Reviews

Tutti’s Big Fringe Singalong

Adelaide Fringe. Presented by Tutti Arts Inc. The Fantail (open-air) at Gluttony - Rymill Park. Sun 19 Feb, 2023

At Tutti Arts, learning disabled and neurodiverse artists create visual art, theatre, music, screen and dance, and experiment with art and technology. Tutti’s mission is to empower artists, by producing and presenting great shows, supporting Disability Led collectives, and supporting their careers. They are presenting three Fringe shows: You Ready for This?

SunSLAY Drag Cabaret

Eclipse Productions. Adelaide Fringe. Osmond Terrace Function Centre, Norwood. February 19 – March 12, 2023

“We’re all born naked, the rest is drag” - words from RuPaul Andre Charles, one of history’s most famous drag artists and the self-proclaimed “queen of drag”— an art form that has existed since ancient times and has recently rocketed to mainstream popularity.

The Osmond Terrace Function Centre, normally a venue for wedding receptions and Christmas parties, is transformed into a cabaret club complete with a mirror ball and neon sign featuring a lipstick held in a luscious pair of bright red lips.

Dark Side of Parkside

Oily Rag Theatre. Adelaide Fringe, Parkside. 18 February – 16 March, 2023

The third in the series of historical walking tours (following sell-out seasons for Kensington and Bowden), this is a fascinating narrative covering some of the darker and more scandalous stories from the quiet, leafy suburb.

On previous tours, we’ve been guided by a spirit of the past – this time, we have two sisters: Annie (Heather Crawford) and Penny (Shannon Norfolk), both resplendent in green Edwardian dress, who banter across each other to get the best stories out.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Lyrics: Tim Rice. Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber. Tim Lawson in association with Michael Harrison and The Really Useful Group. Director: Laurence Connor. Capitol Theatre, Sydney. Feb 16 to Apr 16, 2023.

What a perfect week to turn the Capitol rainbow! As WorldPride gathers momentum, so does the spectacular Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat which is now taking residence in its Sydney home. The Harbour city is really enjoying some nostalgia this month, with three favourite musicals opening their doors.

Booze and the Bard: The Shakespearean Drinking Game

Adelaide Fringe, The Lost Dice. 18-26 February 2023

The Bard surely enjoyed an ale or two whilst writing his plays, so I’m positive he would have approved of getting drunk whilst performing one. In this case, it’s Twelfth Pint (I see what you did there), though next weekend, it’s Hamlet, Pints of Denmark (why not Gins of Denmark?).

Appraisal

By Tim Marriott – Adelaide Fringe, Kryztoff at the Goodwood Theatre. 16-26 February 2023

Office politics and corporate games are in full force in this one-act play from the award-winning writer, Tim Marriot. The senior manager Jo, played with a devious smile by Nicholas Collett, is going through the annual review process with Emily-Jo Davidson’s head of department Nicky. It’s a two-hander that needs only a straightforward set (desk, laptop, bottle of scotch in the bottom drawer) and two terrific actors to drive the story through its twists, turns and backtracks.

To Kill A Mockingbird

Based on the novel by Harper Lee. Adapted by Christopher Sergel. Wyong Drama Group. Directed by Vivienne McLaren. AD: Debbi Clarke. Red Tree Theatre, Tuggerah. 15 – 25 February, 2023

While WDG has gained a solid reputation for presenting a wide variety of productions in its 70+ years on the Central Coast, they have undoubtedly lead the way in mentoring eager young directors who have the passion to showcase more diverse, contemporary works.

Done to Death, by Jove

By Nic Collett. Adelaide Fringe 2023. Goodwood Theatre. February 17 -26, 2023

This English duo represent the unique opportunity that the Fringe offers to see ‘bite size’ performances by incredibly skilled and talented performers who create what is very loosely described as a murder mystery.

Gavin Robertson comes from a physical theatre background and has a theatre pedigree as an actor, writer, teacher and director and producer. Winner of international and national UK theatre awards for television and stage, he has also turned his hand to crafting youth theatre and directing Bollywood films.

Matador

Bass Fam Creative. Director Bass G Fam. Riverside Theatre Parramatta. 16 -26 Feb, 2023

Bass Fam created Matador to celebrate “a great love”. That he decided to do so through dance – and burlesque and circus – gave him great freedom to explore the physicality of love, as well its complexity, its darkness, volatility and destruction as well as the passion, intensity and nurturing.

CAMP

By Elias Jamieson Brown. Siren Theatre Co and Seymour Centre in association with Sydney WorldPride. 15 February – 4 March, 2023

CAMP is drawn from a book of the same name published last year about the gay and lesbian Campaign Against Moral Persecution. Back in the early 1970’s, it seemed an impossible dream.  The book and now this play remind us, and especially younger queers, that the fight for inclusion and human rights was not all fun and glitter.

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