Mar 12

DELIA OLEM and EAGLEHEART

DELIA OLEM and EAGLEHEART 

Nexus Arts – 6pm Sun March10th

review by Gary Clarke – 5 Stars

Delia Olem is a multi talented performer equally at home in theatre, cabaret, music, as a singer, lyricist,writer and Cellist. On this night she also introduced us to an Appalachian dulcimer crafted by her father. The premise of the show centres mainly around the translated verse of mid 19th century Persian poet, activist and revolutionary Tahirih. A woman who defied convention to spark a fire of change for the equality and dignity of all.

The Persian King was so smitten he even offered to marry her if she would give up her quest. To her credit she stood her ground despite the consequences. Such a perfect icon to represent the aspirations of all women and indeed a saner more truly equitable world in the wake of the recent celebration of International Women’s Day.

Delia is joined on stage by Eagleheart Birdsong masterfully playing Cello and Double Bass together with some beautiful heartfelt singing. This show was designed as a vehicle to launch their latest album and was a sold out, one show only performance which Delia described as the birth of a new collaboration. With more albums to come.

Nexus as a venue is perfect for performance especially music and the human voice. The sound system, mixing and acoustics were top notch despite some very minor anomalies that were handled with grace, aplomb and good humour by our hosts.

The atmosphere was warm and friendly and the audience were so obviously primed to enjoy this performance. Delia’s father, mother, her 3 children and the graphic artist who painted the backdrop to the stage which features on the cover of the new album were joined by many loyal fans to welcome this talented duo to the stage.

Delia was delightful, both as a raconteur/comedian and as a singer/musician, entertaining us with tales and observations of life and love. Eagleheart was the ideal accompaniment. Her voice a perfect match with Delia’s while she skillfully stroked her Cello into a beautiful soundscape with Delia’s rapturous voice taking flight. The music and song expressed such emotional complexity one’s heart could do nought but also take wing. At one stage Delia coaxed her dad to join her to sing the male role in a Persian ballad. His voice was lovely and the combination of the 3 voices weaved beautifully through the song.

Eagleheart switched to Double Bass and things got “sassy” Delia reached down into her soul and belted out songs in French, Spanish, English and even Tahitian!

The audience were co-opted into participating in a brilliant Tahitian folk song about breadfruit. This was a lesson in dancing Tahitian style using our hand gestures to tell the story. And all 150 of us joined in as one, waving our arms in harmony and singing. Then we did it all in Spanish! The warmth and love in the room was palpable.

As the night closed in all good things must end and a highlight for me was the penultimate song , “Separation”, a poignant moving tale of loss as Tahirih’s life is about to end. It was deeply emotionally moving and it sent shivers down my spine.

Delia and Eagleheart closed the set with “Wondrous Vision” which we are told speaks to the relationship between the two performers in their music. It was rythmic, poetic, uplifting and inspirational. And I wasn’t alone. The audience were enraptured, delivering a rousing standing ovation.

And as Delia informed us “we have witnessed the birth of it” the birth of something special. Delia Olem and Eagleheart is a revelation and the future augurs well for their precociously talented progeny.

Review by

GARY CLARKE Kryztoff RAW – 5 stars

Mar 12

FRINGE 2019 – Benchmarks – The Breakout at the Mill – 3.5K

Alexander Ewers

Benchmarks is a thought-provoking theatre piece that whilst imperfect in delivery, excels in its ability to create collisions of the unlikely.

Ivan, veteran of homelessness, faces a disruptive crisis with the unexpected advent of teenage truant, Luke. Their disparate trajectories intersect in the darkest hour of the night; an hour when animal suspicion vies with the primal need for companionship; the hour in which reality and fantasy break their bounds and being to blur. Amidst the terrifying blackness, a graffiti scrawled park bench stands as a solitary concrete idea adrift in the unknown. It is to this bench that the two protagonists cling, and around it that their conflict frets and rages.

