If after three weeks of festivities you've only got enough Fringe fuel in the tank to commit to a guaranteed good time, select from these 16 top-rated, InReview-approved Adelaide Fringe shows.
March 9, 2023
Culture
The best of the Fringe so far
The Best of the Best
Watson – The Final Problem
Genre: Theatre
Reviewer: Jo Vabolis
Score: ★★★★★
Dates: Until 18 March
Are the rumours of Sherlock Holmes’ demise true? Has he met his end at the hands of his arch nemesis? All is revealed in this gripping solo stage show starring British actor Tim Marriott.
Why you should see the show:
“The script is dense and absorbing, and the pace is furious, but Tim Marriott’s masterful characterisation of multiple roles means the hour flies past and we never get confused about where we are in the story. We revisit key moments in Watson’s life (his war service, medical practice and marriage to Mary Morstan) and accompany him as he flees London with Holmes, pursued by the criminal mastermind Professor James Moriarty.”
Shit-wrecked!
Genre: Comedy
Reviewer: Michelle Wakim
Score: ★★★★★
Dates: Until 12 March
Cruise ships are the vessel for this hour-long satirical musical comedy that has audiences chuckling from start to finish.
Why you should see the show:
“Shit-Wrecked! is a cascade of wit, humour and physical comedy. Each song is fast-paced and energetic. From the moment the performers appear on stage, there is complete commitment to the heightened nature of the entertainment – it’s over-the-top, and a necessity for this satire.”
The Marvellous Elephant Man: The Musical
Genre: Comedy
Reviewer: Shannon Pearce
Score: ★★★★★
Dates: Until 13 March
A team of top creatives has brought together some of Australia’s most talented theatre and opera performers to present this vaudevillian production that is right at home in the circus-like Wonderland Spiegeltent.
Why you should see the show:
“Themes of masculinity, humanity, and prejudice are explored in this outrageous musical as Nurse Hope (Annelise Hall) must choose between the highly regarded and powerful Dr Treves and the “Elephant Man” on the outer edge of society.”
Electric Dreams – work.txt
Genre: Interactive
Reviewer: Rachael Mead
Score: ★★★★★
Dates: Until 17 March
Immersive and unique, work.txt is an experimental theatre piece for everyone who has secretly suspected their day job to be utterly meaningless.
Why you should see the show:
“For a theatre-goer with a deep-seated aversion to audience participation, a production in which the audience becomes the cast sounds like a new circle of hell. But don’t let similar fears stop you from experiencing this powerful, ingenious and thoroughly enjoyable show by UK writer and producer Nathan Ellis.”
Electric Dreams – Temping
Genre: Immersive
Reviewer: Jo Vabolis
Score: ★★★★★
Dates: Until 18 March
A stint covering a holidaying worker should be a breeze, right? In Temping, a show unique to each audience member, you have a team behind you but you’re ultimately on your own.
Why you should see the show:
“Temping – written by Michael Yates Crowley and presented by New York-based Dutch Kills Theater Company and “narrative technologists” Wolf 359 – is a technologically complex theatrical experience offered for a single audience member at each sitting. The satisfyingly unsettling work is site-specific (a self-contained office cubicle has been set up in Adelaide University’s Union building), and is being presented for the first time in Australia as part of the Adelaide Fringe’s award-wining Electric Dreams festival.”
Sh!t-faced Shakespeare – Romeo & Juliet
Genre: Comedy
Reviewer: Elisabeth Marie
Score: ★★★★★
Dates: Until 19 March
What happens when you give a Shakespearean cast some liquid courage? The result is a little bit naughty, but surprisingly wholesome.
Why you should see the show:
“Whenever something goes awry for Juliet (which, of course, is quite often), our protagonist throws herself to the ground with a cry and slams her fist against the floor in a tantrum that is curiously reminiscent of Cardi B’s ‘WAP’ dance.”
The Very Best
The Culture
Genre: Theatre
Reviewer: Rachael Mead
Score: ★★★★½
Dates: Until 16 March
Female-led venture Powersuit Productions takes a swing at a raft of weighty issues in this fast-paced and feisty story about the power of friendship when love turns toxic.
Why you should see the show:
“Although this skilfully crafted play was initially written in 2014, the topics it touches on are sadly just as dire today. Domestic violence, homophobia, disordered eating – writer and co-star Laura Jackson has updated the political references and social media technology, but the statistics are not improving. Which makes The Culture an ideal fit for this female-led theatre company, whose objective is to shed light on women’s experiences in Australia.”
Uke Springsteen – Nebraska
Genre: Music
Reviewer: Ben Adams
Score: ★★★★½
Dates: Until 16 March
This focused and captivating ode to one classic album of gritty realism, melancholy tales and raw social commentary is an enervating and uplifting experience, in the best tradition of The Boss himself.
Why you should see the show:
“The set list here was a known quantity, but Ben Roberts made clear from the outset that he would be introducing and placing each song in terms of its history, influence and connection to his own life and songwriting. Opening with clear, resonant vocals and the restrained foot-stomping percussion of a one-man act on “twisted” title song ‘Nebraska’, Roberts moved into an up-tempo but still unmistakably melancholy version of the album’s best-known track, ‘Atlantic City’.”
