Jun 19

THEATRE – Bitch Boxer – Goodwood Institute – 4K

Bitch-Boxer-Poster_500wBy Peter Maddern

It is not with controversy to suggest that female boxing is not the most genteel of sports, yet equal opportunity saw it admitted to the list of events at the 2012 London Olympics. Bitch Boxer is about Chloe (Jordan Cowan) a teenage girl from nowhere in particular in England for whom boxing is her life; a pursuit of excellence, a passion, a connection with those who are important to her.

When the play opens Chloe is a fight away from qualifying for the Olympics but before she dons the gloves for that playwright Charlotte Josephine takes us to her past and forward again to the present. Its a moving back story to all that will go into each and every punch over the four rounds when everything is seemingly on the line, in particular the influences of her father and boyfriend who are both simultaneously present and absent when the fight gets desperate.

Someone Like U Productions has delivered an excellent rendition of this previous Adelaide and Edinburgh Fringe Festival hit. Jordan Cowan is a compelling pugilist and young girl in equal portions; pretty, athletic, relaxed in her delivery yet fully possessed by the story of her character. I don’t know whether her cockney accent was affected for the performance but it sure had me taken in.

The stage is hers and hers alone for the hour but she is greatly aided by some skilful direction by David Mealor, who works her into our hearts, and inspired lighting by Chris Petridis (and box builder Rowan Lee) who uses just four box lights to take us both to the brightness of the arena’s centre ring and the solitude of the change rooms beneath it.

This is a classy production of a moving story delivered with great confidence and poise by a talented young actor.

Kryztoff Rating  4K

Jun 18

CABARET FESTIVAL – Ian Shaw – 3.5K

CAB-generic-logo-900x600_HeroBy Peter Maddern

A new face to the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and indeed one to our shores is Welshman Ian Shaw.

His show, A Bit of a Mouthful, combines a series of self written or adapted songs on a disarmingly wide range of topics; from the paucity of delights of ‘super foods’ to a lament about shit singers ruining others’ songs. His best was probably his take on adolescent on-line anagrams and abbreviations, using his 18 year old nephew as source material. Though others looking for more traditional fare may have preferred his various Joni Mitchell numbers and a very humorous attack on the nasally charged repertoire of her one time partner, James Taylor.

Between, Shaw, looking every bit a cross between Elton John and our own Bert Newton, indulged in quick fire chat including a delightful recounting of his bed wetting days.

There was a certain caution about Shaw’s show that one suspects came from confronting a new audience (and maybe the jet lag in reaching them) but one also senses that when warmed up with a few heart starters and fully confident of how his humour will be received (excellently I would propose), Ian Shaw will deliver a big mouthful of outrageous entertainment.

Kryztoff Rating 3.5K

Jun 15

THEATRE – Reasons to be Pretty – Bakehouse – 3.5K

Image by Michael Errey

Image by Michael Errey

By Peter Maddern

Those easily offended by foul language and superficiality in human relations probably should not indulge in Neil Labute’s Reasons to be Pretty, the Bakehouse Theatre Company’s latest production.

The play opens with a tirade by twenty-something Steph (Clare Mansfield) directed at her soon to be ex-boyfriend, Greg (Nic Krieg). It’s about some sort of unkind comment relayed to her by Carly (Krystal Brock), the security guard at Greg’s work but it is not exactly clear what was said and why but this is no reason to hold back on a good old bellyache. None of this is helped by the sanctimonious and most unlikeable Kent (David Hirst) who is Carly’s partner; well, as long as it suits him.

Nothing about that introduction should put anyone off seeing this very humorous play where under developed emotional quotients are let loose on a stage stuffed full of desires for self-gratification yet also, strangely perhaps, a vacuum when it comes to appreciating others for what they are beyond the surface.

Greg is the only level headed one amongst them and Nic Krieg delights as he absorbs the barrage and then calmly goes about getting his own back, all the while keeping close to what truly matters to him. I think this is the best performance I have seen from him. Clare Mansfield’s Steph is too a carefully crafted study, in her case of fragile self-indulgence, seemingly oblivious to her own assets while Brock’s Carly neatly portrays the confusion that can arise from power without the substance to pull it off.

David Hirst meanwhile maybe rightly accused of some overacting – yes David we are on to you – yet, how else can you make such a loathsome character accessible to one’s audience.

Joh Hartog’s direction and set are quietly understated as he lets his talented cast make the most of material they no doubt would find all too familiar in their cohort of friends and associates.

Great fun especially if shallow people are a humorous topic of interest to you.

