Fringe Wrap: Mon Mar 1

Festival February may be over, but now it's time for mad March. Festival fever is still rife in the city, and we're trying are darndest to bring you up to speed on what's been going down.

Peter Helliar’s Dreamboat Tour
The Spiegeltent, Wed Feb 25

Although lacking in any reference to anything remotely nautical, this performance was an amusing glance at life – Peter Helliar’s life that is, in all its domestic glory. ‘Communication’ was the message as Helliar regaled the crowd with tales of his long-suffering wife and a husband struggling with the difference between a cloth and a tea towel. In between dealing with ‘gifted’ kids and the knowledge he may never escape the household long enough to see Avatar, Helliar also finds time to write his own film script and ensures a healthy plug or two throughout the night. While there were few belly laughs, Helliar was personable and his humour appealing, ensuring the audience left with a grin.
Final Word: Seaworthy.
Rosie van Heerde

Tony Roberts - Shuffle Me Straight
Adelaide Casino, Wed Feb 24

If any of you have been down Rundle Mall recently then chances are that you have seen Tony Roberts before. He has been there for a few months busking and doing his magic/contortionist act. That doesn’t sound like an appealing Fringe show – why pay for something when you can see it for free? Shuffle Me Straight however was well worth seeing, it was in an intimate environment and there was a lot of crowd interaction. And while card tricks and crude jokes aren’t the flashiest things to see, Roberts does it well. I don’t know about you but when I see a magician I spend all my time trying to figure out how he does it: there were some early tricks that seemed simple, but some of the later, more complex tricks are baffling to see. It’s impressive that he can do them so seamlessly.
Final Word: Surprising.
Michael Wickham

Shuffle Me Straight continues at The Loft until Sat Mar 13.

Eddie Ifft – Things I Shouldn’t Have Said
Mercury Cinema, Mon Feb 22

It’s amazing what some appearances on Australian TV will do for a comic’s local standing; Eddie Ifft had a chock-full Mercury Cinema on a Monday night there to see him doing what he does best, saying wrong shit! This show was fantastic - he plays the brash American so well, while saying things his conservative countrymen would cringe at the thought of. Plenty of people say something wrong for the sake of it, but it takes a true comic streak to do so and consistently break up a room spanning a broad spectrum of ages. From inspiring us to “fuck with the Amish” through to teaching the crowd the perils of a seven-second radio delay and letting your dog eat a condom, this is one of this year’s must-see shows.
Final Word: Turtle.
Shane Scott

Things I Shouldn’t Have Said continues at Mercury until Sat Mar 13.

The Boy With Tape On His Face
Theater Bosco, Wed Feb 17

The Boy With Tape On His Face was the Avatar of last year’s Fringe Festival; you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about how brilliant it was. While watching someone with duct tape on their face for an entire hour doesn’t sound like the best way to spend a night out, the show reignites the wild imaginations we all had as children but seem to lose the older we get. If you sit in comedy shows avoiding the performers eyes so that you won’t get picked on then this isn’t the show for you as it relies heavily on audience interaction - and as is stated at the beginning of the show ‘if you do get summoned to the stage do go up there and take part because otherwise you will look like a cock’.
Final Word: Ingenious.
Kate Mickan

The Boy With Tape On His Face continues at Theater Bosco until Sat Mar 13.

Dave Callan
Rhino Room, Thu Feb 18

Looking like the love child of Billy Connolly and Chewbacca, you wouldn’t expect Dave Callan to be much of a ladies’ man but after having done extensive research he now knows more about females than the fairer sex does. In the lead up to his show Dave interviewed 100 women on 100 different topics, from what is the best body shape to what’s the lamest excuse you’ve made not to go out. Sure Dave didn’t really have to do any hard work for this show, he just stood out the front and read some of the more humorous results off a clipboard and projected some results on a screen, but then again, we women are used to doing all the hard work while men take all the credit. To Dave’s credit he did present it in a way that had us laughing at ourselves and each other.
Final Word: Informative.
Kate Mickan

