With another week of the Fringe down, we turn to our colleagues at InReview again for their highest-rated reviews to help you plan your weekend Fringe-going.
March 3, 2022
Culture
The best of the Fringe so far
The Best of the Best
The Girl Who Jumped Off the Hollywood Sign
Genre: Theatre
Reviewer: Jo Vabolis
Score: ★★★★★
Dates: On demand, virtual performance
“Everything here is big and impossible to climb.” Evie Edwards, aspiring Hollywood star, scrambles to the top of the sign famous to all who yearn to see their name in lights. She’s preparing to jump.
Remarks
InReview are keeping their well-trained eyes on the Adelaide Fringe all festival long.
Read the best reviews of the first week of Fringe here.
Why you should see the show:
“Hartstone’s talents are diverse and impressive – she sings and dances, as well as acts – and the play is the perfect vehicle for showcasing these skills.”
You Can’t Hide in the Desert
Genre: Theatre
Reviewer: Jo Vabolis
Score: ★★★★★
Dates: On demand, virtual performance
Like a spider quietly weaving a delicate web, writer and performer Tracy Crisp deftly spins connections back and forth between three narratives using an exploration of memory as the anchoring thread.
Why you should see the show:
“The shows that comprise You Can’t Hide in the Desert have all been performed before by Crisp. Now, for the first time, Pearls (2018), The Forgettory (2019) and I Made an Adult (2021) can be viewed as a suite via Black Box Live, recorded for this year’s Adelaide Fringe… The staging is different for each performance but shares a common ambience – vintage suburbia –and simple props set the scene for a deep dive into recollections of family, love, loss and grief.”
Street Beats: The Roaming DJ
Genre: Music
Reviewer: Katherine Tamiko Arguile
Score: ★★★★★
Dates: Until 18 March
Bust some moves and strut your stuff to beats around the streets of the East End with Oscar Reed, his portable mixing desk and an enthusiastic crew of fellow punters for the perfect antidote to the world’s downers.
Why you should see the show:
“Mixing tracks as we go, (DJ Oscar Reed) keeps up a chilled, drily witty patter as we throw shapes and shake our booties in a silent pavement rave. We weave our way past bemused festival punters and pub-goers around the East End and into Rundle Mall, where benches provide the perfect opportunity for some enthusiastic podium dancing.”
The Very Best
Greece Lightning
Genre: Comedy/Physical Theatre
Reviewer: Gianluca I Noble
Score: ★★★★½
Dates: 2—19 March
In this revealing one-man epic, Garry Elizabeth Starr seeks your help saving his homeland from recession by performing each of the Ancient Greek myths in under 60 minutes to boost tourism to Greece.
Why you should see the show:
“It is fascinating to watch (performer Damien) Warren-Smith not just include the audience in his show, but constantly bargain with them in the hope they’ll pardon and indulge his work. In an extended slapstick – joined by two audience members and set to Zorba the Greek’s sirtaki – he satirises exercises familiar to anyone who has ever taken a drama or dance class. Yet somehow, despite tricking and toying with members of the audience, he willingly remains the butt of the joke.”
Chicksal 500
Genre: Comedy
Reviewer: Rachael Mead
Score: ★★★★½
Dates: Until 13 March
Four of Australia’s finest stand-up comedians pack their delight at being out of lockdown and back on stage into an hour of superb fresh material.
Why you should see the show:
“The last couple of years have weighed heavily on live performers, but these comedians have put their COVID-trauma to excellent use. Lockdown culture has proved a rich vein, with all four riffing on different aspects without impinging on each other’s territory.”
Simply the Best
Port Adelaide Ghost Crime Tour
Genre: Events/Walk
Reviewer: Heather Taylor Johnson
Score: ★★★★
Dates: 4—19 March
Who is the perfumed ghost at the old Smokemart across from Porthole Records, and why is the spirit of a Russian sailor only ever spotted on Todd Street between 2am and 3am? Put on your walking shoes to find out.
Why you should see the show:
“As our tour began near the lighthouse, we learned why Port Adelaide was initially called Port Misery: when boats arrived, the finely dressed, suitcase-laden, children-holding passengers had to trudge through the thick river muck to get to land. Laugher from men drinking at the pub was a harsh sign of welcome.”
The Umbilical Brothers: The Distraction: An Encore
Genre: Comedy
Reviewer: Ben Kelly
Score: ★★★★
Dates: Until 6 March
The Umbilical Brothers are back with two green screens and a technological arsenal to perform a re-imagined encore of their madly entertaining “multiverse” show that took out Best Comedy at the 2021 Adelaide Fringe.
Why you should see the show:
“Given everything the highly-imaginative bros have been able to accomplish with nothing but two microphones, a stage and their theatrical dexterity, it’s no surprise that letting them loose with green screens, video cameras and an arsenal of ridiculous props would have hilarious consequences.”
Home Thoughts
Genre: Theatre
Reviewer: Michelle Wakim
Score: ★★★★
Dates: Until 5 March
In a production about Adelaide, put on by Adelaide artists, for Adelaide audiences, we witness a confronting exploration of whether our city is a constraint or a sanctuary.
Remarks
Read our interview with ‘Home Thoughts’ playwright James Watson.
Why you should see the show:
“While Sarah (played by Krystal Cave) and Clara (played by Ren Williams) have contrasting lives, both show how difficult self-discovery is in a city that doesn’t challenge you to grow, but instead presents an accessible pathway into suburban life.”
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