Georgie Carroll. Gluttony – The Speakeasy. 2 Mar 2016
My wife works in a busy Adelaide hospital, and while she’s not a nurse, most of her friends are. And in addition to being able to put away copious amounts of adult beverages, nurses seem to make fantastic story tellers. Probably because they have so many strange-yet-true stories that unravel as a part of their daily grind! So, it’s not really too surprising that a nurse has decided to collate a few said stories from her experience and wind them together into a riotous session of tales of poo, pus, vomit, frequent-flyer patients and nurse politics.
Laden with wry humour typical of Georgie’s UK heritage, the now-Aussie nurse has some real crackers to tell. With a decent contingent of nurses present in the audience, no doubt drawn in through morbid curiosity of what they know will be discussed, there’s plenty of banter and involvement. Even for those of us who are not nurses, Georgie does a great job weaving things together beautifully enough that you’ll never watch an episode of ER or Grey’s Anatomy the same way again!
It’s clever comedy, and I like it…
Luke Balzan
When: 2 to 14 Mar
Where: Gluttony – The Speakeasy
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Presented by Anvil Creek Theatre. The GC. 2 Mar 2016
What a strange and haunting little show. Frederic Chopin's last tour was in Scotland, of all places. He was consumptive and miserable in the foggy air. He was well cared-for but he resented being seen as a showpiece. He did not like to perform. He thought his music could speak for itself without being performed by him. He missed his true love Georges Sand. There was really nothing which made him happy, except perhaps that he had given Poland something of which to be proud.
This is the story that Phil Aughey tells us, wild-haired and dressed in formal red satin shirt, cravat and white gloves. He bears more than a passing resemblance to the real Chopin in his last years.
He sits on the little German Club chair and talks directly to the audience in a vaguely Eastern European accent.
From time to time, the gloves come off, the reading glasses go on and he plays a piece at the piano.
He's not the greatest pianist in the world, but he gives feeling to the music, seeming to relax more as the show progresses. It is a short show and it breathes life into a sadness behind some of the world's most beautiful music.
Samela Harris
When: 2 to 5 Mar
Where: The GC
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Davine Interventions. Star Theatre. 1 Mar 2016
It is splendid that we have producers ready to stick their necks out and put on modern musicals with lots of Broadway cachet but not the sort of commercial clout the big guns are seeking. Here's to David Gauci who seems to be a rising force in the musicals business, and here's to his shows realising the sorts of keen audiences they deserve.
This time, with Hayley Horton directing, it is the US-acclaimed The Light in the Piazza which began its road to popularity as a novel by Elizabeth Spencer which was quickly picked up by Hollywood and made into a 1960s film featuring Gloria Dehavilland and Rossano Brazzi and glorious Florence locations. The Craig Lucas/Adam Guettei musical emerged some 40 years later, the twist of the romantic story having arrived at new topicality. Basically, it is the story of a girl living with brain injury.
The word resounding around the Star Theatre foyer at interval was "sweet". It is a really sweet musical.
Gauci has designed a very effective set, big white art frames which slide smoothly on and off a stage cleverly framed in faux marble to give a strong impression of Italian architecture. Otherwise it's all basic black, allowing for projections, an astute lighting plot, and a simply wonderful array of 1950s costumes.
Yes, the frocks are lovely, as are many other things, not the least of them the quintet conducted by Peter Johns. The musicians sit in the front corner of the auditorium beneath the stage, their mellow tones perfectly balanced against the singers and just beautiful in their own right. It is heavenly to hear a harp in there. The musical itself is of the neoclassical Broadway ilk, hard to play, hard to sing, sometimes lyrical and sometimes in-your-face.
The show opens with a beautiful musical reverie from Clara who is expressing the sheer joy of being in beautiful Florence amid the world's great works of art.
An accident on her 12th birthday has left her somewhat naive and very carefully sheltered by her tobacco-rich parents in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
With her mother, she is now on holiday in Florence where she falls in love with a young Italian shop assistant. Faced with the boy's wonderful Italian family and the joy of her daughter, the mother, Margaret, has to gauge just how far to let the relationship go. It is an emotionally complex part and it needs a particularly potent performer to evoke its roller coaster emotions. Katie Packer is this player, not only with her pure, rich mezzo voice but with the stagecraft to deliver a character for whom the audience is to establish a very close and sympathetic relationship. It's a bravura performance.
Kristin Stefanoff is not far behind as Clara. She glows with innocence. She is exquisitely expressive. She sings beautifully, a crystal soprano.