The Umbilical Brothers – The Distraction
Genre: Comedy
Reviewer: Katherine Tamiko Arguile
Score: ★★★★½
Dates: Until 19 March
The ever-energetic Umbilical Brothers keep the laughs coming as they return to the Fringe with their daftly hilarious, award-winning mash-up of live performance, real time footage and green-screen-trickery.
Why you should see the show:
“The show begins at a sedate pace with David Collins, in his green-screen dressing room, ending up snogging his alter ego in the mirror, taking his own sweet time. It feels like that moment of pause at the top of a rollercoaster ride before it begins rolling again – whoo, off we go! – swiftly picking up speed, sketches and action. Prop-wrangling and quick costume changes and dashes between screen and camera grow ever more chaotic and frenzied, the Umbies sometimes not having quite enough time to make a transition, which only adds to the hilarity.”
Simply the Best
Where to From Here
Genre: Theatre
Reviewer: Heather Taylor Johnson
Score: ★★★★
Dates: Until 12 March
The art of storytelling depends on two things that Tracy Crisp has nailed: entertainment and believability.
Why you should see the show:
“In Where to From Here, Tracy Crisp delves into memory, but it’s not to reckon with the past or glean some kind of truth. It’s to look at the crossroads, at what could have been, and pick them apart with great patience and humour and come to a conclusion that’s something akin to that adage, wherever you go, there you are.”
Best of Edinburgh Fest
Genre: Comedy
Reviewer: Steve Evans
Score: ★★★★
Dates: Until 19 March
With the strong reputation of the Best of the Edinburgh Fest from previous Adelaide Fringe festivals, there was good reason to hope it would be a winner again in 2023. Happily, we can tick that box.
Why you should see the show:
“On this night we were laughing with Gary McCallister (AKA Mickey D), Mark Simmons (from TV’s Mock the Week), and Markus Birdman. It was a three-course meal in humour that was well worth digging into, with each comedian’s approach quite different.”
The Coconuts: Brown on the Outside, White on the Inside
Genre: Comedy
Reviewer: Megan Koch
Score: ★★★★
Dates: Until 19 March
Sweet-faced and sharp-tongued, The Coconuts make their Fringe debut with Brown on the Outside, White on the Inside – a lively blend of storytelling, stand-up, songs, and slideshows.
Why you should see the show:
“What reliably gets the duo their biggest laughs is their knack for flipping without warning from sweet-natured charm to foul-mouthed humour. There are whole songs devoted to awkward sexual encounters, as well as a running joke about fancying grandmothers.”
Reclaiming Harry
Genre: Musical Theatre
Reviewer: Gianluca I Noble
Score: ★★★★
Dates: Until 19 March
Unabashedly joyful and devilishly close to a copyright violation, Reclaiming Harry fights to reclaim the multi-million-dollar franchise for those who love it most – the fans.
Why you should see the show:
“Wonderfully, Reclaiming Harry fights bigotry with unbridled love for fantasy, the queer community, trashy/iconic ’90s pop music, and delightfully camp characters. The influences of cabaret, musical theatre, pantomime and drag are obvious as the characters are swept through various iconic works of the fantasy genre in the hopes of rewriting Harry’s story.”
Ross Noble – Jibber Jabber Jamboree
Genre: Comedy
Reviewer: Rachael Mead
Score: ★★★★
Dates: Until 19 March
The title of this show describes Ross Noble’s wild, stream-of-consciousness style, but doesn’t do justice to the hilarious ingenuity of the content. Celebrating his 21st tour, the comedian again proves himself the virtuoso of improvisational stand-up.
Why you should see the show:
“While touching on the odd potentially problematic subject – terrorists, the regime in Saudi Arabia – Noble skirted close to the edge but never slipped. Audiences don’t flock to see him for a show that’s politically edgy or philosophically profound. They come to marvel at an improvisational maestro at work, riffing off the energy and random interjections of his audience.”
Smashed – The Brunch Party
Genre: Cabaret
Reviewer: Elisabeth Marie
Score: ★★★★
Dates: Until 19 March
Cabaret, drag and titillating theatrics aren’t just for after dark. Sate your appetite for something fun, fabulous and risqué during brunch.
Why you should see the show:
“Audiences at this performance were delighted as the cast moved among the crowd, sitting on laps or scruffing up hair. When participants were needed for an on-stage competition, the promise of free Bloody Marys had everyone scrambling to play.”
FLEX
Genre: Interactive
Reviewer: Jo Vabolis
Score: ★★★★
Dates: Until 24 November
‘Where does the body end and the avatar begin?’ In a series of absorbing interactive spaces, FLEX plays with the links between our physical selves and the environments we inhabit.
Why you should see the show:
“In an adjacent ground-floor gallery, “Spacious Living” situates the viewer within the solar system. Screens encircle us at two levels. Up high, space travellers explore an otherworldly landscape. Down low, touchscreens allow the viewer to zoom in and out to explore planets and moons and their positions in relation to each other and their orbits. It’s absorbing, and it quickly captures the attention.”
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