Feb 17

FRINGE – Albert Einstein: Relativitively Speaking – Holden Street Theatres – 4.5K

Anyone who didn’t catch John Hinton’s last one man scientific musical journey (focusing on the life of Charles Darwin), when it was on at the 2012 Fringe, really missed out. Hinton is a likeable, energetic performer with a passion for academic history, a deft control of the English language, a sizable chunk of musical ability and a great talent for making biographical stories, and science, fun. This year, he presents Albert Einstein: Relativitively Speaking, an exploration of theoretical physics and the man who inadvertently paved the way for the creation of the atomic bomb. Joining him on keyboard, and inhabiting the roles of Einstein’s two wives and mother, is Jo Eagle.

The show is delivered in a way that will be enjoyable for a wide ranging audience – from primary school children through to those who may remember Einstein as a contemporary, and from professional scientists through to those who dread/ed the lesson at school. The jokes that will hit the mark with each of these different cohorts are balanced well and blended seamlessly into the show as a whole. A glossary of terms is very kindly provided at the end to illuminate any words or phrases that may go over your head.

In amongst the fun and music, the actual scientific background to Einstein’s theories are presented – with the production boasting its own peer review team, to ensure the accuracy of the information provided. Hinton really makes the concepts he’s talking about understandable. With the help of some members of the audience, the theories of special and general relativity become examples of courtship or Hollywood movie techniques, while his most famous equation, E=mc² is an elaborate and hilarious rap song (with actions).

Hinton succeeds once again in creating an hour of theatre that breaks down the barriers that are sometimes imposed by the view of science as a stuffy and boring topic and shows the pleasure, the excitement and the joy that can be gained from it. At the same time it is an interesting overview of the personal life of Einstein and the impact that one mind can have on a whole planet.

Kryztoff rating: 4.5K

Feb 17

FRINGE – The Bunker Trilogy: Morgana – The Bunker – 5K

In the trenches of World War I, three young officers celebrate the brief period of respite offered by the Christmas Day ceasefire. Despite their surroundings they are full of life, teasing one another and jokingly reminiscing about home and their days together at school. Gawain (James Marlowe) claims to have seen a girl out in no-man’s land, whistling; an unlikely event, according to his compatriots Arthur (Hayden Wood) and Lancelot (Sam Donnelly). These lads are the characters of ancient legend, and yet they’re not. Their Tintagel Castle was the Cornish boarding school where they grew up; their names, remnants from a boyhood game; their Merlin, the eccentric and enthusiastic headmaster who instilled in them a joie de vivre. Jamie Wilkes has created a clever script which, while reflective of the traditional story, is also conscious of this and acknowledges the fact that it is an adaptation.

As the New Year begins and the war goes on, the boys try to keep their spirits up, each welcoming the distraction created by women. This comes in the mixed forms of memories of sweethearts back in England, services provided by enterprising women of pleasure and, in Gawain’s case, a blossoming connection with a mysterious French girl he has met in a barn. Through these relationships the reflection of the characters from Arthurian legend are shown in their namesakes and we glimpse the confusing mix of maturity, bravery, innocence, optimism, helplessness, longing, humour, loyalty and selfishness at play inside each man.

In the side room of an office in the West End, an atmospheric, immersive space has been created to stage this piece – as well as the two others that form the company’s “Bunker Trilogy”. The in-the-round format means that the view will differ based on where an audience member is sitting; however, the direction (Jethro Compton) is well thought out so that at no point is the action blocked for any particular section but rather each will get a different, interesting, perspective. While mention was made beforehand of some early season glitches in the lighting and sound, this was not evident in the delivery of the piece or the experience created.

In such an intimate space, the performances of the actors need to be spot on to be believable and engaging.  On this level, the production cannot be faulted. The men transition from good natured joking to emotional turmoil and young school boys turn to haunted soldiers with natural ease. There appears an authentic bond between the three. Playing the dual roles of Gwen and Morgana, Bebe Sanders creates two strong female presences, each clearly defined yet reflected in the other, and exuding charm, delight, compassion and danger. Each performer also shines in the snippets of song performed throughout, which add to the stark beauty of the piece.

This company again delivers a funny, engaging and moving revision of a classic tale.

