★★★★★
Adelaide Fringe. Black Box Theatre, Neil Lothian Hall. 25 Feb 2020
You will not see better theatre at the Adelaide Fringe than A Special Day.
From the very start, the production breaks down the so-called ‘fourth wall’ – that metaphorical divide between stage and audience – and enchants us. It instantly suspends our disbelief and makes us obedient yet willing slaves to its ingenious artifice.
Inspired by the Italian film Una Giornata Particolare (that starred Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni) and performed in English, A Special Day follows a brief encounter between Antonietta (played by Ana Graham) and Gabriele (Antonio Vega). They are neighbours in a Roman apartment block and their accidental meeting takes place on May 6, 1938, when Hitler and his chiefs of staff visit Mussolini in Rome. Antonietta’s husband and six children have all gone to the big event, and despite her being a devotee of Mussolini, she stays behind to continue with the drudgery of housework. In her efforts to retrieve her pet bird that escapes the apartment, Antonietta chances upon Gabriele. They are very much drawn to each other and an unlikely brief romance of sorts unfolds.
Graham and Vega both give rich and layered performances as they gradually expose the essence, complexities, hopes, and fears of their characters. They are both accomplished actors of the highest calibre: timing and pace is impeccable; gestures are never squandered; and body language subtly enriches everything they do. It is a joy to watch them at work.
But this production has an astonishingly ingenious twist. The box set comprises plain black walls and a few items of furniture and household items. Anything else that is needed is literally drawn on the walls by the actors with chalk as and when it is needed: Vega needs a telephone to make a call, so he draws one on the wall; Graham needs a mirror to make-up in, and she draws one. There are numerous such examples – door bell, phonograph, windows, and bird cage to name a few – and it is mesmerising to watch the set gradually develop in front of our eyes. The audience’s imagination is plumbed to its collective depth – disbelief is suspended.
The emotional intensity of the narrative is enhanced by the use of a recorded soundscape that Vega operates by a remote control from a computer that is placed nearby. They also make live sound effects – such as the pet bird, and door bells – which initially seem ‘cutesy’ humorous curiosities but rapidly become an integral part of the theatrical fabric of the entire production.
A Special Day is full of surprises, but essentially it is a beautifully performed and poignant human drama about two unexceptional people living in exceptional times.
Highly recommended.
Kym Clayton
When: 25 Feb to 15 Mar
Where: Black Box Theatre, Neil Lothian Hall
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
★★★★
Adelaide Fringe. The Octagon at Gluttony. 25 Feb 2020
Railed is a western-themed physical theatre/circus romp performed by the highly polished Melbourne-based company Head First Acrobats. They have other events in this year’s Adelaide Fringe, but this one has a narrative, which makes it all the more enjoyable. Of course the eye-boggling acrobatic feats are all important, but having a story line – even an improbable one that is hyper-charged with plain funny sexual innuendo – gives the whole thing some coherence.
But it pays not to overthink these things and just sit back and let the whole entertaining experience swallow you up.
The troupe of four – Cal Harris, Harley Timmermans, Thomas Gorham, and Adam McMahon – play four bank robbing bandits and loudly burst onto the Octagon stage straddling (or is that mounting?) hobby horses. They brazenly flash their stolen loot (from the Bank of Railed, of course) and proceed to revel at the bar. And then follows a rapidly unfolding series of tricks, acrobatic and circus stunts that get progressively more extreme as alcohol fuels their bravado. Fifty minutes flies by and feels like fifteen – this is high energy and hilarious stuff!
Harris makes light of precariously balancing on five stacked chairs, and his balance routine on an unsupported ladder is an absolute highlight, as is Gorehams’s accompanying comedy routines. Harris’s banter throughout the performance – some of it deliberately sotto voce – is resolutely tongue in cheek and deliberately titillating. It too is a highlight that makes this event stand out from others.
Timmermans routine on aerial straps is a mesmerising display of strength, balance, grace and daring. His routine on the Cyr wheel has everyone’s jaw truly dropped!
McMahon’s comical attempt at a card trick involving audience participation was hilarious, particularly when the gag was unexpectedly revisited and finished several routines later.
Perhaps the absolute standout routine in the show involves two of the cowboys exchanging their traditional hats for a horse and a unicorn mask (?!) and participating in playful tomfoolery until their bromance takes on a new level. No spoiler here. Suffice to say alcohol fuelled testosterone leaves them gagging!
Hats off to Head First Acrobats! If you want to take in a circus event that is inoffensively laced with risqué humour, and you aren’t sure which way to turn, then get Railed!
Kym Clayton
When: 25 Feb to 15 Mar
Where: The Octagon at Gluttony
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
★★★★
Adelaide Fringe. Duke of Brunswick Hotel. 23 Feb 2020
It’s there if you look for it. Innuendo, that is. It seems that Steve Davis and Becky Blake didn’t have to look far. It’s even in the school tuckshop menu declares Davis, looking like an over-the-top Etonian headmaster in mortarboard and swirling black gown as he embodies one Professor Longsword. He lists common food items with salubrious disapproval and an oft-raised eyebrow. Off the menu they come. Tsk tsk.