 

Kryztoff Rating      3.5K

Jun 15

Hannah Gadsby: Art Lite – Artspace – Cabaret Festival – 4K

By Tom Eckert

Hannah-Gadsby-Frame-Art-Lite-Adelaide-Cabaret-Festival-The-Clothesline-233x300

Hannah Gadsby; a self deprecating, paradoxically self-effacing every-woman has hit onto a winning format here.

Capitalising on the fact that she is over-qualified for a comedian but under-qualified as a lecturer she recognises the niche and creates the happy medium. What you are left with is ‘Art Lite’ a quasi-lecture (including the obligatory schlick PowerPoint presentation) on the subject of the history of Western Art from as far back as the classical Greeks, paying pointed attention to Eurocentric white wankers’ obsessions with boobs, boy Christ and hosts of creepy naked babies.

Whether by design or by accident Hannah Gadsby has tapped into what can only be described as the western entertainment’s fetishism for irony.

By tackling a subject with which she is deeply informed about, but the large majority of the audience consider over their heads, she has placed herself in the position to address the profound absurdities that the layman would struggle to comment on for fear of ridicule. And what we discover is that the entirety of western art is riddled thick with the narcissism, sycophancy and absurdity so easily recognised in the popular art of today. She reminds the audience that even the ‘masters’ were only humans that were particularly good at putting colour on paper (and even some of them weren’t that good) and that the only people lauding them as anything more than mortal are pompous, middle-aged white men whose associate-professorships rely on their insistence that they ‘wouldn’t expect you to comprehend high art’.

Consider this the 21st century’s version of the Enlightenment, this truly is Titian meets TMNT. With an eye for the details that pass most of us by and a resounding appreciation for the absurd and ridiculous, the irreverence of a school girl coupled with the sharp wit of someone jaded by the world, Hannah Gadsby reminds you that nothing is worth being taken seriously. Herself included.

Kryztoff Rating: 4K

Jun 14

Under the Influence – Class of Cabaret Grads – Cabaret Festival – Artspace – 4K

By Tom Eckert

under-the-influence-900x600

For the uninitiated, the Class of Cabaret is a project of Kim Spargo; a name we are seeing more and more due to her own shows as well as high profile collaborations with people such as the directors of Adelaide’s festivals. A program where hand-picked high-schoolers who are already displaying burgeoning talent (and there seems to be no shortage of them) are taken in and mentored, examining their influences and cultivating their style.
From this select group, one auditions and the creme-de-la-creme are chosen for the graduates show.
Here are presented this year’s graduates; Ella Lawry, Bethany Hubmayer, Kate Lewis, Jego Loreto and Lauren Greco.

It is lucky I was able to find this information as background explanation during the show left perhaps a little to be desired in favour of getting down to brass tacks. This meant it took a little while to work out who was who and for the title to click. But once the full house got into the swing of it; the performers having to initially overcome an acoustically dry room and perhaps some subtle first show jitters that if anything made the entire cast more endearing, we discovered that these are no mere teenage-star aspirants, but performers with the pipes of professionals and all the vibrancy of youth.
What we get is an exploration of the influences, motivations and stories of these five up-and-comers with dreams that range from name-in-lights New York to doing anything to make their mother proud.

Ella Lawry is a dynamo of genre-fusion practically bursting at the seams with jazz, funk and pop. Practically bouncing around the stage one has to wonder how she keeps all that energy in, but then you see her head of hair and you work out where it all must go. Kicking things off with a medley of her own devising seamlessly overlaying Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and a plethora of others you realise she’s no mimic and that there is a seriously musical brain at work here. With a rock solid style of her own, musical sense and wit she brings a pointed intelligence to everything she touches.

Bethany Hubmayer, as the only mezzo in a field of darker voices capitalises on a brighter tone to reach heights that the the others can’t touch. With a strong upper register she summons images of the diva under lights. This doesn’t however come with any sacrifice, showing her flexibility and range with an emotive rendition of ‘How to Return Home’ on the back of a story of the dissonance of coming hone after travels abroad.

Kate Lewis is a rock, belting out show stoppers like ‘The Life of the Party’ on the back of personal rendition of Sara Bareilles ‘Uncharted’. Hers is a story that speaks to all those unsure of what they are doing with themselves, which, lets be honest, we’re all still wrestling with even if we don’t care to think how long ago it was we finished school.