Was It A Cat I Saw? That Nerdy Show About Words
Cushdy, Fri Feb 19

Walking into a show that appeared at last year’s Fringe Festival you get the feeling that you are about to watch something brilliant – why else would the show be back? So maybe my hopes were too high for Luke Whitby and his show Was It A Cat I Saw?. Maybe I just didn’t expect to hear the ‘c bomb’ dropped within the first five minutes of what you expect to be a witty and intellectual show. Whichever it was, looking around the audience, it was clear that they had come expecting a librarian’s delight of words rather than the borderline offensive hour-long performance that they politely sat through. To be fair, comedy is something of a new profession for Ashby and he clearly has a love of words. Once he makes up his mind whether his target audience are scholars or those looking for a cheap laugh, Ashby’s routine will improve in leaps and bounds.
Final Word: Awkward.
Kate Mickan

Was It A Cat I Saw? continues at Cushdy until Sun Mar 14.

The Burlesque Hour… Salon Of Live Ladies
The Spiegeltent, Wed Feb 24

The magnificent surrounds of The Spiegeltent were the perfect setting for The Burlesque Hour. There were some great pieces of work from dancer Kitten KO and high swinging trapeze artist Jess Love, who was bound all over with rubber bands. From lovely ball gowns to thrash metal music booming from the speakers in a frenzied dance, Moira Finucane’s 100 red balloons and spiked red bikini, Yumi Umiumare and her lovely Japanese dance piece, circus siren Azaria Universe and the elegant Maude Davey – so much bizarre action with all intentions to shock and amaze. Some people love it, some didn’t. Some got it, some didn’t. The interval to clean up the spilled milk wiped away all momentum, and although fascinating, missed the mark with much of the audience
Final Word: Perplexing.
Catherine Blanch

Passengers
Palace Nova Cinema, Wed Feb 24

Tom and Melony are both in show business; he’s a writer, she’s an aspiring actress, which at the start of their drive makes for interesting conversation. However, as their journey continues through bumper to bumper traffic it appears that their careers are causing more of a rift between the couple than first thought. Passengers keeps you trapped in the car of a married couple on their way to meet friends for dinner. Director Michael Bond has used simple but creative camera angles that help take you on the same journey as the couple, and make you truly feel like an invisible passenger in their car. Listening to their constant bickering and conversations that seem to endlessly go round in circles, at times it made me want to scream and jump out the car.
Final Word: Trapped.
Sarah Mena

Best Of The Edinburgh Fest
The Gov, Wed Feb 24

This awesome threesome became a foursome on the night. Jason Cook is a slick guy who likens himself to a lesbian skateboarder on coke. He is fast and furious, and a most impressive ad-libber. Metal head Andrew O’Neill is an original, articulate anti-racist, who turns everyday clichés on their head. Welshman Elis James has an unusual storytelling style, at times awkward, yet funny and whimsical. Carey Marx is a cheeky comedian who delivers jokes like a well-oiled machine and enjoys sending up the UK. Monopoly will never ever be the same! Parsnip The Bear rescued Carey when he was too close to the bone. Definitely not for the faint-hearted.
Final Word: Hilarious.
Terry Izatt & Karen Bailey

Best Of The Edinburgh Fest continues at The Gov until Sun Mar 14.

Dos Or Duo
Ring Box, Wed Feb 24

Both Dos and Duo will simply charm their way into your heart. The show features a flying pig, an almost real pirate, some cool vertical rope tricks, general acrobatics and some silly but cute faces and antics, and, for some reason that is beyond all understanding, a ping pong ball. This is an early evening show that you can be comfortable taking kids along to and be sure that you'll go away feeling warm and fuzzy. Now perhaps you can help me: my daughter thought them so cute and I couldn’t say no to her, we've bought them home with us – can anyone help with ‘how to care for two young talented acrobat actors?’.
Final Word: Adorable.
Clayton & Lauren Werner

