★1/2
Adelaide Fringe Festival. Bakehouse Theatre. 18 Feb 2020
Presented by Melbourne based theatre company First Draft, this revival production of an apparently successful 2015 run of A Butterfly Effect in the Adelaide Fringe is very underdone. Notwithstanding that the script is constructed as a semi-improvisation within a narrative framework and is therefore prone to the inherent risks associated with extemporisation. The performance is hesitant and lacking in focus and energy.
However, the concept of the play is interesting and uses the central idea of the so-called ‘butterfly effect’: a small event in one time and place can create a significant impact in a different locality. The play is essentially in two halves: an infertile couple contemplate accessing medical reproductive services and canvas options for an egg donor with certain consequences; the scenario is then played out again but this time some of the fundamentals are tweaked, although the lack of strength in the writing sometimes obscures the essence of these tweaks.
A common device used by the cast (Amanda Knights, Jessica Luu, Jillian Healy and Rhys Auteri) presumably under the direction of director Jaklene Vukasinovic, is to insert very long pauses into the dialogue, almost in the style of Harold Pinter, presumably with the intention of creating gravitas and impact. However, it has quite a different effect and creates tedium and the belief that the cast are unsure of the text.
There are some genuinely funny lines in the script which are capitalised upon much to the delight of the audience. Rhys Auteri elicited the most laughs with his portrayal of the chauvinist husband who appears to be more comfortable with his X-Box than he does with his wife and extended family.
The Studio at the Bakehouse is a very intimate space, with a compact stage area that is not conducive to seamless action in a play that is episodic and includes a significant number of cast entrances and exists.
Kym Clayton
When: 18 to 22 Feb
Where: Bakehouse Theatre
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
★★★★
Adelaide Fringe. Ukiyo, Gluttony. 16 Feb 2020
A one woman show from Luth Wolff, and this one is very much a kids and parents performance, suitable for (as it says) tots and children up to about 7 or 8.
Wolff is wonderfully engaging, bringing the children into the centre of attention, and carefully moving them back when they shuffle too far forward over the rope in their enthusiasm. That happened later when one young fella kept moving the rope forward to ‘prove’ he was still sitting behind it…
Beginning with a simple hat flip as a warm up for the crowd, Wolff turns it into a complete routine of its own; she is fun and friendly and know exactly what the kids want.
‘Big Tops Tiny Tots’ is educational too, she shows the basics of balance exercises, of the hula hoops and juggling, and riding a unicycle. The plate spinning is turned into a game of ‘know your fruits and veggies’ and becomes a mild lesson in eating healthily. Nothing too serious, and all the kids got completely involved in shouting out to warn her when a plate seemed in danger of toppling. Of course, none did so.
Can you skip a skipping rope on a unicycle? Wolff can, and after some instruction – the kids shouting out directions when she appeared not to be able to coordinate her movement – was hilarious.
Was there a highlight? Of course, seeing the kids so engrossed is a highlight. Our four year old grandson reckons the juggling routine was the best. By that he means the ‘oops I dropped it again’ slapstick part of the routine, which had the kids howling with laughter.
This one is a deserved hit with the kids and their parents.
Alex Wheaton
When: 16 Feb to 15 Mar
Where: Ukiyo, Gluttony (Rymill Park)
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
★★★★
Adelaide Fringe. Le Cascadeur, Garden Of Unearthly Delights. 16 Feb 20
Here’s a Fringe show which has been a massive success for over 15 years. It rather proves the point that a good idea and some talent is pretty much all you need.
The Amazing Drumming Monkeys are (unsurprisingly) neither amazing nor monkeys, but they are Bongo and Kilko, adding a girl monkey to the mix for the first time. But they’re clever, turning a simple idea into marketing gold, making the most out of every opportunity. The kids love ‘em, especially the audience participation parts of the show, and there are many such parts.
Handing out 100 drums so everyone can drum along is part of the fun, and takes only a short time when the kids are keen… what takes longer, as it turns out, is the attempts needed for Percy the Penguin to dive into his pool to retrieve a discarded plastic bag. This is an example of a great value-add to the show – an environmental message the kids can get behind – and a good way to involved everyone in the event during the many countdowns.