Benchmarks is ostensibly about homelessness. John Hincks portrays the character Ivan convincingly. Ivan stirs that insidious blend of pity and fascinated indifference to which benumbed state of limbo the homeless are often consigned by the passer-by. The character feels believable. The evinced response feels authentic. Luke too (played by Chris Phillip) brings a realism to his role, the tangency of hubris and misplaced passion that typify teenage angst. From a production perspective, the show’s simplicity of set design and production achieves a sense of the empty void in which the dialogues and conflicts of the plot unfold. It is a story that shines strongly in moments of powerful oratory and theatrical performance. Benchmarks does however, tread a little closely at times to the edge of credibility. Some scenes lack heart or seem disjointed. In particular, some of Luke’s interactions with Ivan feel contrived, perhaps attributable in part to shallow script-writing content and perhaps in part to the manner of spoken delivery. Whilst Luke felt most convincing during his monologue sections, Ivan conversely felt less nuanced and developed during his solo tirades. Rather, his strongest scenes were those of shared dialogues, during which he owned not just his character but the entire stage atmosphere. Such dissatisfactions, although not entirely stalling the momentum of the performance, did make for instances of distraction from the singularity of audience investment in the themes being woven.

Said themes range far more widely than simply an expose on homelessness. Benchmarks is about a meeting of opposites, and yet one that is less about negation than about perspective challenging. Hope encounters not hopelessness, but cynicism. Physical power does not overcome, but is met with mental subjugation. Youth encounters the agility rather than the infirmity of age. This paradigm shift is transmitted to the audience experience, most notably with regard to the inanimate centrepiece of the show, the eponymous bench. The bench is no ordinary pew. It is at once a home, a kingdom, a bed, a refuge, a judicial dais. It is the context for critical analysis of societal norms, of sources of meaning, of life purpose. It is both materially real and a morphing construct on which is hung the fabric of the show.

Benchmarks is a show that, even if imperfect, stimulates thought. What makes for homelessness? Why do the homeless remain homeless? What do the homeless think? At curtain call, one is left with a novel desire: to collide worlds with a homeless citizen and sit a while on their bench. To ask them about the graffiti in their lives. To ask the meaning of the marks on their bench.

Kryztoff Rating 3.5K

Mar 12

FRINGE 2019: Neel Kolhatkar – Live – 3.5K

By Anthony Nguyen

With over 1.2 million followers across social media, Sydney-based Neel Kolhatkar is experienced in the Australia comedy circuit having made a name for himself through his popular Youtube channel and years of comedy shows. After a big year highlighting his comedic talent on TV, Kolhatkar returns to Adelaide and steps back on stage with his live stand-up comedy show for the 2019 Adelaide Fringe.

Kolhatkar is a brash comedian and his humour stems from his experience being a short man from an Indian cultural background. He effortlessly delivers his confrontational and uncensored comedy style with quips spanning topics over his experiences as an Indian man, his past relationships, and changing gender roles in Australian society and culture. Not for the faint-hearted or easily offended, Kolhatkar’s cynical persona and tongue-in-cheek humour will often push the boundary of what you can consider comedy.

Though some jokes pushed a bit too far and did not always land with the audience, Kolhatkar works off the individual interactions with audience members very well and cleverly plays off the crowd’s response. By adopting a desensitized mind, Neel’s crude comedy will open you up areas of comedy that will leave you uncomfortably laughing at the shock of it.

Situated at the Rhino Room, Neel Kolhatkar runs his comedy show as a part of 2019 Adelaide Fringe every night until the 16th of March. On the off-chance you do miss his show this year, you can always easily see more of his hilarious videos on his Youtube comedy channel.

Kryztoff Rating: 3.5K

Mar 11

FRINGE 2019 – “A Total Cop Out” – The Adelaide Room at the Duke of Brunswick Hotel – 3K

By Julia Cudsi

Improv shows have long been a staple of the Adelaide Fringe. Generally inexpensive, they provide an excellent night out for audience members who want to have a few drinks and laugh at side-splittingly funny people making hilarious things up on the spot. As long as improv artists do not stray too far from the winning formula of a loose concept + audience participation + adult themes and swear words + crazy accents, generally nothing can go wrong.

And very little did go wrong with Tenuous Link’s debut performance of “A Total Cop Out”. Requiring the audience to supply a crime (in our case, body snatching), an expert (somewhat dubiously, a Sherlock Holmes-ian sound expert) and a location (an excellently selected “dirty youth hostel”), this formed the premise of an hour-long show involving a dastardly criminal hellbent on stealing cadavers and selling them to medical students to work on in hospitals (credibility was strained somewhat when a murder was committed in a hospital, only for the fresh corpse presumably to be sold back to … the same hospital?!). Along for the ride were some hearing dogs who met a very sad fate, =a sound engineer with significant familial and self-esteem issues, a detective on her fourth day and various other misfits including a series of Fitbit-style murder weapons including an exercise shovel and exercise knife.

