Adelaide Fringe. Moa @ Gluttony. 19 Feb 2025

 

An Opening Night Gala should—I’d say almost by definition—be a star-studded affair for the well-heeled and the well-dressed, except of course when it’s at The Fringe and the venue is a tent in Gluttony, The Fringe’s marquee Parklands space. Adelaide has no ‘A’ list to invite, former sports persons and TV people who are unrecognisable without their makeup barely constitute a ‘B’ list, so it’s fair to concentrate on the parklands. The completely redeveloped pond and surrounds make a fantastic gift wrapping for the business of relaxing, meeting friends, having a drink and seeing some shows. Gluttony is great!

 

The Gala was hosted by Hugh Sheridan, who quipped his way through the evening and assured us his rumpled suit was ‘a tuxedo’. He resembled a Fringe artist impersonating Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.

 

But I get ahead of myself: a pre-opening gala performance should—I’d argue—showcase the best of skills, both of the artists and the venue, so to standing around outside15 minutes after the scheduled start time listening to the talent still soundchecking is, obviously, unprofessional. This morphed into the opening performance, thus as we gratefully filed into the Moa we were quite literally sung to our seats by the Soweto Gospel Choir. It was a deft touch in programming; the performance solos were in places exuberant and ‘shouty’ but the hot and dusty conditions clearly played upon the voice.

 

A snapshot: Hailing from Belfast, The Shamrocks showed solid style in rollicking pipe and drum music and absolutely no sign of genre advancement in their rendition of the hoary classic Whisky In The Jar. Hailing from Adelaide, DJ Groove Terminator explained why his History Of Dance Music still attracted crowds then hastily threw to Screaming Jets/Angels singer Dave Gleeson who explained how the ‘History Of’ idea was to be applied to the Australian rock music scene. Hailing from Tandanya, the venue across the road on the corner of Grenfell Street, WAYIN:THI Collective’s Fibres was a sublimely presented contemporary dance piece which captivated with its simplicity and the way set, lighting, costumes and movement meshed so well.

 

Hailing from Japan, Gasha is described as ‘a new wave of Japanse circus’ and was undoubtedly the highlight of the evening. A contemporary reconstruction of a Bushido acrobat (!) Gasha appeared to be suspended for her acrobatics by the hair. Powerful both visually and stylistically, her performance was interrupted by a technical issue and the crowd rose to her defence as she spun and twirled in a spray of red and white lights.

 

It’s always interesting to see what is considered the crème de la crème of a festival; I found some of the choices questionable, but overall, as a teaser, there’s clearly some great shows to be seen in Gluttony.

 

Alex Wheaton

 

When: Closed

Where: Moa @ Gluttony

Bookings: Closed