitably more colourful light.

Too much? Not enough? I was left wanting more or something, and tired of the other, but isn’t that how everyone feels after a boozy night with a lecherous Frenchman? I’ll more than likely be seeing his Cabaret Fantastique, with a sneaky bottle of red to get into the mood proper while I’m at it. I can’t help but feel that he would approve.

Kryztoff rating: 4K

Feb 20

FRINGE 2013 – ‘Live and Let Die – A Night with James Bond’ – 4.5K

 

Hello, my name is Julia, and I am addicted to James Bond. Always have been, and always will be. So I had pretty high hopes for this show, presented by Prom Entertainment. And there was not just a little pressure to get it right for me.

Unfortunately, my hopes were almost dashed before the performers even had the chance to go on stage. Despite arriving some twenty minutes early, I was stunned to find that there were no available seats left and there were already several people milling near the bar without seats. I normally love The Promethean as a great, intimate venue for live music and performances, but instead of being able to settle into a seat with a martini, those audience members who were lucky enough to get a chair were squeezed in like sardines.

However from the moment that the highly skilled three-piece band ‘The Secret Agents’ stepped onto the stage, the show took a significant and rapid upturn. Cleverly combining opening sequences and other snippets from the vast array of Bond movies – not to mention a fair bit of eye candy for both the ladies and the gentlemen in the audience – there was never a dull moment, as the most popular title songs from the film series were brilliantly sung by Grant Pearson and Jacqui Yeo.

Pearson has an incredibly powerful and funky voice, performing favourites such as Duran Duran’s ‘A View to a Kill’ and rocking out to Jack White’s ‘Another Way to Die’ in the coolest way possible.

However the standout of the evening was Yeo, who managed to completely embody each of the female singers of the Bond themes and take on their personas. It’s no mean feat to encompass Shirley Bassey, Alicia Keys and Nancy Sinatra in less than an hour, while looking fabulous doing so. Yeo absolutely stole my heart away.

Even for James Bond novices, ‘Live and Let Die’ is an amazing, entertaining night out which will get you grooving in your seat (if you’re lucky enough to have one). I loved this show, and would see it again and again if I could.

Get in quick to make sure you don’t miss out– there’s a reason that this show sold out during the 2012 Fringe.

Kryztoff rating: 4.5K