Festival Freak

Tokyo Shock Boys

Tokyo Shock Boys @ Thebarton Theatre

5:00pm, Sun 14 Mar 2004

Score: 7

Short Review: Underwhelming... except for the CO2

Apparently, it's been 10 years since the Tokyo Shock Boys first came to the Fringe. I've never seen them before, so I took advantage of a nice matinee to check them out.

First off - I get pissed off with shows where the performers repeatedly run around greeting the audience. That screams "lack of material" to me. However, once the Boys actually kicked into stunt mode, the laughs came pretty thick and fast. Clips being yanked off, hands being superglued, milk being sucked through the nose and squirted out through the eyes, scrotal weight-lifting, freezing hands and faces with dry ice, and more carbon dioxide stunts than you could poke a stick at - it was all good, but not what I would consider shocking - or maybe I'm just getting a little blasé about all these freakshow acts. The lack of shock-factor made the show a little underwhelming to me :}

But, to be honest, I'm a bit disturbed by the number of parents who thought it'd be a good idea to take their kids along to a show like this... I mean, does a child under 10 years of age need to see a man's scrotum in a tug-of-war with a motorbike? Still, as a self-contained show, it offers some nice thrills - but given that you could see two Umbrella Revolution shows for less than the cost of this, you'd have to weigh up your options carefully.

Posted by pete at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Circus Monoxide

Circus Monoxide @ The Garden of Unearthly Delights

2:00pm, Sun 14 Mar 2004

Score: 3

Short Review: Why bother?

Apart from a low-brow high-wire act, some creative juggling moves, and a bus with some inventive fold-out panels, Circus Monoxide had little new to offer over any of the other circus acts of this year's Fringe.

And when an hour-long show starts 5 minutes late, finishes 15 minutes early, and has no seating (just a patch of well-worn grass), that's about the nicest thing I can say.

Posted by pete at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Caretaker

Brink Productions @ Odeon Theatre

2:00pm, Sat 13 Mar 2004

Score: 7

Short Review: Solid effort

Brink Productions, responsible for ff2002's Killer Joe and ff2000's The Ecstatic Bible (with The Wrestling School), present this play by Harold Pinter. It's a thoughtful, plodding piece, with interesting - but not really likeable - characters.

Two brothers - one, the weak and wistful owner of the building in question, the other a noble but emotionally crippled caretaker of said building - are thrown into an uneasy conflict when a whiny, ungrateful itinerant bum is shown compassion... and opportunity. As each man strives for their own short-term goals, their weaknesses are exposed, and an unhealthy mistrust develops.

The opening of the piece - quiet, introspective, mesmerising - was quite beautifully done, and the articulate set proceeded to be stripped away over the duration of the play, as the characters themselves were laid bare. The lighting was gorgeously subtle, with lovely transitions. Acting - as always with Brink - was considered and well-weighted... in all, a solid piece of entertainment.

Posted by pete at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Comedy Gala

Guy Masterson/Theatre Tours International @ Scott Theatre

11:00pm, Fri 12 Mar 2004

Score: 8

Short Review: Improv fun

This Gala evening featured four of the actors from 12 Angry Men - Steve Frost (Juror 03 & MC for the evening), Andy Smart (Juror 11), Dave Johns (Juror 06) and Ian Coppinger (Juror 02). All four presented some stand-up comedy - which, at worst, was still amusing - but the real fun started when they performed some improvisational theatre using audience suggestions.

A lazy half-dozen improv games were used, all of them bloody funny... I mean, where else do you hear phrases akin to "gurgling like Camilla's vagina"? Still, this was improv, so anything could have happened - it just so happened that these four guys made it happen in a most amusing manner on the night.

Posted by pete at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pandora 88

fabrik Company @ AIT Arts (Main Theatre)

6:30pm, Fri 12 Mar 2004

Score: 6

Short Review: Great idea, but dull

A wonderful feeling of claustrophobia is generated with the sound of heavy breathing in the pitch dark at the start of Pandora 88; then the two East German dancers that comprise fabrik appear. Their accents as they toy with the concept of hide and seek over an ominous music score almost creates a sinister effect.

