Feb 27

FRINGE 2016: THEATRE – Chopin’s Last Tour – The German Club – 3K

Phillip Aughey performs this one man show about the final days of popular Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. In the lead up to what would be his last public recital, Chopin escapes the drudgery of another night in the company of his Scottish hostess, Jane Stirling, and her guests to hide in his room and decide which pieces to include in his performance. Through this construct, we learn of Chopin’s romantic history and the connections these ladies have with some of his compositions.

Aughey’s informative script paints a sympathetic picture of Chopin as he wallows in self-pity, dreaming of the days when he was surrounded by friends and loved ones and yearning to be reunited with them once again. The blocking is simple and does get rather repetitive as he paces his room, primarily shifting from a sitting position on a single chair, to his piano.

The inclusion of pieces played live on a baby grand lifts the show. Aughey is a stronger pianist than he is an actor and so it is disappointing that the fragments he plays are generally quite short. The final two compositions included, which are longer, are most satisfying and the closing piece, Nocturne No 20 in C Sharp Minor, is undoubtedly the musical highlight of the performance.

This production could do with further development and polishing. However, it is an interesting brief look at the history of the man, his loves, and his compositions.

Kryztoff rating: 3K

Feb 27

FRINGE 2016: Beers About Songs – 4.5K

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By Amy Nancarrow.

Beers About Songs begins with a toast to the ‘Beer Gods’ – and essentially, that’s what the hour-long show by American comedian and musician Ryan Adam Wells is, woven in among songs about “Dollar Well” nights, Coyote Ugly, and relationships – both good and toxic.

Though very funny, Beers About Songs also feature poignant moments throughout Wells’ college years, including a tale of domestic violence, and the physical abuse he suffered at the hand of his ex-girlfriend. This is interwoven with a three-day trip to Austin, Texas, which culminated with an arrest, blood-covered hands, and bar-top dancing at Coyote Ugly (which, yes, is a real chain of bars).

Wells is charming, funny, and quick-witted. He makes an effort to explain American cultural (and beer-related) references, and rejoices in learning about Australian drinking terminology. He exudes a warmth and openness, and by the end of the show you feel like you’ve known him for years, and have been there every step of the way throughout his two years of abuse, and subsequent recovery. With songs like “You’re a Waste of My Time”, Wells bears his soul, even shedding a tear and being open and honest about his experience. He also implores the audience to help out any human in need, be it friend or stranger, and to particularly watch out for signs of domestic violence.

Beers About Songs is a witty, funny, touching show that shouldn’t be missed. You can catch it at the Producers Garden every night except Monday at 6:15pm.

Kryztoff Rating: 4.5K

Feb 27

FRINGE 2016: Escape from Wonderland – 4K

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By Amy Nancarrow.

Escape from Wonderland is an interactive game, scavenger hunt, and race around Adelaide’s CBD. Beginning in Hindmarsh Square, your team has one hour to solve as many clues as possible, avoid various characters, and make it back before time runs out. Run by CityDash and London-based company Fire Hazard, Escape from Wonderland is a family-friendly event, and each and every actor puts in a hundred percent to make sure that you actually feel like you’ve fallen into Lewis Carroll’s magical world.

Working in teams of 2-6 people, armed with a map and a smart phone that updates clues every five minutes, participants have to dash around town to find keys, each one with a name attached. Around every corner lurks the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat, the Caterpillar, or the White Rabbit. If they see you, points are deducted from your team (and you are notified via the web page), but if you run and hide, you may get off scot-free.

The game is well planned; the only gripe would be that perhaps a smart phone app would have been better for the game, instead of accessing a web page – the web page was sometimes slow and a little cluttered. Apart from that, Escape from Wonderland is a fantastic afternoon out for the family – although there were plenty of adults there in teams dashing about.

Kryztoff Rating: 4K

Feb 27

FRINGE 2016: THEATRE – Moonlight After Midnight – Tuxedo Cat – 4K

A man sits in a hotel room, lost in thought. A woman enters; maybe she’s expected, maybe not. Maybe the two people know one another, maybe they don’t. Maybe this is the beginning of the story, maybe it’s the end, or maybe it’s the middle.

This is a piece of theatre that requires its audience to think and to be flexible with their concepts of time and place, as it interweaves reality and fantasy. The structure is fluid and repetitive, with variations of the same scene playing out but with small tweaks – is the hotel room crappy or nice, is the picture of a tiger or a leopard, is there a wedding going on and if so whose is it? Simply put, if Groundhog Day and Inception had a baby, and it was a theatre piece, this would be it.