A similar device (theatrically speaking) is used when it comes to getting Froggie to jump into the pool, and this takes a very great deal of time and effort, not to mention more audience participation in the form of James who is enlisted to move the pool into the correct spot.
The Amazing Drumming Monkeys is a great family-friendly show. It moves along and does not overstay its welcome in any way. Highly recommended and endorsed by the kids, aged four to nine.
Alex Wheaton
When: 16 Feb to 15 Mar
Where: Garden Of Unearthly Delights
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
★★★★★
Adelaide Fringe. The Peacock, Gluttony. 16 Feb 20
A five star review, without hesitation!
Hotel Paradiso is the sort of Fringe show everyone should see; it’s sassy and funny and clever and brilliantly put together.
It’s all based on a simple story, acted out on circus theatrics and acrobatics. The Hotel Paradiso lies on the French Riviera and has fallen upon hard times. Those left in the hotel are the owner (Madame), the concierge, the bellhop and the maid. One day they are visited by Miss Sausage (yes, that’s a running gag) and her banker, who present them with a deed of sale, then an eviction notice.
There are six in the cast, which is large by ensemble standards these days, and there’s a lot of action going on. Concentrate too much on one vignette and you’ll probably miss something on the other side of the stage. As a result this is a romp which moves quickly and easily through its paces; kids are entranced by simple gags and pratfalls (Madame turns a drunk-and-despairing scene into a fantastic hula-hoop display).
The musical accompaniment is perfectly suited, being just weird and edgy enough to work its magic. If there is one small issue to note it is that the sparse dialogue can be lost in the ambience; I’m blaming the background noise of air-conditioner and generator in the circus tent. But then again, how to close-mic such a performance ensemble, who are tumbling and turning and balancing five metres off the floor literally every minute?
Hotel Paradiso manages to give it all in a family show: juggling, trapeze, high wire, acrobatics and much more. Superb!
Alex Wheaton
When: 16 Feb to 15 Mar
Where: The Peacock, Gluttony
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
★★★1/2
Adelaide Fringe. Main Stage at Gaslight Tavern. 17 Feb 2020
Janis Joplin was hugely successful and, arguably, paved the way for female rockers who followed her because she trod the counterculture path that others were reluctant to go down first. Anthea Jewels “is” Janis Joplin and being in the audience at her tribute show surely feels like it must have been at the Monterey Pop Festival in the late 1960s, where Joplin cooked up a storm and forever thrust herself firmly and loudly into international consciousness.
Jewells and her talented six piece band (lead and bass guitars, tenor and baritone sax, drum kit, keyboards) brought Janis Joplin to life and sang and played their way through many of Joplin’s classic songs, including Piece of my Heart, Bobby McGee, Mercedes Benz, Cry Baby, Kozmic Blues, Ball and Chain, and more. Throughout Jewells bared her clear admiration for Joplin and knitted the songs together with a heart-felt spoken narrative that gave a glimpse into Joplin’s life and the essence that made her ‘tick’.
It was more than a concert – it was a celebration of a life that was tragically cut short in 1970, at the age of 27, by a heroin overdose. If she was still alive, Joplin would have just celebrated her seventy-seventh birthday and, unsurprisingly, a number of people in the audience were not much younger than that. But advancing years doesn’t stop them accepting Jewells’ invitation to join her on the dance floor and strut out some moves.
Jewells has a powerful voice with a wide range and tessitura that ideally suits Joplin’s songs. Jewells is as comfortable in the high notes as she is in the lower register, with no loss of musicality or strength across the range. Also, her band knows how to complement her voice, with the keyboard particularly emphasising the treble notes to overcome some of the acoustic problems in the small venue.
Jewells really looks the part; wearing nostalgic flared bejewelled tight-fitting trousers and psychedelic tops and hair accessories, to say nothing of the myriad bangles and baubles. She even distributes garish necklaces to audience members to wear – men and women alike – to help wind back the clock to the 60s.
This is warm, generous and celebratory concert. There should be a little bit of Janis in us all, so don’t miss this outfit when they next visit RADelaide!
One grizzle however, the show was billed in the Fringe Guide to start at 7pm, but no-one told the band who were emphatically under the impression that it started at 8pm (“We always start at 8pm!”)
Kym Clayton
When: 17 Feb
Where: Gaslight Tavern
Bookings: Closed