And then they're trapped within the real star of the show, The Box. Initially using a plane of light at the front of the box for some very unique effects, the piece soon turns into an exercise into what can be achieved in such a confined space. The two men play hide and seek within the box, suspend themselves and each other horizontally, create the convincing effect of looking down on them from above, and use the depth of The Box to create some interesting effects.

The two performers are obviously talented - and strong - and the lighting within the box is great, creating all manner of different moods. But, in the end, I just found this piece to be dull. Lots of other people loved it, though, so take your chances.

(Oh, and it loses big marks for repeatedly using a ringing noise at the exact frequency that freaks my tinnitus out. Grrrrrr)

Posted by pete at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Plug Into Serotonin

Neo @ Weimar Room

11:00pm, Thu 11 Mar 2004

Score: 9

Short Review: Funkalicious!

NT band Neo presented a fun bit of cabaret and music at the Weimar room. The theatrical component was a bit naff, but earnest and honestly performed; but it's when the band start pounding out the tunes that this show really takes off.

Tight funk, with a bit of rock thrown in. And when I say "tight", I mean it - these guys know their stuff backwards, and they have a lot of fun doing it. The occasional use of harmonica or flute adds interest, but in general there's plenty of bass, wah-wah and chuggy guitar backing to keep this band moving along with their bright, punchy, and grooving songs.

They really deserve huge crowds during their short stay. Neo's remaining appearances are:

• 13 Mar, 10pm: Crown & Sceptre (gig only - no theatrical stuff)
• 14 Mar, 8pm: The full Plug Into Serotonin musical experience at the Weimar Room

Posted by pete at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Downward Dog

Typically Red Productions @ Rumours

7:30pm, Thu 11 Mar 2004

Score: 6

Short Review: Yoga-filled chick fli-... erm, play

It's an hour long. It's three women talking about yoga. It uses a yoga class as a central theme for the trials and tribulations of their lives. The cast are fine (they all sing really well), there's a twee plot, there's cheesey songs, there's jokes about yogarobics, masturbation, and fanny farts.

And that's Downward Dog in a nutshell. It's entertaining, it's funny, it's probably worth $15 - it's just not compelling.

Posted by pete at 02:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Baudrillard Brothers

The International Men Of Leisure @ Exeter Hotel

6:00pm, Thu 11 Mar 2004

Score: 8

Short Review: Curiouser and curiouser...

Taking their name from French social theorist (and author of "The Gulf War Did Not Take Place") Jean Baudrillard, the Baudrillard Brothers pose the question: how do we really know whether their comedy has made us laugh? Running weeknightly at the Exeter for the last two weeks of the Fringe, they present a different theme and content every night.

Today was Tangential Thursday: themes were introduced, discussed briefly, then used as a tangential basis for the next topic of conversation. This worked bloody well, leading to a rapid-fire display of wit - but also meant that flat spots were all the more obvious. However, the boys were quick enough to go off on another tangent quickly when needed.

Really, I'm a bit pissed that I only discovered this show now, and that my schedule precluded just the one Baudrillard Brothers experience. Despite their overt geekiness (Simpsons and Matrix references, too much Moebius), at least they didn't mention Star Trek ;)

Bloody good laughs all 'round - even if they did rubbish Hudson Hawk.

(I've just spent a few minutes scooting over the Brothers' show plans on their website. Now I'm really pissed off I didn't see any other shows).

Posted by pete at 02:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ross Noble - Unrealtime

Ross Noble @ Scott Theatre

11:00pm, Wed 10 Mar 2004

Score: 8

Short Review: Manically funny... but...

Having seen Ross Noble at ff2002 (I could've sworn it was in Nova 1), I figured his surreal, rambling, improvised comedy would go down a treat this Fringe too. And, again, his intro is quite bizarre: a short cartoon by the Information Slug. Erm... yeah.