I have seen the cast of Tenuous Link on many previous occasions and in many different iterations, and am almost always impressed at their quick wit and ability to draw together a coherent storyline. “A Total Cop Out” was certainly an entertaining way to while away an hour. Having said that, at times the performance came off as a little amateur and, well, improvised. Given the genre, this is not necessarily a criticism – but if you are expecting a show that is absolutely polished and well rehearsed I would suggest that you attend some scripted theatre.

If you are looking for some adventure and a great way to spend an evening laughing (and groaning) at jokes, you might as well do so at “A Total Cop Out”.

3K

 

Mar 11

GREG BYRON – Poetic Licence

GREG BYRON – POETIC LICENCE

Treasury 1860 – March 9th 2019 – 8pm – 5 stars

Review by Gary Clarke

Greg Byron a.k.a Gavin Robertson is a fully licenced wordsmith. A man with a brilliant turn of phrase. For this show we were comfortably seated in the front bar of the Treasury 1860 venue sucking down expensive beers (No wonder they call it The Treasury !)

Greg sauntered in wearing a Lord Byronesque dress coat and launched into a tome on social awareness. He tells how soporific our narcissistic lives have become through social media as the world goes to pot. Because if you’re not angry – are you awake?

Better spoken than read is Greg’s motto when referring to his art and I certainly concur. His delivery is sharp and witty and the nuances of tone, intonation, timing, body language and facial cues give canyons of depth to what is already scintillating wordplay. I note touches of John Cooper Clarke in Greg’s style but our Mr Byron displays a tad more eloquent stage craft than his fellow word warrior.

Our Bard has done it hard. Trying to make a living as a poet has never been easy but few people can put together rhyming couplets so meaningfully as he. Yet so much of Greg’s material could easily be delivered rap style and if he was of a different era he could be makin’ a killin’ with verses that are chillin’. But hey this guy is far more subtle and real for all that hype. He is just not the type ! If you listen to Greg he gets in to your head and before too long you will be rhyming along.

For an hour that night our host utilised his poetic licence to take us away with words through his way with words.

If you love to listen to someone who has mastered his lexiconic craft.  A purveyor of words and language that delight the ear and feed the soul then Greg Byron speaks to you. He is a man with no tickets on himself but you should grab some tickets for yourself.

Review by

GARY CLARKE Kryztoff – 5 stars

Mar 11

FRINGE 2019 – Anya Anastasia: The Show – 3K – Gluttony Masonic

Anya Anastasia has been around the Fringe scene for a while now, both here in Adelaide, in Edinburgh, and no doubt at festivals throughout Australia. Known for her incredible costumes, quirky songs, and falsetto tones, Anya is a stalwart of the cabaret festival scene.

For this reason, it’s disappointing that her latest Fringe fare, Anya Anastasia: The Show, is a little lacklustre. Despite all three of her well-known attributes being ticked off – albeit some of them not until the conclusion of the show – Anya Anastasia: The Show is missing some of the vital energetic magic that made Rogue Romantic stand out from the crowd.

Anya sings about potential future employers, transferrable skills from the arts, and a potential future career at ASIO, but there was none of that usual Anya spark. The lyrics were as inventive and clever as ever, but they failed to whip up the crowd in Gluttony’s masonic. In addition – and this is not a slight against Anya herself, nor have marks been taken off for that reason – the sound levels were way off, meaning Anya’s already strong and loud voice was even louder; in a small room such as the Phoenix, it was way too loud.

Which is a shame, because Anya’s a pro at this – but then again, we all have off shows.

Nevertheless, fans of Anya will love this.

Kryztoff rating: 3K

Mar 10

FRINGE 2019 – Dance – “Abyss” – Goodwood Institute – 3K

By Julia Cudsi

The concept of sin has given artists fodder for thousands of years, including in this world premiere collaboration between MAD / DAN Productions.

Featuring only four performers, this contemporary dance piece takes the audience on a journey through what appears to be the various circles of hell, along with their associated sins, temptations and desires, with a particular nod to the moral bankruptcy of the modern, vacuous and self-obsessed selfie world.

To a complete and utter non-expert, the dancing is flawless and wonderfully executed and the dramatic expression of those on stage is clearly transmitted to the audience.