Writer Martin Dockery also plays the man, imbuing him with an awkward likeability and the right amount of defensiveness to keep you guessing about his motivations and his honesty. The woman (Vanessa Quesnelle) is heard before she is seen, as an old love ballad wafts from offstage. Her voice has a clarity and beauty that pierces the silence, as she gives an appropriate heart wrenching sadness to the song. The dialogue is snappy, the exchanges precise, with a nice blend of playfulness and painful sincerity coming together to give the whole interaction a dreamlike quality.

This is a satisfying theatrical experience that will keep you guessing throughout and leave you ruminating on exactly how it all fits together long after the final scene plays out.

Kryztoff rating: 4K

Feb 27

Fringe 2016 – La Pena Flamenca – La Boheme – 4.5K

By Julie Robins

La Boheme is transformed into a Pena Flamenca ; an Andalusian club where traditional flamenco can be experienced in an intimate setting.  The evening presented by Adelaide-based Studio Flamenco kicks off with a four count beat tangos full of vitality and passion featuring all five dancers.  The audience is  then led through a gamut of emotions including sorrow, joy, love and humour  via a variety of dance and song styles ; tangos, siguiriyas, alegrias, rumba enamorao, farruca and bulerias. The solo and group dance routines are highly expressive passionate renditions, innovative as well as traditional.  The evening is completed by an exuberant bulerias, the traditional fin de fiesta.

The unique qualities and personality of each of the performers is drawn out by the expressive nature of flamenco.  The captivating singer, Zoe Velez, has travelled from Sydney to be part of the show and also provides a wonderful cameo dance performance.

With excellent guitar accompaniment throughout by Aloysius Leeson and Marduk Gault , Pena Flamenca is a very accomplished and enjoyable experience.  Recommended for lovers of flamenco and also for those who have never had the pleasure of experiencing this form live.

Kryztoff Rating 4.5K

Feb 27

FRINGE 2016: Cosmonaut – 4.5K

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By Amy Nancarrow.

US Comedian Ryan Good promises at the beginning of Cosmonaut that the hour-long show will be a journey; to this end, he’s absolutely right. Appearing on stage in a silver jumpsuit and light-up dildo, Cosmonaut is a ridiculously funny journey through Good’s sex life from start to finish.

Good works his way through the 10 worst Cosmopolitan Magazine sex tips of all time. In between these tips, he muses on the gender-shaming aspects of the magazine, his own sexual and relationship experiences, and even reveals a touching secret that added a completely different dimension to his already great show.

Being someone who normally hates audience interaction, I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed it in Cosmonaut. Bringing one person up on stage (our subject: a quick-witted 18-year-old called Callum) and having them be an essential part of the show was fantastic. Good stresses that audience interaction is voluntary, and if anyone felt remotely uncomfortable, we would move on to someone else. Another hilarious interaction with a picture of Burt Reynolds was another audience-participation highlight.

Good is also adept at physical theatre; he’s not shy, and had no qualms about nudity or self-deprecation. He manages crazy costume changes with the help of handy videos about Cosmopolitan, and a clever use of sound effects.

Cosmonaut is a frank, funny look at sex, relationships, and Cosmopolitan that is well worth a late-night trip to the Garden.

Kryztoff rating: 4.5K

Feb 27

Fringe 2016: Beep Boop – 4.5K

From the moment you walk into the Producer’s Nook the insanity in Tom Walker’s gaze greets you. A clown in the true meaning of the word, Walker captures his audience the instant they enter and holds them until the very end.

Beep Boop is a very silly one man comedic performance. Relying largely on the humour of his performance, Walker employs the full range of his incredible vocal skits.

The show is a riot, his performance is reminiscent of the early comedy of Jim Carrey; wild, unscripted and outlandish. By halfway through the show the audience was yelling with delight as one act flowed smoothly into the next. The nuances of Tom’s face in each skit are so perfect, he can draw laughs from the audiences with the smallest gesture. Coupled with his ability to make some of the most outrageously silly sounds and a natural timing, the show is a hit.

Beep Boop is a show that needs an audience, there is a high level of interaction between Walker and the crowd and with anything less than an 8 person group the show may struggle to get off the ground. With this in mind I cannot encourage you strongly enough to see this unique, hilarious performance. Go in with an open mind and you’ll come out in stitches.

Beep Boop is foot-stampingly hilarious, a show not to be missed at this year’s fringe.

4.5K

 

 

Feb 26

Fringe 2016: Nicole Henriksen is Makin it Rain – 4.5K

Makin it Rain is unlike any show you have seen before. An upfront and confronting look at the sex work and stripping industries in Australia interlaced with laugh out loud comedy and a frank discussion of a dancer’s portrayal in society.