And then Noble bounds onstage, rapidly launches into banter involving Yetis and lecturns, then proceeds to try and disassemble the Scott Theatre in order to create a makeshift lecturn. He discovers a remnant from either Back To The Future or Short Circuit, expertly milks the laughs, then finds his audience mark for the night.

An occupational therapy student. Noble invents the OT Interpretive Dance (which makes several encores throughout the night), links in Ghost and huge pottery, goes shopping with his wife, scoots across via monkey-love to Stephen Hawking, throws in the time-honoured Aussies-swear-lots material, and then he's gone.

It's like watching a comedy whirlwind with long black hair. Ideas flit through his head quicker than you can say "hey, that'd be funny"; some are common threads for the evening (pig killing, that's another one), some pass by as quickly as they were conceived. It's fair to say that Noble is an improvisational genius.

...and yet, I don't think the bigger stage at the Scott Theatre suits him. It seems less intimate, less immediate - more like an impersonal performance than an interaction, you know what I mean? Still, if you've got tickets to one of his remaining sold-out shows, you won't be disappointed.

Posted by pete at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Can't Stand Up for Falling Down

Aquarius Productions @ Uni Cinema

5:30pm, Wed 10 Mar 2004

Score: 7

Short Review: Lacking consistent power

Can't Stand Up for Falling Down tells the story of three women in a small town. Essentially three solo pieces (the characters don't meet until the final few minutes of the play), the characters of Jodie, Lynette and Ruby share the stage, the "inactive" characters mute whilst the active character addresses the audience. The only commonality between the women: the brutal, misogynistic, overbearing bully, Royce. Murderer, husband, lover to the women, his actions eventually draw the three together.

The first act sees 10-year-old Jodie witnessing her boyfriend die due to Royce's bullying. Four years her senior, Lynette recounts how her father was responsible for a similar act. 18-year-old Ruby is pregnant with Royce's child. Act two, set eight years later, sees situations change: Lynette has stumbled into marriage with Royce, Ruby has a string of broken relationships and a 7-year-old child, and Jodie has blocked the death of her boyfriend from her mind. Slowly, through Lynette, Royce's brutality becomes more apparent - and the play tumbles towards a somewhat predictable climax.

Jodie is played with a sheer youthful exuberance, and the frail Lynette is played to perfection. But the show didn't gel into something decent for me until the final fade-out - the furtive, scared glances between the three women speaks greater volumes than the previous hour.

Posted by pete at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Daniel Kitson

Daniel Kitson @ Nova 2

9:45pm, Tue 9 Mar 2004

Score: 9

Short Review: A kindred spirit

Kitson comes onstage with no fanfare. Whatsoever. The crowd hasn't been worked into a frenzy, so the opening is a bit flat. With delusions of melancholy, he improvises himself into a corner - behind the side screens, anyway. And then he reappears, utters the immortal words "this room's shit, and you're a bunch of cunts" - and he means it. And he's won a friend for life in me.

Let it not be said that Kitson doesn't have a dislike of popular society. His aim of whittling down his audience to a core group of twelve would be a lot easier, however, if he weren't so bloody funny. Recounting a tale of his worst-ever radio interview, he described his comedy as "a fat dog raping a cake" - and he's right. Picture that, and you've got Daniel Kitson.

Hell, anyone who takes the piss out of The Advertiser's reviews is fine by me. Kitson's abrasive take on modern life is something that's been sorely missed since the sad loss of Bill Hicks; a style that many comedians have tried to emulate, but failed to succeed. Kitson makes this style his own, and does it bloody well.

"Clumsy, but valid": oh yes. "All filler, and not an ounce of killer"? I think not.