One could question the good taste of a solid hour of double entendres, but that would be pointless, since that’s what the show is all about. It dips just to the edge of bad taste but never descends into it; suggestive but never salacious. Instead, it is silly and funny, a riot of wordplay and bizarrely obscure euphemisms, generally made all the funnier by Davis’s quirky clowning. Just as he is quite the comic fellow, Becky Blake is absolutely the fearless songstress. The Chunky Custard star arrives as the meek teacher, Miss Fondadick, but morphs into increasingly outrageous characters as she delivers old-school advertisements and tres risque songs. She’s a talent and a joy, a marvel on the keyboard and a voice for all genres. There are a zillion costume changes and the pair play suggestive Playschool skits with a hapless audience member as they rev up the content with a nod to director Glynn Nicholas who is there somewhere up the back of the upstairs performance space at the charming Duke of Brunswick hotel. The only negative of our review night was an air conditioner of such arctic efficiency that this critic was almost blown to ice, until from behind her a Sir Galahad by the name of Anton Schrama gently proffered a shirt which saved both the critic and her ability to focus on the show. The result of this kindness was that a good time was had by all, and plenty of laughs.
The short season is a sell-out and rightly so. Maybe they’ll sort out a reprise. One can only hope.
Samela Harris
When: 23 Feb to 1 Mar
Where: Duke of Brunswick Hotel
Bookings: Season Sold Out
★★★
Adelaide Fringe. Carrick Hill. 22 Feb 2020
Mr Badger is not often the star of the show in this story; Mr Toad, Mole and Ratty tend to hog the limelight with their crazy antics. So as narrator, Mr Badger gets to tell the story his way.
Seated on picnic blankets under a tree atop Carrick Hill, the occasional power tool and hammer doesn’t faze the children seated around Chris John and his intriguing steamer trunk.
Mr Badger introduces them to the Kenneth Grahame’s watery world, but for most of the audience today, there is no need. Aged from around 3-8 years, this lot were mostly familiar with the story and the characters, and were quite vocal about it!
By necessity, this is a condensed version of the adventure, and when favourite bits were left out or glossed over, Mr Badger was firmly reminded of the lapse, and the children would fill in the gaps. He very kindly acknowledged their input, as he probably has for the last decade or so.
The story is told beautifully with Mr Badger reaching into the drawers of his steamer trunk to demonstrate the physical aspects – dioramas of the locations, and representations of the characters. To my mind, this was the least satisfying aspect of the production; the dioramas were in small cigar boxes and the figures barely bigger than his thumb, and it was very difficult for the children to see any detail at all. They really needed to be larger to be effective, and the children tended to lose interest in them very quickly.
It is delightful to sit with children who are enthralled by a story. That this tale, written in 1908, still fascinates them, is a testament to the power of the written word. Long may it be so.
Arna Eyers-White
When: 22 Feb to 15 March
Where: Carrick Hill
Booking: adelaidefringe.com.au
★★★
Adelaide Fringe. Adelaide Town Hall. 21 Feb 2020
When Marika Marosszeky slips off her black dress to reveal what she’s wearing underneath, there’s no real surprise. She already has her mammarian gifts on full display, welcoming the audience to her husband Wolfgang’s funeral, waving around her wine and making clear it’s not her first of the day. “Do you think this dress is appropriate?’ she asked the guests at the wake.
Wolfgang has died unexpectedly, and she’s at a bit of a loss to deal with the whole thing. Because Wolfgang (Michael Whittred) hasn’t actually gone away; he’s sitting behind her, haunting her, and playing electric guitar. So she does what most people do in funereal situations; she tells the story of how they met, runs through their marriage, and tells a few secrets along the way in story and song.
From what I could gather via the interweb, the show originally had three women in the cast; all ex-lovers of the deceased Wolfgang, they meet up at the funeral and exchange stories. It’s now devolved into a one woman show, and I’m not convinced it’s as effective, with Marosszeky indicating that she is a women with many roles, and that Wolfgang unknowingly had many wives.
It doesn’t help when the sound isn’t balanced – Whittred’s guitar was far too loud for much of the production, although initially this didn’t matter, as the vocals were so poorly tuned it was difficult to understand what she was singing for the first half of the show. This detracted from the narrative somewhat, as those songs probably set up the scenario.
When we did hear Marosszeky’s voice undistorted, it showed she was quite a capable singer, and while she worked hard, the production didn’t really deliver. Perhaps because of the sound and the distortion, it was difficult to engage with the characters, which was unfortunate, as there are clearly some skills at work which just weren’t displayed as well as they could be.
Arna Eyers-White
When: 21 to 26 Feb
Where: Adelaide Town Hall
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au