Slim Limits And Billy Are God’s Cowboys
The Stables, Wed Feb 24

Slim and his sidekick, Billy, model themselves on late night TV evangelists. This act requires feeding off an audience, and they worked really hard to get those ‘praise the Lord’ type mass acclamations from the dozen or so people present. One had to imagine how much better this show would be with a crowd. Slim, Billy and their musical accompanist are beautifully attired as they feel the stench of sin in the room, relate stories of their conversion, and attempt to ‘heal’ the audience. Everyone gets into the moment to collectively heal the most afflicted soul in the room in a great final scene. Get a bunch of friends together, get along, and sign up for the Cowboy Church. You’ll have a ball.
Final Word: Wicked!
Michael Coghlan

Intima – After The Beep
SA Writers’ Centre, Wed Feb 24

If you want a guaranteed good time at this Fringe, you can’t go past Intima’s After The Beep. Examining the relationship break-up of 30-somethings through modern communications such as voicemail and texting, writers Craig Christie and Mark Jones have given the performers charming and witty musical dialogue which they are clearly enjoying as much as their laugh-out-loud audiences. In the very cosy Writers’ Centre, the performer/audience divide is literally within arms length. Faultless singing was well supported by Emma Knights on keyboards. Outstanding performances included Ruth Buttery as an enchanting Samantha and James Reed as the cheeky larrikin Jason. This is a crowd pleaser for lovers of intimate musical theatre and is not to be missed. Beep beep’m beep beep yeah!
Final Word: Hoot!
Carl Cranstone

After The Beep continues at SA Writers’ Centre until Sat Mar 6.

A Norah Jones Tribute
The Promethean, Wed Feb 24

More specifically a tribute to the first Norah Jones album Come Away With Me, this is not a dramatised tribute but an affectionate rendition of that album (plus one track from the second) by a quartet of top class Adelaide jazz musicians: Georgie Aue (voice/piano), Locky Ridge (guitar), John Aue (double bass) and Jamie Jones (drums). A little tentative when speaking to the audience, Georgie lets the music do the talking. There are snippets of information given, but Georgie is most comfortable letting loose on songs such as the Hoagy Carmichael classic The Nearness Of You. A thoroughly enjoyable way to spend an hour. If you’re a fan of the album you’re in for a real treat. If not, this show might just change your mind.
Final word: Recommended.
Adrian Miller

A Norah Jones Tribute continues at The Promethean until Wed Mar 10.

Controlled Falling Project
Ring Box, Wed Feb 24

Three talented acrobats and... a scientist? This is not your usual circus show! The energy, control, precision that the three acrobats demonstrate is nothing short of amazing. They come together in a blur of constant movement: up, down, left, right, inside out and backwards. The name actually says it all: they fall, from up high and down low, fast, slow, and even in reverse. Each plays a unique and cheeky character the audience falls in love with. The degree of difficulty of many stunts is made more obvious with the occasional heartbreaking ‘miss’. The whole family is sure to be captivated by this exciting, action-packed show. Not for the faint-hearted, my eyes were closed a couple of times!
Final Word: Engaging.
Bridie Toomer

Controlled Falling Project continues at Ring Box until Sat Mar 13.

The Woohoo Review
The Spiegeltent, Wed Feb 24

Midnight in the Garden on a Wednesday night and anyone with plans for dancing would have been well served by heading down to The Spiegeltent. On stage a band of six colourful Gypsies playing violin, saxophone, trumpet, guitar, bass and drums kept the music coming at a furious pace. On the floor the chairs had been cleared away and from the first song until the last nearly all of the audience were doing their best to shake down the tent. The only time the dancing stopped was during a brief drum solo. Not a lot of variety in the all-instrumental music – if they played a song a second time no one noticed – but no matter. This show was not about listening intently to the musical arrangements, though there was no doubting the musicianship. It was about energy and abandon.
Final word: Woohoo!
Adrian Miller

Taking The Piss
Worldsend Hotel, Wed Feb 24

Down at the amateur end of stand-up comedy, with mainly student cast and audience, six Adelaide comedians take to the stage with mixed results. Jon Brooks was the best on this night, with a tightly scripted set of political jokes that were fresh and current (the role of the pandas in the upcoming state election…). Angus Hodge hit comic gold when he decided that a girl in the front row needed her mobile phone confiscated. (Memo to the professionals: no need for sexual innuendo or ridicule to interact with the audience!) His observations about Amish being offered as an option for religion on Facebook were also very funny. Overall an entertaining hour and an important part of the Fringe. Not sure everyone will be going on to a career in comedy.
Final word: Mixed-Bag.
Adrian Miller

Taking The Piss continues at Worldsend Hotel until March 12.