Posted by pete at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Craig Egan's Summer of Rock Tour

Craig Egan @ Rhino Room

6:00pm, Tue 9 Mar 2004

Score: 5

Short Review: AOR

Craig Egan's show is named after the month he spent indulging in three Big Day Outs, two Pearl Jam concerts, as well as seeing his idol Dave Grohl with the Foo Fighters. 6 gigs in a month, eh? Lightweight ;)

Egan started well, given the audience of 13; he managed to get 100% audience participation in the "let's ROCK!" chant at the top of the show, and the what-makes-a-rock-star slide show was well prepped. There were a few dead spots later on, however, when he could have benefited from having a larger quantity of material to draw from. Egan did make one very valid point, however - great rock heroes (and great rock moments) are everywhere.

His theories on Quentin were ace, however, as was his admission of his love for the aforementioned Mr Grohl. And the story about the heckler he gave the mike to - for 75 minutes - was a good closer. But would you take lessons in rock from a man whose biggest rock moment is the only time he crowd-surfed?

Posted by pete at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pluck

Pluck @ Holden Street Theatres

9:30pm, Sun 7 Mar 2004

Score: 10

Short Review: Pure genius. Really.

Sweet mother of goat, what a fabulous show. Words cannot do it justice, but if I were forced to select a collection of words, they'd include witty, inventive, expressive, brilliant, and fun. Twice each.

A collection of classically trained musicians, Pluck - Adrian Garrat on violin, Jon Regan on viola, and the smokily beautiful Sian Kadifachi on cello - perform what can only be described as a musical-theatrical-comedy show that delivers on all counts. The music - apart from that when Garrat played a "dead" violin - was superb; the comedy wickedly funny; and the trio's acting was simply sublime - the eyes were everything.

So much good stuff - the violin funeral (was that Monica?). The romancing duel. Adrian's collection of music artifacts. The audience participation (brilliantly managed by Regan). The constant upstaging of each other. The eyes... the eyes!

Look, I could rant on and on and on and on about how wonderful, how mirthalicious, how sweet Pluck were. And I should, because they deserve it. But, as I said before, my hacky words cannot possibly do them justice - so I'll cop-out by saying this is simply a must-see show.

Posted by pete at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...but I won't do that!

Swamp Fairy @ East End Exchange (The Swamp)

7:00pm, Sun 7 Mar 2004

Score: 4

Short Review: Nice idea, but...

A cabaret show based on the output of rock-song-opera king Jim Steinman sounded like a great idea when I was reading the Fringe Guide. And, scanning the programme when I arrived at The Swamp, it looked like it would be a cracking show: "I'll do anything for love...", "Holding out for a hero", "Paradise by the dashboard light", "Total eclipse of the heart", and "Bat out of hell" were all there (13 tracks all up, including 2 spoken word tracks).

Simple premise, really - in a biker-goth fantasy world, Johnny woos Jenny before being killed by Jimbo. A bit of lamenting in heaven/hell and earth, then Jenny lops herself and the lovebirds are re-united. All set to Steinman lyrics. So, does it work?

Erm... nup. The music (bass, keyboards & pre-records) was a little thin and, though Darren Mullan did a great Meatloaf impersonation and Jamie Jewell's Jimbo was great, Oriana Forte managed to completely thrash her vocals - dunno whether that was the mixing or the room, though. The plot... well, it's cabaret, so let's play fair and not say anything nasty.

A final point - The Swamp is a long, thin venue. Great for a pub, crap for viewing shows. 'Nuff said.

Posted by pete at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Trio Relikt

VIP-Concert @ Scott Theatre

5:00pm, Sun 7 Mar 2004

Score: 7

Short Review: Hilarious! ...for all the wrong reasons ;)

I have no idea what attracted me to this musical show featuring three Russian vocalists, but I'm so glad I was present at this performance. Accompanied by the same gruff translator that Valeri and Gleb used, Trio Relikt wandered through some nice traditional Russian songs that had the predominantly (probably 90% - you could tell by the amount of laughter during the "humourous" songs) Russian-speaking audience clapping wildly.

The Trio's own onstage fun factor seemed inversely proportional to their guitar proficiency - the only member of the Trio who didn't strum strings had a great time, wandering all over the stage and flirting with the audience like a shy schoolboy.

