Reviews

Single Asian Female

By Michelle Law. Director: Claire Christian. La Boite Theatre, Musk Avenue, Kelvin Grove. February 11 - March 4, 2017

Newby Queensland playwright Michelle Law has given us a comedy crackling with authentic Asian flavours as part of the BrisAsia Festival.

Single Asian Femalefollows restaurant-owner Pearl and her two daughters Mei and Zoe as they approach a crossroad in their lives.

The play is only five minutes old when Pauline Hanson’s name is volleyed off the dark walls of La Boite’s Roundhouse Theatre, but Law’s play focuses less on politicking and more on social attitudes around race and gender equality.

Amy Housewine - Back to Crack

Fringe World. Ace’s Cabaret - Downstairs at the Maj, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth. Feb 16-18, 2017

With one of the roughest lead ups to reaching the stage at Fringe World, Amy Housewine - Back to Crack suffered a succession of cancelled venues and date changes before finding a home Downstairs at the Maj, where performer Lisa Adam played to sell-out crowds. To add additional stress, Friday evening’s show was delayed by a fire evacuation. Fortunately Amy took it in her stride,  “Who knew that a bong would set off the alarms?'

Neel Kolhatkar

Adelaide Fringe 2017. Arkaba Hotel. 18th and 19th February, 2017

At only 22, Sydney comedian Neel Kolhatkar has plenty of comic experience. He interacts with the audience with confidence and ease, with hilarious results. Poking fun at our differences without offending can be a fine line, but he does it with ease and likeability. Not afraid to laugh at his own Indian heritage and make comedy gold out of stereotypes, he has the audience in stitches within moments of stepping on the stage.

Radelaide!

Presented by Lucy Gransbury. Adelaide Fringe Festival. The Balcony Room, The Griffins Hotel, Adelaide. 17-24 Feb, 2017.

Being greeted with 'fortune-cookie-style' paper tidbits of hometown wisdom on our seats is just about the perfect way to begin a Cabaret act entitled Radelaide!

Lucy Gransbury is a tightly-wound, beautifully-bejewelled, rapid-fire delight - with quiz question cards that sparkle even brighter than her dazzling dress! At times a lament, but far more often a tribute, to this "heaps good" city of churches, Gransbury's fantastically funny show is accompanied by Josh Belperio on Keyboard (a Kurzweil? Very Kool!)

Inside the Walls

Salt and Poppet Theatre. Adelaide Fringe 2017. Tandanya Theatre. 18, 19th Feb, 3,4,5, 11th March, 2017

After completing a fellowship in children’s literature through the State Library of Victoria, theatre graduate and puppeteer Theresa O’Connor has brought her latest creative efforts to the Adelaide Fringe. A mixture of theatre, puppetry, visual effects and projections, Inside the Walls takes audiences on a spooky adventure certain to prick the imaginations of her predominantly young audience.

Australia Day

By Jonathan Biggins. Heidelberg Theatre Company. Directed by Joan Moriarty. Feb 17 – March 4 2017.

The script is just this side of caricature. Heidelberg Theatre has turned it into a charming exploration of small town relationships and concerns. Each of the characters were clearly developed and the balance between group scenes and the interspersed 2 or 3 handed scenes was cleanly handled. The changes between scenes were louder and longer. There was an effort to cover them with phone messages which provided some excellent laughs.

La Petite Merde

Directed by Brianna Williams. Fringe World. Lazy Susan’s Comedy Den, The Brisbane Hotel, Highgate, WA. Feb 14-17, 2017

La Petite Merde brings performer Brianna Williams back to the place of her emergence as a stand up comedian. This offbeat, quirky show keeps its audience enthralled and finds its many laughs in unexpected places.

Trainspotting

By Irvine Welsh (adapted by Harry Gibson). Andrew Kay and Associates and Adelaide Festival Centre present a Kings Head & In Your Face production. Adelaide Fringe Festival. Station Underground, Hindley Street, Adelaide., Feb 17-Mar 19, 2017; fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne, Mar 22 - Apr 13, 2017; Brisbane Powerhouse, Apr 19 - 22.

Evolving from the printed page to the cinema screen to a live theatrical rave (taking place in the most ideal of Adelaide locations), this is the version of Trainspotting that can truthfully be described as not just in-your-face, but possibly in-your-lap (or even on-your-glasses, as the case may be).

Forget Me Not

By Tom Holloway. The Stirling Players. Stirling Community Theatre (SA). February 17-March 4, 2017

Tom Holloway is an Australian playwright who is very popular with directors at present. With such magnificent contemporary dramas as Forget Me Not, one can understand why. Based on real and shameful occurrences in the past, it is a touching and powerful depiction of how one person’s profoundly traumatic experience can impact a family for generations.

Scorch

By Stacey Gregg. Prime Cut Productions. Adelaide Fringe. Holden Street Theatres. 14th Feb – 19th March, 2017

This is the story of first love as seen through the eyes of a gender curious teen, raising modern conundrums around sexuality.

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