Zack Adams: Love Songs For Future Girl
Tuxedo Cat, Wed Feb 24

Thanks to an unfortunately timed case of tonsillitis, Perth musical comedian Zack Adams had to cancel the first half of his scheduled week of shows, making Wednesday’s gig the “preview, opening night and mid-season slump” all in one, in his words. His set was worth the wait, however: armed with his guitar, ginger beard and self-deprecating quick wit, he delivered an hour’s worth of narrative linking original songs and covers with comic twists, the weakest of which still drew a grin, while the strongest brought the house down. Inspired by Zack’s dream girlfriend unexpectedly breaking up with him a year ago, the show is loosely structured around disinterring all his failed relationships, but he navigates the line between comedy and group therapy with aplomb.
Final Word: Endearing
Owen Heitmann

PiP Comic Illusionist: Hypnolarious
Caos Café, Wed Feb 24

Young hypnotist PiP controls the stage like the veteran of two shows daily on a six-month cruise ship stint. His crowd interaction is cheesy, but odds are you’re here for the hypnosis, not the host’s banter. The show begins slowly as willing audience members line up on stage to be put into a hypnotic trance (being hypnotised takes about 20 minutes). At times you wish the host could have pulled down a curtain and said ‘Here’s some we prepared earlier!’. Once the participants are under, the show quickly improves. Starting with some minor sensory suggestions it turns into a full stage show. PiP masterfully plants suggestions and sets subjects into action. At points he juggles multiple people each on strange missions. Their undertakings are amusing, although perhaps hilarious is a stretch. If you have any curiosity about hypnotism - either seeing it or experiencing it – this is the Fringe show for you.
Final Word: Different.
Brad McNaughton

Hypnolarious continues at the Caos Café until Sun Mar 14

Mission Of Flowers
Jah’z Lounge, Wed Feb 24

Leof Kingsford-Smith is a scene-dominating actor who relishes a stage to himself in this well put together monodrama. With a single set and minimal props the story of aviator Bill Lancaster is told - fundamentally truthful but creatively enhanced. With no backdrop and multiple locations, Kingsford-Smith colours in the details through his monologues, doing an exceptional job of stringing scenes together unabated. The main story is of Lancaster’s attempt to survive for days in the Sahara beside his crashed aircraft. While waiting for rescue his thoughts turn to his life – a knotted tale of romance, murder, war and airflight – which he recreates in flashbacks. Lancaster certainly wasn’t a noble hero and Kingsford-Smith does the perfect job of portraying his flaws while still keeping you on-side. His recreation of 1930s speech and traits is also superb. Mission Of Flowers is a gripping, curiosity-piquing surprise.
Final Word: Keen.
Brad McNaughton

Mission Of Flowers continues at the Jah’z Lounge until Sat Mar 13.

The Adelaide Sax Pack Does The Eighties, Nineties and Noughties
The Promethean, Thu Feb 25

Ever wonder what a seminal metal riff like Back In Black might sound like played by a sax quartet? Me neither, but the Adelaide Sax Pack are doing it by the decade, kicking things off with the eighties before tackling the nineties and naughties. With each of the foursome costumed to represent various fashion crimes of the era, the show combines comedy, silliness, nostalgia and exceptional musicianship. Saxing-up and rearranging an impressive stream of less-than saxual tunes like Africa, Material Girl andYou’re The Voice, it's worth checking these guys out just to hear Rage Against The Machine/Frosty The Snowman mash-up Killing In The Name Of Frosty. A naughties deviation from the theme of the opening evening, it goes off like an absolute motherfroster. For those about to rock, polka or highland fling, this is a high energy and highly entertaining night out.
Final Word: Yeah!
Troy Foster

The Adelaide Sax Pack continues at The Promethean on Thu Mar 4 (Nineties) and Thu Mar 11 (Noughties).

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