Now, I'm no stranger to not knowing what the hell is being sung - I grew up listening to Dad's German beer drinking songs every Sunday morning, and have recently developed a passion for J-Pop. But the use of the translator, who sprung into action after the Trio introduced songs, was inspired... but for all the wrong reasons...

In between songs, someone from the audience walked up to the stage and handed a request on a piece of paper to one of the Relikts. He, in turned, looked at the request, chuckled to himself, then rambled off about a minute of Russian to the audience, who laughed appreciably. A pause; the Trio looked offstage to the translator, who then uttered the immortal words in his own thick accent: "I don't understand what he said."

The non-Russian-speakers in the audience, myself included, pissed themselves laughing. Much applause, too. Applause and laughter and idiotic grins. Thereafter, Trio Relikt had much fun at the translators expense - dragging him onstage for bows, getting him to translate long strings of text to "many Russian words" and "two popular songs without comment". So funny... so funny.

As for the music? Well, they're not as tight as Tripod, let me tell you. But they did a wacky accented cover of "Yesterday", and an uptempo "Besame Mucho". And a bunch of Russian songs.

But, truth be told, I won't be remembering any music from this show. Take a bow, Mr Translator :)

Posted by pete at 09:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tripod

Tripod @ Union Hall

11:00pm, Sat 6 Mar 2004

Score: 8

Short Review: Cabaret - the best way to see Tripod

After the appalling Tosswinkle episode that Tripod brought to Adelaide for ff2002, I vowed to never again subject myself to one of their "themed" shows. However, the prospect of "old-style" Tripod in cabaret-mode was too tempting to pass up.

And the boys were in fine form - using the crowd as guinea pigs for testing out new songs, constantly making fun on Gatesy's lack of a sex-life, and just generally doing what they do best - being funny. Most of the new songs were great, two that still stick in my mind being the anti-shorts song, and the photo-developing ditty.

The undeniable highlight, however, was their cover of Radiohead's "Paranoid Android". This piece demonstrated just what good performers the boys are; the harmonies, the timing, the humour were all top-notch.

I can now forgive them for ff2002.

Posted by pete at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Uber Alice - the elaborate adventures of a New Zealand manicurist...

EpicWorlds @ North-South Dining Room

9:15pm, Sat 6 Mar 2004

Score: 7

Short Review: Ridiculously fun

A one-man show presented by Jonno Katz, Uber Alice describes the rise of New Zealand's greatest deity, Alice Winkins, a manicurist fated to rule the universe. Erm... yes. And the joyous thing? That's about the least absurd aspect of the show.

With a biblical-like opening, we are introduced to God and the premise for the play. Then Jonno appears, accompanied by a hideously amusing Kiwi accent, and proceeds to tell the story of Alice. Her escape from her mum, like much of the rest of the show, was brilliantly played out, as Katz swaps simply between the two characters in a brilliantly funny bit of theatre. Likewise, the audience-assisted sex-scene is cunningly done - after which Jonno re-appears clad in a dressing gown, accompanied by a bag of cookies he shares with the audience in a hospitable interval.

At one stage, after Katz had sneezed unexpectedly, he told the audience (through his thick accent) "That wasn't in the script, that bit." My response was one of disbelief: "There's a SCRIPT?!" Actually, that's a little unfair. This was a unique bit of comedy - original in both content and presentation, the laughs often came from the ridiculous nature of Jonno's ramblings - the flashback to a tale of "heartbreak, treachery and abuse" was pants-wettingly good.

Not bad, not bad at all.

Posted by pete at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I Spied - True Confessions Of An Ex-ASIO Spy

David Callan @ Uni Cinema

7:10pm, Sat 6 Mar 2004

Score: 9

Short Review: Classified!

David Callan used to work in ASIO - and this show was designed to give the audience the inside story of what happens inside the Organisation. He takes us through training, his many jobs over the years, all the way up until the time he left, all the while providing humorous and sobering snippets in equal measures.