Jego Loreto is every girls dream. A natural born lady killer, he loves his mother, has has voice like and angel (not to mention he is a multi-instrumentalist, like most if these performers seem to be) and looks positively lethal in a suit. Representing the Y chromosome in this field of femme fatales he does us all proud. Clearly a banner-bearer for the crooner tradition, he melts hearts from a range of twenty metres with Billy Joel’s ‘She’s Always a Woman’. With sensitivity, dexterity and a range to rival all the great tenors he is a presence that really takes reckoning with and will only become more refined with age.

Lauren Greco states her aims from the outset. Nothing less than New York will do and I’ll be damned if she doesn’t make it. With a rich, longing affirmation of this via ‘Empire State of Mind’ this girl has the chops to bring down the house and make it look easy. This one has a voice that is mature well beyond her years that has you doing a double-take just to be sure that it’s actually coming out of the same body. There is soul and fire in her born of strong convictions and a life that simply is music. Her piece-de-resistance being a cover of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” which burns slow and intense and catches you by surprise when, after the last phrase fades, you find yourself breathing for the first time in three minutes.

Accompanied by the flawless Logan Watt, a frequent pianist-about-town. With the old-school cabaret format, a (much) later hour would have suited the tone of the show better. This is the kind of show that just reminds you what young talent is capable of. These kids are avatars for the attitudes of their age, coming to loggerheads with the problems of adulthood, still coloured by the rapidly dwindling naïvety of their earlier years they perfectly embody the transitions they are all inevitably facing. These are people to keep your eyes on as the stars of tomorrow. I may seem excessively full of praise but I believe they truly deserve it, with so much time ahead of them, they’ve taken on Adelaide with covers, I’d next like to see them on a bigger stage with their own material.

Kryztoff Rating 4K

Jun 13

CABARET FESTIVAL 2015 – Jobim – 3.5K

CAB-generic-logo-900x600_HeroBy Peter Maddern

Antonio Carlos ‘Tom’ Jobim is credited as the father of Brazil’s bossa nova style and many of his songs have become jazz standards. As such last night’s line up on the Festival Theatre stage could not have been more appropriately congregated with three fine exponents of their crafts accompanying Panorama Brazil (including its  slightly unique trombone and flute combination). First up, and directing the music was Doug DeVries on guitar, then Brazilian Alda Rezende and finally Australian jazz singing legend Vince Jones.

The gig opened with a delightful montage of three Jobim pieces before Rezende strode to the microphone and took control of the audience. Her deep, sensuous almost husky voice provided a depth and feel that the musicians alone could not. Jones then came on for his four numbers dressed like a member of the Catholic clergy (sans the dog collar) with his white hair almost a self-affixed halo to his reputation, especially when the lighting crew delivered a deep lattice matte behind him.

A disappointment of the show was the absence of a substantial duet between Rezende and Jones; perhaps the oddity of her having a deeper voice than his led to an almost awkward combination when it was attempted.

Jobim’s most famous work is The Girl from Ipanema and at various times through the hour one could sense various hints and themes that would later become a part of that, one of the world’s most recorded songs. But with Alda Rezende in charge and verses in English, Portugese and Maori the much predicted finale lifted the evening to a new level.

This was an excellent program with the delightful Rezende its jewel.

Kryztoff Rating 3.5K

Jun 12

CABARET FESTIVAL: The Narelles – Banquet Room – 4.5K

The Narelles (Alan Brough and Casey Bennetto) are a rock band, formed in the late 80s. Ten years after breaking up, they’ve got together to take a trip down memory lane and perform an eclectic selection of songs from their back catalogue. This is not such an unusual premise at the moment, what with the likes of The Superjesus and Baby Animals playing The Gov next weekend. However, there is one big difference here: The Narelles never existed.

Straight-faced and sincere, Brough and Bennetto wind their way through the successes and failures of The Narelles, switching instruments and taking turns on lead vocals; all ably accompanied by their drummer “Gary X”, who is nowhere to be seen. Their comic timing is impeccable, giving just the right amount of credibility to what is a ridiculously fake story. Their voices aren’t perfect, but which rock-stars’ are? The songs incorporate hilarious lyrics with legitimate musicality.

The song list takes in a wide range of styles, with nods to the likes of The Smiths, The Sex Pistols, Custard, and other bands of a similar vintage and ilk, as well as later trends like folk-rock and R&B. The highlight of the show would have to be their tribute to Nick Cave. Incorporating an amusing story surrounding the man himself, the tone and structure of the song are so perfectly reminiscent of his own music, that it will delight and amuse fans.