The storyline and context do seem a little abstract and it is not completely clear to a non-aficionado of contemporary dance how everything hangs together. For that reason, this is a show intended mainly for fans of contemporary dance, as the message is a little contrived.

If you want to see something completely different and quite avant-garde, this show is highly recommended. Special mention goes to a Coles chocolate mudcake being used in one of the most original ways I have ever seen.

3K

Mar 10

FRINGE 2019 – Circus & Physical Theatre – Railed – Gluttony – 4K

By Julia Cudsi

Regular readers of this blog will appreciate my preference for physical theatre and circus, especially of the adult variety.

“Railed”, brought to the Adelaide Fringe by The Head First Acrobats, certainly delivers on that brief by providing not only a high energy show but a clear narrative theme of the old-fashioned Western, complete with bawdy behaviour, brawling and boozing, interspersed with impressive physical and acrobatic feats. The concept of an ongoing theme in adult circus is a new and refreshing one, which contributes to a sense of audience involvement when you cannot help but feel invested in what is going to happen to these hapless ruffians.

If you like high levels of audience interaction, racy performances and death defying feats of amazing acrobatics, along with a good dose of slapstick laughter, then this is the show for you and all your (18+!) year old friends.

4K

 

 

 

Mar 09

FRINGE – Circus & Physical Theatre – The Otherworld – Empyrean – Gluttony – 3.5K

 

By Alisha Dyer

With a late timeslot in Gluttony’s Empyrean, The Otherworld is an interesting little nightcap. Sit through the witching hour with a circus performance that fringes on the dark side of the arts.

Olio Circus came together just last year and have spent eight months preparing their debut show. The line-up includes aerial, floor, contortion and fire performances, with each artist getting their time to shine. All routines are complimented by some serious guitar shredding.

The Otherworld has been created and directed by multidisciplinary performance artists Chantelle Reed, Natalie Tran, Melissa Johns and Ellyse Bunney, who are are all local to Adelaide. Hooray for local talent! Together with their troop they bring creative costumes, talent and skill to a Fringe show that chooses dark eye-liner over glitter.

With the audience seated quite close, there’s really nowhere to hide and the performers are under the pump to hold perfect pose, composure and appropriate facial expressions throughout their risky routines.

I really enjoyed the live electric guitar, but do think a darker and dressier set would elevate the performance. I was expecting a creepier experience.

The Otherworld is 50 minutes of well organised professionals, showcasing their talent and skill in a performance that differs (a little) from the norm. For two weekends only you can support your local artists, transfixing your eyes and holding your breath as they play with fire and flirt with gravity.

Kryztoff Rating 3.5.

Mar 09

THEATRE – Judas – Bakehouse – 4.5K

By Peter Maddern

Tim Marriott’s new production is a telling follow up to his popular and critically acclaimed Mengele at last year’s Fringe. This one has been developed extensively in England, with inputs from representatives of both the military and theology and this season is its world premiere.

In the wake of a savage exchange of fire caught on that green infra-red vision that so seemed to define our arm chair sense of the first Gulf War, the academic idealist, Youssef (Marriott) finds himself at the hands of two interrogators, one, a man (Marc Clement) the other, a woman (Stefanie Rossi.)

They want information about the boss of the bad guys; Youssef wants his freedom, most immediately from the pain of their torture. Clement plays the stereotypical bad bloke replete with South African accent, while Rossi, deliciously dressed and of no other fixed abode, seems to be his superior.

As the exchanges roll out a cat and mouse game develops; is the information that may be provided accurate; will it be sufficient to gain release?

While virtue signalling is all the craze with much theatre nowadays targeted to please rusted on prejudices Marriott eschews such an approach. This play may be set in the desert somewhere but Marriott is and presents as an Englishman, Rossi is similarly local. Who do they represent? Which side are they on? For the answer one needs to peel back the layers and recognise this is not about Trump’s America or Bin Laden’s freedom fighters but the timeless struggle for peace, a world that recognises uncategorically that nobody wins out of violence.

Timeless? The early hint as to Youssef’s other names and allusions to the crucifixion of Christ at its conclusion make plain that 2000 years on (and from 2000 years before that) we seem little closer to fully understanding that lesson, yet it needs to remain a goal for us all – civilized or not so civilized.

For all that this is well crafted theatre delivered by three talented performers on top of their games; Marriott’s performance is particularly powerful.

Kryztoff Rating      4.5K