His stories about the anti-terrorist training excercise he was a volunteer victim for was stunning, his running gags - "what's your mother's maiden name?" - well timed, and the bomb disposal squad incident was... well, just piss funny. All the while, his delivery was excellent - and the script has obviously been lovingly cared for, such is the wonderful pacing of the show.

Yep, the raves are well deserved - a wonderful bit of enlightened comedy.

Posted by pete at 03:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I Was Here

Your Mama Productions @ Weimar Room

6:00pm, Sat 6 Mar 2004

Score: 8

Short Review: Intriguing...

I Was Here is essentially just an arrangement of comments made on the doors and walls of women's toilets around the globe. This may sound like a piss-poor premise for a bit of theatre, but it actually came across rather well.

Using three actors to repeat the same text over and over, with different delivery each time, was really quite an intriguing idea. There's only a total of about 5 minutes of dialogue in the whole piece, but each iteration makes it sound fresh. The only exception was the statement "I made Ian kill himself. I am so sorry"; this was always poignant, as were the supportive followup statements.

All the while, the three girls roamed the black stage with paint pens, spreading graffiti as they went. And the statements used were rarely crude (as is the case of 98% of graffiti in male toilets), but often inquisitive, informative ("grammar's not just a party trick"), or supportive. A real eye-opening thinker of a show; masterfully done.

Posted by pete at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Spaghetti Circus @ Tiny Top

2:00pm, Sat 6 Mar 2004

This was my first visit to the Tiny Top, for a snippet of the Spaghetti Circus' act. Was it worth it?

Oh yes. The Amazing Rubber Girls bend in a most... unnatural way. And the old bearded lady? Um... yeah. Words cannot... thingy.

$5 for 10 minutes? Yes please.

Posted by pete at 02:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Throw Down

Throw Down @ The Umbrella Revolution

1:00pm, Sat 6 Mar 2004

Score: 8

Short Review: Stunts with attitude!

Victorian circus troupe Throw Down should be applauded for bringing this act to town. In doing do, they have filled a gap that has been noticeable from ff2002's circus program - the trapeze and suspended acts have been (sadly) notable by their absence thus far. Not any more; Throw Down's trapeze act was quite the breath-taker, and their suspended acts were as imaginative as they were powerful.

But that's getting ahead of ourselves a little. The opening act, involving some deft handling of glass balls highlighted by torchlight, would look even more spectacular in a pitch-dark tent, but didn't detract from the level of control exhibited. Acts of strength, balance and control are at the forefront of Throw Down's performance - the less svelte of the troupe's women showed astounding poise in her chair-balancing act.

After the initially sombre and aloof attitude of the opening acts, their was a little comic relief as the sound guy took to the stage for more balancing tricks. A mysterious legged bag also inexplicably scuttled across the stage occasionally, lightening the mood.

Some (handcuffed) juggling, the trapeze work, some spectacular hula-hooping, and the troupe performing all manner of leaps and bounds whilst skipping rope(!) rounded out this tasty show. Well recommended.

Posted by pete at 02:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Half-Arsed Expectations

Half-Arsed Productions @ Promethean Theatre

9:30pm, Fri 5 Mar 2004

Score: 4

Short Review: Underdeveloped

It sounds like a great idea - combine the backstage and onstage banter at a comedy club into one piece, showing the audience what goes on behind the curtain. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work as well as one would have hoped.

Joey D has "accidentally" got himself engaged, and the ball-and-chain-to-be has him on a tight leash. He's contemplating giving up comedy, much to the chagrin of his cohorts. Between scenes backstage, where Joey and the team contemplate their profession, we have four stand-up routines from the troupe. And, honestly, only Joey D and Pepe (with a great redneck routine) provided any real laughs here - although it was probably played that way.

The whole show had an unfinished, underdeveloped feel to it; the character of Stella, in particular, was used both minimally and poorly. Still, there was the odd laugh or two to be had here (especially the bitches about other Fringe comedians)... but hardly essential viewing.

