Though the printed Fringe and Festival guides are exhaustive, it’s hard to know which shows to prioritise when plotting out how to spend your valuable festival bucks. Our knowledgeable colleagues at InReview have given tips on the artists you shouldn’t miss this festival season.

Visual arts

As selected by Jane Llewellyn.

Rhoda Tjitayi

Selected as one of the 25 Australian Artists for the 2022 Adelaide Biennial, curated by Sebastian Goldspink, APY artist Rhoda Tjitayi is one to watch. Born in 1969 in Ernabella, Rhoda’s exquisite paintings depict her grandmother’s story, the ancestral creation story Piltati Tjukurpa. Sweeping brushstrokes combine with bold colours to create paintings which are emotive and expressive.

Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Free/State
4 Mar—5 Jun
Art Gallery of South Australia
More info

 

Laura Wills

Laura Wills is a multi-disciplinary artist who often collaborates with other artists in the creation of site-responsive and participatory works which explore our connection to nature. While the discipline of drawing is what underpins her practice, she pushes the boundaries by experimenting with digital drawing into maps, drawing in installation works, and projected light drawing for live performances. During the festival period, Laura’s work features in Neoteric, an artist-led exhibition highlighting some of South Australia’s most talented mid-career practitioners, as well as Spur 2022.

Spur 2022
12 Feb—10 Apr
Murray Bridge Gallery
More info

Neoteric
1 Mar—10 Apr
North Eastern Concourse, Adelaide Railway Station
More info

 

Jess Mara

Through her practice, Jess Mara depicts scenes of everyday life as she explores notions of identity, place and the passage of time. In Bundled Together, she draws on personal domestic rituals and practices to reflect on the many loads we carry in day-to-day life. Jess’s paintings find beauty and comfort in the ordinary, projecting calmness and balance.

Bundled Together
Until 18 Mar
Margaret Preston Gallery at Centre for Creative Health, Woodville
More info

 

Jane Llewellyn is an Adelaide-
based freelance writer. Jane
reviews exhibitions for InReview.

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Comedy

As selected by Kylie Maslen.

Libby Trainor Parker

Libby Trainor Parker returns with Endo Days, a 2021 Weekly Cabaret Award winner having an empathetic laugh about endometriosis.

Endo Days
19 Feb—20 Mar
The Lark at Gluttony
More info

 

 

Marc Ryan

The Kick Ass Comedy Tour is coming to a suburb near you, hosted by Adelaide stalwart Marc Ryan (aka The Beautiful Bogan).

The Kick Ass Comedy Tour
20 Feb—20 Mar
Multiple locations: Aldinga, Glenelg, Gawler, Dudley Park, Findon and Whyalla
More info

 

 

Lauren Thiel

For late night laughs, Lauren Thiel’s Don’t Tell Dad offers “secrets, lies, sexual fluidity and sexual fluids”.

Don’t Tell Dad
1—5 Mar
Drama Llama at Rhino Room
More info

 

Kylie Maslen is the author
of Show Me Where It Hurts
and is a freelance writer based
in Adelaide. Kylie is also a regular
contributor to InReview.

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Theatre

As selected by Michelle Wakim.

Katherine Sortini

Writer and performer Katherine Sortini returns with new, original play All the things I couldn’t say. Inspired by the Unsent Project, a website dedicated to “a collection of unsent text messages to first loves”,  All the things I couldn’t say is devised from anonymous text message submissions from around the world – messages that people couldn’t bring themselves to send. The show promises to be a thought-provoking production exploring the vulnerability of authentic connection, the relentless toll of self-editing, and how split-second decisions can be life changing.

All The Things I Couldn’t Say
4—6 Mar
Rumpus Theatre, Bowden
More info

 

James Watson

Prepare to be challenged by James Watson’s new play Home Thoughts. Directed by the award-winning playwright and featuring local actors Ren Williams and Krystal Cave, Home Thoughts examines why so many young people feel the need to leave Adelaide, the overwhelming weight of expectation, and the meaning of ‘home’. The plot follows two sisters, one who never leaves Adelaide, and one who has just returned after living in Melbourne – a familiar premise for anyone who grew up here.

Home Thoughts
28 Feb—5 Mar
Bakehouse Theatre, Adelaide
More info

 

Taylor Nobes and Mikayla Rudd

Taylor Nobes and Mikayla Rudd are the creators of Adelaide-based theatre company Too Dumb Blondes, and they return with a revised version of their 2021 award winning show Does It Please You? This year’s Final Saga addresses the stigma around mental health and is described as “a defiant war-cry against anyone and anything that makes you doubt your worth”. While the themes are heavy, the show is filled with laugh-out-loud comedy, original songs, and even some dance numbers, taking audiences on an emotional rollercoaster through life’s most hilarious, vulnerable and grotesque moments.

Does It Please You? – The Final Saga
8—20 Mar
Holden Street Theatres, Hindmarsh
More info

 

Michelle Wakim is the inaugural
recipient of the Helpmann Academy
InReview Mentorship. She is now
a freelance writer and contributor
to InReview.

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Dance

As selected by Suzie Keen.

Daniel Jaber

Contemporary dancer and choreographer Daniel Jaber – who was a company dancer with Australian Dance Theatre for 17 years – is premiering the first of a trilogy of daring new works at Samstag Museum of Art during Adelaide Festival. Rite is a seven-hour durational performance – part contemporary dance, part living sculpture installation – exploring themes traversing sexuality, desire, shame and the burden of guilt. It’s free and can be either sampled at random or viewed in its entirety.

Rite
5 Mar, 10am—5pm
Samstag Museum of Art, UniSA City West campus
More info

 

Lina Limosani

Lina Limosani and fellow ex-ADT dancer Daniel Jaber recently joined forces to launch Projekt Moxie, an initiative that aims to connect recent graduates with professional dance artists in Adelaide and will present its inaugural season at the Odeon during Fringe. Declivity is a double bill of two contrasting new dance works (one choreographed by Lina and the other by Daniel) inspired by the life of writer Edgar Allan Poe. It will be performed by emerging dance artists Gem Ivens, Jean Bennett, Amelia Watson and Jess Minas. Expect a “sophisticated, intense, and emotionally charged experience”.

Declivity
15—20 Mar
Odeon Theatre, Norwood
More info

 

Erin Fowler

EGG – a solo show “questioning all things motherhood, fertility and choices” – was first presented by movement artist Erin Fowler during last year’s Adelaide Fringe. It then went on to be streamed through Black Box Live’s digital seasons at the Fringe festivals in Edinburgh and Hollywood – winning the award for Best Dance and Physical Theatre at the latter. For the 2022 Adelaide Fringe, Erin has adapted and updated EGG for a return live season at The Breakout at The Mill. You can also watch the original show from the comfort of your own home via Black Box Live.

EGG
17—20 Feb
The Breakout at The Mill

From February 18
On demand at Black Box Live

More info

 

Suzie Keen is editor of  InReview.

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