These two leads could carry the show but they don't have to. The support cast is terrific while for much of the time speaking Italian. Although Lindsay Prodea pushes his voice a bit too far for comfort in a couple of songs, he plays the smitten young Fabrizzio adorably.
David Visentin brings more romantic appeal to the stage as Fabrizzio's sleek father with Irene Castrechini-Sutton charming as his more retiring wife. They both are strong singers and so is everyone else, especially contralto Lisa Simonetti who triumphs with a passionate solo.
Andy Trimmings as sleazy brother-in-law completes the lead cast supported by Joshua Barkley, Megan Langford, Trish Hendricks, Verity Colyer, Matt Redmond, and Eloise Quinn-Valentine; everyone working through character and costume changes as smoothly as a well-oiled clock.
Altogether it is a classy production of an interesting American musical - highly recommended.
Samela Harris
When: 1 to 5 Mar
Where: Star Theatres
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Andi Snelling. The Bakehouse Theatre - Studio. 1 Mar 2016
#Dear Diary is no fly on the wall classic ‘50s – ‘90s romance moment filled with sighs of longing uttered by perfectly coiffed, fashionably attired, alluring teens from either five decades.
Oh, no, no. The world of Andi Snelling’s real life diary, and Snelling herself, is very well wide of classic diary romance; even if you throw in the thought, ‘what about Bridget Jones’ Diary?' Snelling’s is far more human, honest and gritty while being something neither a chique melancholic ‘50s teen nor depressed and dumpy ‘90s book editor can be, fantastically magical.
Danielle Cresp’s superbly nuanced direction utilises a mix of physical theatre on which hangs Snelling’s half clown pixie, elfish realisation of herself.
This bright, vividly costumed soul excitedly explores Designer Victoria Haslam’s dim attic space featuring suitcases stacked here and there, and a chair lying askew on the floor.
On discovering a diary, which on opening speaks words, and an old radio that broadcasts voice memory from the past, Snelling barrels right into ‘her’ story.
In this wonderfully realised place of memory at play, Snelling’s big hearted openness embraces the audience and holds them affectionately close to memories good, sad and bad in a manner that’s off side to the very real life nature of these memories, purely due to the nature of the comedic clown like role and nature Snelling has chosen to work through.
The audience felt, and truly was, at one with Snelling. Her joyfully child like, then more mature teenage to adult, musings and adventures were delivered in such a way they became completely universal, as much as they were, and are, uniquely her own; evidenced by the series of slide projections of real pages, photos and drawings from her diaries, as in ways, your diary might be too.
David O’Brien
When: 29 Feb – 5 March
Where: The Bakehouse Theatre - Studio
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Presented by Central Standard Theatre. Bakehouse Theatre. 29 Feb 16
He's quite uncanny as Bill Clinton. He's not really like him. But he's an actor. Silvering the hair, bouffing it up, adopting the Arkansas drawl and those contemplative hidden lip motions, capture much of the 42nd president of the United States of America.
But, on first night, what was missing was Clinton's direct engagement of his audience. Clinton looks everyone right in the eye. He connects in an unmistakably charismatic manner. Famously. This Clinton, was wandering around the stage, looking at the ground, deep in thought. It was very odd.
It turns out, the actor, Bob Paisley, was trying to remember his lines.
First night seemed to have come before he was ready for it.
Thus it was that Rachel Mariner's wonderful script was delivered in bursts. It was a little distracting for audience members who also would lose the thread. But when he was good, he was very good.
And so it was that "Steve", up the back somewhere, was doing a lot of prompting, his Aussie accent stark and incongruous for the depth of Americana in this presentation.
The research on the script is very good, so much so in fact that there were pieces of information that were new to quite dedicated Clintonophiles. The premise and the show's name is a reflection of Clinton using the Greek classic heroes as role models - and recommending them to one and all as ways forward in the political landscape.
The TED-style talk touched on the old White House scandals, told gossipy insider stories, pondered war and bombs and the middle east, and talked of the great love affair of Bill and Hillary.
Oddly, opening remarks which touted Hillary for the best yet president, seemed to have faded as the script was ending, and he was portraying her as yet another political monster; something Bill Clinton never would do.
It is a pity director Guy Masterson had not drilled this fine member of his Fringe stable with more rehearsal of that brilliant script. It deserves to be heard. Teleprompters would not go astray.
Samela Harris
When: 29 Feb to 12 Mar
Where: Bakehouse Theatre
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au