Kryztoff Rating: 5K

Feb 17

Best of Edinburgh Comedy at PJ O’Briens

By Heather-Jean Moyes
It’s a good taster. One hour of the good stuff in a breezy balcony setting and Guinness on tap. The line up included ex-Adelaide stand up Ro Campbell – no punches pulled, Larry Dean – Scotland’s best and the bizarre Foil, Arms and Hog who do absurdly funny physical comedy. R4

Feb 17

Fringe – 2014 Theatresports(TM) Clash of the Theatre Titans Palace Nova

by Heather-Jean Moyes
A tight show full of belly laughs, Theatresports Clash of the Theatre Titans showcased the talents of four quick thinking teams. The usual impros, fun games, audience participation (nothing too scary – mainly voting by applauding madly) and the mandatory good and evil (boooo hissss) judges were present. It’s kid friendly and terrific fun. A must see, especially for those who want a guaranteed good time with a seductive a taste of what else is on.

Each of the teams can also be seen in their own shows during the Fringe: Scriptease – Death comes at the end, Sound and Fury – Hamlet and Juliet, as well as Hitchcocked, Wolf Creek the Musical, Simon Taylor, James McCann – Nunopoloy, Chris Knight – A Beam of Golden Sunlight/…and Changing Jennifers – Improvised Improv. Have to applaud the work of the accompanist Bryce Halliday of the Bryce is Right too. Rating – 4K

 

Feb 16

FRINGE – Chris Radburn ‘Breaking Rad’ – 3.5K

Radburn has a great stage presence. His show is full of warm energy and humour and he has the immediate ease and blithe attitude of a natural stand up performer. The Piglet in Gluttony was overflowing with laughter for his one hour set.

Over the course of his show Radburn discusses his life, his children and his stand up career. With sordid wit Radburn reveals his inner monologue and the disgusting and hilariously despicable tales of his new family. Radburn displayed a strong sense of self awareness. This allowed him to self-depreciate during his discussions, which added another layer of humour.

The abundance of swearing was tolerable, even humorous, however this comedy crutch was over relied upon. Radburn’s jokes were delivered well and at points it felt his addition of curses were unnecessary.

Radburn involved the audience well, keeping the banter light and the jokes flowing. He knew his audience and worked off of them well. His humour, while low brow, was clever and well tailored.

Overall the jokes were well timed and performed, the material light yet erudite. Radburn combines the Aussie yarn with classical comedic storytelling, culminating in a hysterical show.

3.5K

Feb 16

FRINGE – Clare Ford – ConsciousMess – 2K

Clare Ford brings a huge amount of energy to her one woman show. Located in the Red Room above the Austral Hotel the show has an intimate but vibrant feel. Immediately as you enter it is sensory overload. You find yourself faced with a woman wearing flippers and a snorkel, lit in a myriad of colours from the lighting; all while being blasted by an audio recording.

The show delves into the modern conscious; fears, paranoia, stress and elation. These concepts were explored, but never taken as far as possible. Ford’s characters portrayed her mental nuances well and some of her material was well written and presented, but she failed to fully engage the audience; leaving large segments of her show underperformed.

Ford’s exploration of women’s role in society and the pressures placed upon them was edifying and involved several enjoyable gags. This could have been flashed out more and become a larger theme of the show.

There were technical complications but Ford managed to not only work through these but actually draw humour from them. The lighting gave the feeling of being in a disco while the sound was slightly too loud, leaving some of her jokes fuzzy and unclear.

Clare Ford decorated the stage with a variety of odd items, most of these were included in the show but some simply added to the atmosphere. Her performance relied on a number of these items, some of which contributed little to the humour or feel of the show overall. At some points the feeling arose that Ford was being weird for the sake of it, trying to be so unreal and outlandish in order to gain laughs; this unfortunately had a contrary effect.

2K

Feb 16

FRINGE – Alex Willamson – 3K

0713-alexwilliamson-ripitupBy Peter Maddern

With over half a million Facebook followers and Youtube videos that regularly score over a million views, Alex Williamson, from Adelaide’s southern suburbs, is one of the up and coming Australian comedians.

What I have liked about his videos is a seeming mocking of the Australian cliché and it less intelligent inhabitants. He has almost seemed to be Dame Edna Everage’s grandson who’s growing up in Boganville. Last night’s show makes me somewhat less sure. Williamson just seems to enjoy the wasted youth lifestyle all rather too much.

After 60 minutes of Alex’s rat-a-tat delivery and a couple of songs , there was not much about that genre left to the imagination with lots of gags about going the biff and spacing out on all manner of banned substances, all delivered in the most daggy stage gear I have ever seen, complete with calf muscle tatt. All sort of harmless stuff, though just why around half of his audience stayed in their seats to the bitter end in the face of the incessant denigration of women is anyone’s guess. Rape seemed to be a common theme amongst it all.

Maybe all these debut voters at this next month’s state election have just seen and heard no better but that is scary in itself, let alone getting into a car with someone who thought this dross was rollickingly funny.