Nicole takes the audience on a journey through her life, a very personal and raw tale of decisions, dancing and feminist ideals. A natural performer, Nicole’s persona on stage is flawless, swapping easily between idolised and sexualised erotic dancer and melancholic story teller. Heart wrenching lows are contrasted with hilarious client or industry tales, all of which are delivered with exceptional timing.

This is a show that has been a long time coming, a revealing and open discussion of the stripping industry which answers the long held questions about becoming and working as an exotic dancer. Critically analysing each decision in her life, Henriksen laces her life story with well versed feminist theory while uncovering many of the stereotypes surrounding the industry.

Henriksen creates a warm and comfortable space for her audience and through the intimate production reveals a lot more of herself (physically and emotionally) than you might expect.

This is a very unique performance and one which deserves a wider audience. A very honest and at times humorous production, it is definitely worth seeing this Fringe.

4.5K

Feb 26

Fringe 2016 – PHIA – The Grace Emily Hotel – 4K

By Tom Eckert

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Settling into the intimate confines of the Gracy Emily Hotel under the watchful eye of the mother Mary hanging from the wall, PHIA takes the half step up onto stage which is the most removed she’ll be from her audience both physically and figuratively for the whole set.

Hailing from Melbourne but having spent a number of years in Berlin to tour around Europe, PHIA’s music is deeply steeped in the indie traditions and miraculously manages to make lyrics sung in a soft Melbournian accent endearing.

The lyrics themselves carry a certain innocent charm, very direct, earnest, personal and simple they are reminiscent of younger days when we all took everything more earnestly. Delivered in a adroit metso moving easily between chest and head voices (despite the ten hour drive into Adelaide that day.) The melodies, often reminiscent of nursery rhymes make PHIA as a performer easy to relate to.

Don’t for a minute think however that her music is simple. Trained in jazz piano and utilising a loop peddle with great skill as well as a kalimba, she creates a flowing sense of tension and release and deceptively complex harmonies with the great addition of an octave peddle preventing the tendency of loop artists towards treble heavy sounds. Paired with Josh keeping subtle rhythmic figures on guitar the whole set up creates a beautiful and dynamic soundscape.

The one shame of the kalimba however is the intricate movements involved in playing it. This unfortunately forces PHIA to watch her hands at times breaking the hold she otherwise has over the audience whilst singing, beat boxing and percussing loops upon loops.

A delightfully intimate set from a pair of exceptionally capable musicians that tap into the human experience with seeming ease and utilising a number of electronic tools with great elegance.

Kryztoff Rating: 4K

Feb 26

FRINGE 2016: Gym Junkie – 4K

By Anthony Nguyen

9749_GymJunkie_PromoImage_Small_EFUL_GUIDEDressed in brightly coloured, tight-fitting activewear, Lisa-Marie Ryan represents the modern woman (and man) who has a complicated love-hate relationship with going to the gym. Ryan’s one-woman cabaret show, befittingly titled Gym Junkie, presents a hilarious 12-step guide to help start your gym experience; going through all topics from workout clothes to awkward exercises and struggles with your diet.

Ryan comprehensively goes through many amusing points including: the cost of expensive Lorna Jane workout clothes, turning your bum to an arse, evil personal trainers, and the struggle with waking up in the morning to go to the gym. A highlight was when Ryan comically describes her observations of the different types of people you would meet at the gym such as the loud bodybuilders, overly affectionate couples, and girls with too much make up.

Being a cabaret show, music was incorporated into the show featuring Ryan’s amazing vocals which highlight her musical theatre background. Only short segments of each song were performed usually between dialogue, which was structured and executed well in adding to the story and keeping the audience’s attention. Assisted onstage only by pianist/backup singer Mark Stefanoff, Ryan performs over 10 songs that are cleverly selected to suit the gym-inspired story such as Olivia Newton John’s ‘Physical’, Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Stronger’ and even more current hits such as Meghan Trainor’s ‘All About That Bass’. The lyrics are cleverly rewritten to suit the gym and exercise theme, with one amusing example being The Weeknd’s ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ which had been hilariously rewritten to ‘Can’t Feel My Legs’.

Lisa-Marie Ryan is an outstanding vocal talent with a flair for real life humour. Gym Junkie is a show that reminds you on why you hate going to the gym, yet you’re always addicted to being there and working out. Located at the La Boheme, Lisa-Marie continues her entertaining workout of a show until February 28th.

Kryztoff Rating: 4K