Here are our picks of the highly rated InReview Adelaide Fringe shows you can’t afford to miss before the Mad March 2021 season ends next weekend.

We get it – the Fringe season is a lot.

There’s almost too much to choose from: a glut of good performances and food.

So what better way to figure out what to see during the last couple of weekends of this festive but also frenetic period than from parsing through InReview‘s highest rated shows.

These selections span political theatre to a fabulous drag breakfast. Dig in.

Grief Lightning

“Mary Angley is supreme in this work of surreal fan fiction, conspiracy theories, biting satire and PowerPoint. ★★★★ ½” – Kylie Maslen, InReview. Read the full review here.

Although this journalist has never seen the film Grease (don’t hate me) the description of this clever performance by comedian Mary Angley does incorporate something we know and love – technology. Using trusty Microsoft PowerPoint to explain plot holes and Reddit fan theories of the seminal piece of cinema, we’ll get an education we’ve sorely missed out on.

Grief Lightning plays at Fokus Creatives until February 28, then the Studio at Bakehouse Theatre from March 8-13.

Smashed – The Brunch Party

This picture: Nat Rogers

“With mimosas, whip-cracking, a twerk-off, drag, burlesque and an acrobatic routine on a beer keg, Smashed is an hour of frivolity, flirtation and adults-only fun in the Spiegeltent – all before lunch. ★★★★” – Suzie Keen, InReview. Read the full review here.

Drag superstar Kween Kong is a friend of CityMag, and what better way to show support for the immensely talented dancer and leader of the Haus of Kong than attending a boozy Adelaide Fringe variety show, showcasing her skills as well others. The raucous roll-call includes burlesque performer Lizzy Baker, queer cabaret artist Alex De Porteous and Indigenous dancer and acrobat Dale Woodbridge-Brown.

Smashed – The Brunch Party, recommended for ages 18+, is being performed in the Spiegeltent in the Garden of Unearthly Delights on March 13, 14, 20 and 21. Audience members have the option of buying show-only tickets, or tickets that also include a brunch box.

Scomo’s Sunday Service

This picture: Trephina Gartley

“Scomo’s Sunday Service, in the tradition of a university revue, is raw, scatological political satire and lots of fun. ★★★★” – Greg Elliott, InReview. Read the full review here.

There’s nothing we love more than comedic digs at powerful people. This roast is a two-man performance fusing a cast of colourful characters, including a Video Ezy employee and Irish Priest, as they challenge a satirical representation of own Prime Minister, Scott Morrison. Content warning: this performance includes ample toilet humour.

Scomo’s Sunday Service is being presented in the Ballroom at Ayers House until March 13.

Something in the Water

“Bum-rubbing, squid genitals and doll-decapitation; it sounds like the recipe for a very niche sex tape but is in fact the list of ingredients for a heart-warming solo show with a charming, child-like quality. ★★★★” – Alison Flett, InReview. Read the full review here.

We at CityMag are all about taking risks, and although we’re mitigating said risks by aggregating all the well-received shows in this list, Something in the Water still sounds like a hazardous performance – but one we’re willing to take the punt on.

Something in the Water (recommended for audiences aged 18+) is showing in Black Box Theatre, Noel Lothian Hall, Adelaide Botanic Gardens, March 16-21. There is also a G-rated version of the show – Something in the Water: for Kids – playing from March 11 to 13.

DIЯT

“A young Australian man visiting Moscow hooks up with a Russian tourist guide but it emerges that each has his own secrets and agenda, as playwright Angus Cameron’s wryly engaging thriller takes us through a labyrinth of misrepresentation. ★★★★ ½” – Murray Bramwell, InReview. Read the full review here.

We were first introduced to theatre-maker Patrick Livesey during his absolutely riveting performance of Gone Girls – a drag revenge fantasy inspired by the relationship of the country’s most important women, Julie Bishop and Julia Gillard. We would absolutely trust his rendition of another no less important topic: the gay purges of Chechnya.

DIЯT is playing at Holden Street Theatres until March 21.