The Narelles are a band that never was, except in the minds of Brough and Bennetto, but by the end of the evening you’ll be wishing they were real and hoping that their non-existence won’t stop them from releasing a greatest hits album.

Kryztoff rating: 4.5K

Jun 08

CABARET FESTIVAL: Cole – Banquet Room – 4K

Having previously performed shows that focused on Madonna and Annie Lennox during the Adelaide Fringe, Michael Griffiths brings a retrospective of Cole Porter, both the music and the man, to the Cabaret Festival. Accompanying himself on piano, Griffiths presents a pleasantly understated characterisation, with his vocalisation, mannerisms and carriage creating a believable portrayal. The simplicity of the staging allows the music and the story to remain the focus of the performance.

There are no great surprises in the song selection, with a running sheet including many of Porter’s most famous pieces, such as ‘Anything Goes’, ‘It’s De-lovely’, ‘Let’s Misbehave’ and ‘Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye’. Those that are included are well suited for the anecdotes being told and vary nicely between upbeat numbers, and the more sentimental of Porter’s compositions.

Griffiths’ singing voice has a beautiful clarity to it, though the accompanying power of it was not exhibited until the closing number ‘Night & Day’. Amusing tweaks are made to some of the lyrics, usually referencing the Festival or something else local. It’s a somewhat clichéd device, but it always goes down well with audiences and they lapped it up on this occasion.

Between songs, we are given glimpses into Porter’s life, focusing on the extravagant parties he hosted, his relationships with his wife Linda and various male lovers, and how some of his songs came to be written. These interludes are constructed, by writer Anna Goldsworthy, so as to feel not just reflective, but spontaneous and conspiratorial. They provide just the right amount of backstory and pathos, without feeling weighed down in the information being provided, so that the show flows well.

This is another strong offering from Griffiths and a lovely way to enjoy Porter’s amusing and delightful music.

Kryztoff rating: 4K

Jun 07

CABARET FESTIVAL – Meow Meow – 3.5K

CAB-generic-logo-900x600_HeroBy Peter Maddern

The ’Queen of Kamikaze Kabarett’, as she has been dubbed, returned to the Cabaret Festival last evening challenging her audience with a show that typically mixed the sensual with the bizarre.

Focusing on Weimar melodies, Ms Meow opened with a series of quite grotesque laments, all in incomprehensible German (though she kindly placed a large Funk & Wagnalls dictionary on the front of the stage should any audience members have wished to check on a translation.) Having got some patrons restless with this auditory assault, a response she rightly returned to mock thereafter, Meow rolled out a series of more upbeat numbers, often with the hilarious assistance of audience members – the imitation of the revolving swastika a moment that will long live with those there.

In a show more focused on her singing than her silliness compared to two years ago, Meow Meow allowed her audience to better appreciate her strength of voice and delivery confirming her position as one of Australia’s finest performers and show people.

While the show seemed to be a bit ramshackled at times, her occasional channelling of Dame Edna, made for a fabulous hour plus. Do make sure you see her wherever she plays.

 

Kryztoff Rating    3.5K

Jun 07

CABARET FESTIVAL – Adam Hills – 1K

CAB-generic-logo-900x600_HeroBy Peter Maddern

With much work, the Adelaide Cabaret Festival has not only established itself as the national leader but it has also been touted as the ‘most comprehensive cabaret festival in the world’ whatever that may mean. And in recent years, each director has added its class and substance, with their opening Saturday night the occasion to showcase the Festival’s headline act – it’s hard to believe its already four years since Adelaide swooned at the feet of Olivia Newton-John.

And while, especially during the Campbell years, the definition of cabaret became increasingly stretched at least song was front and centre of everything the Festival did and stood for.

Not so last night as comedian Adam Hills took centre stage to reprise his Melbourne Comedy festival show, oh with one ditty tossed in. Hills has won a large following on the ABC and is possibly the man more women in this country want to marry than any other, but cabaret artist he is not, not that he attempted anything resembling that throughout his 90 minutes on stage.

So with tickets at up to $80 each, we got a stand-up act; a lot of Adelaide feel-good blab, 15 minutes appealing to a Q&A audience (who seemed in short supply) with his ABC correct polemics, a most engaging period dealing with parenting and finally a wrap focused on cancer and death. One can only speculate what led to this cock-up though in fairness to the organisers they promised no more in the official program (other than scheduling Hills on the opening Saturday night in the Festival Theatre!)

Barry Humphries, you may have promised ‘there are no rules’ in your cabaret festival but we all thought there would be one – cabaret.

Kryztoff Rating         1K     (One for each song in the show!)