Kryztoff Rating  3K

Feb 16

FRINGE – Paul McDermott – The Dark Garden – 3.5K

r1086733_13041623By Peter Maddern

Of all the member of the Doug Anthony All Stars, Paul McDermott has always seemed to be the most strange; that grin he occasionally gives sort of gives it away and he as good as admitted as much at the outset of his Town Hall show when he claimed his teachers at primary school use to describe him as having the ‘the voice of an angel but the mind of the devil.’

This show exposes further that innate strangeness. Inspired by the death of a close friend, McDermott and his three piece backing players takes us through songs about the five stages of grief – not exactly an uplifting topic consistent with the usual whooo whooo tone of the Fringe but an interesting expose nonetheless, held together by those songs being somewhat light and fun as well as a good vehicle to show off his not inconsiderable vocal talents.

McDermott, in trade mark mauve vest, then separated them with his mostly high quality banter, covering such diverse topics as drinking dead fruit flies to how to make a goose honk. Unfortunately, the show came somewhat unhinged when he descended at around the 50 minute mark into an extended monologue around a vagina ‘joke’.

Just why comics see this moment as a good time to drop there is beyond me, especially one as talented as McDermott. Have they come up short on an uplifting ending and look to lower expectations with this dross? I don’t get it but it and the erratic lighting added to the strangeness of it all.

Kryztoff Rating  3.5K

Feb 15

FRINGE – Alex Frayne – In Dreams – Fisher Jeffries Foyer – 4K

1601357_10152128941972517_544344582_nBy Peter Maddern

Alex Frayne is arguably Adelaide’s finest landscape photographer and if not that then certainly he is one of its hardest working. Barely a few days will pass before he uploads new images to his Facebook page taking advantage of fading light, especially upon the change of the weather. Many of these go towards his Noir series of images and it is from the second of these that that this collection of 15 ‘dreams’ is drawn.

Many photographers, like other visual artists, seem content or determined to be only known by one style, but Frayne constantly pushes the boundaries and this exhibition highlights his inventiveness.  In Arrow, you have an image that seems to reference Jeffrey Smart and in Mt Lofty Study there are memories of Frederick McCubbin. Yet, then there are his intense but pleasurable sunsets and a field of cows contently mooing away as a storm approaches.

Good photography is very much about seeing the final images before it gets taken and with Frayne he adds to this sense of eye with his workings with lenses that uplift the outcome without being at risk at overwhelming it – Infra Red Moreton is perhaps the best example.

For mine, the best on show (most at the very reasonable $900 price) was Outbound through fog taken at the turn off taken at Mt Osmond on the SE Freeway. It is a delightful take on curves and lights and atmosphere but your favourites could well be ascribed to any of the images on display.

Also, be sure to enjoy his Jetty Jumper, the portrait of the 70 year old from Glenelg, which made it to the final of the 2012 National Portrait Prize.

Frayne has produced a visually entertaining but small exhibition that is worth the lunch time wonder if you are in the Gouger Street area.

Feb 15

FRINGE – 50 Years of Doctor Who: Preachrs Podcast Live 2! – Box Factory Community Centre

By Heather-Jean Moyes

The Doctor celebrated! In this fun tribute to Doctor Who, hosts Benjamin Maio Mackay and Rob Lloyd take you through a tour of all things Whovian. Not dissimilar to the wonderful BBC show Doctor Who – The Doctors Revisited it profiles all of the Doctors, his companions and enemies through time.

The guys obviously know their stuff. Mackay the writer and originator, frames the material by setting up a kidnap situation where, he and Lloyd need to reintroduce the Doctors to the Darleks, who have forgotten who Doctor Who is, or be exterminated. We the audience are all part of the kidnap scenario. Neat as this set up is, it’s not what drives the show. The show itself is engaging because we are treated to well written witty quips, a comic stand up routine and fun interactive moments where we are asked to vote on favourites or come up on stage and win prizes.

Yes, I did say prizes! Lloyd, a Doctor obsessive, (He also hosts The Science of Doctor Who) not only dishes out facts, he gives the audience accurate and insightful interpretations of many of the performances given by the actors in the Doctor’s world. I would have liked a few more images of our ‘faves’ on screen, especially the girls, but the show was completely entertaining for fans and kids with pre-recorded special guest video appearances from stars of the show.

Be warned – working voice shattering Darleks greet you as you arrive. I, and my companions survived. Photo opportunities with bossy ‘walking’ talking Darleks, the Tardis and a Cyberman ensure that you will remember the occasion. We will.

Where: At the Box Factory Community Centre. Running from Fri 14 to Sun 16th – Sunday 16 Feb 2:00pm and 7:30 still open for bookings.

Kryztoff Rating   4.5K