To be fair, though, the artist description on the Fringe site is bloody funny :)

Posted by pete at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Songs for the Deaf

Fresh Track Productions @ North-South Dining Room

7:15pm, Fri 5 Mar 2004

Score: 7

Short Review: Disturbingly entertaining

Songs for the Deaf comprises three short plays by Caleb Lewis. Essentially, each play is a tragedy, but each is also spiced with humour.

Bunny opens with the absurd image of actors in bunny and bear suits. Both Romy Loor and Andrew Brackman display suitably numbed characters, revealing more about their lives than they'd probably care to. This was a nice, solid piece.

The Half Windsor is a cracker. Dealing with prejudices and perception, Caleb Lewis shows that he can act (as a feisty bum) as well as write. The final piece, Rocket Baby, features Roberta Tyrrell playing a corrupted 10-year-old schoolgirl. Gutsy acting, but an incoherent and unbelievable script.

In short, this was a solid and entertaining bit of theatre. It was freaky how easy it was to identify with the characters portrayed, and there's certainly some stuff in there to think about. This is, by far, the better of Fresh Track's productions this Fringe.

Posted by pete at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Making of Snow

Snow Machine @ Weimar Room

6:00pm, Fri 5 Mar 2004

Score: 6

Short Review: Pretty, but...

Snow Machine are a three-piece band from Sydney. Relying heavily on electronic backing, but with live keys/guitar/vox over the top, they generally seemed to produce a lush instrumentation with little-girl-lost vocals dripped over the top. This isn't unpleasant, but not earth-shattering, either.

The lead singer's voice is quite attractive, really, and when you get a simple beat/guitar backing (such as the second track of the evening), the result doesn't sound unlike Garbage. But Snow Machine sound their best when they're harmonising, and putting some depth into the vocals. The songs were also accompanied by some projected visuals, but they were somewhat lost on me, as I spent most of the show watching the singer's nipples (highlighted as they were by the lighting and her white top). Truth in reporting.

I bolted at the end of the set - had to run to catch the next show - and I suspect that I missed an encore. Oh well. My scorecard shows 7 ticks from 13 songs, so I guess that puts this gig a little above average.

Incidentally, this show marked the first time this Fringe that I've seen an artist use a laptop other than a Mac. Them wacky creative types, eh?

Posted by pete at 12:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Espress Yourself! A Comedy About... Coffee

Final Draught @ Weimar Room

4:00pm, Fri 5 Mar 2004

Score: 6

Short Review: Undergraduate

Melbourne theatre group Final Draught present this rather simplistic play, intertwining stories of love, greed, and life in general around coffee. The only really interesting thread of the story involved deadshits Pete and Joe in their get-rich-quick schemes.

The humour is very undergraduate, but that didn't perturb the crowd of mostly schoolkids. There are, however, some very funny soliloquies that various characters occasionally launch into - Cat's Joe Scully rant was one such mirthful encounter, as was the corporatisation bluster. The odd Star Wars reference, and the "real gun" discussion, round out the highlights.

There was soooooo much about this show that I wanted to hate - the overacting, the wooden acting, the non-acting, the tacky dialog, the bad double entendres, the crap sight gags, the shitty stage management - but Espress Yourself! stumbles to a climax that is so ridiculously stupid, I found myself grinning like a loon. I dunno whether that's much of a recommendation, but there you go.

Posted by pete at 12:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dark Paths

Budgie Lung Theatre Company @ Fowler's Live

12:00pm, Fri 5 Mar 2004

Score: 8

Short Review: Abrasive... in a good way

After being impressed by Budgie Lung's ff2002 performance, Swallow This!, I thought I'd give this a go too. A collection of three stories, this was confronting stuff.

The first piece, Nil, saw Rachel Paterson play Karen, the "other woman" in an affair. Carrying both a shattered heart and a shattered mind, she turned in a performance very much like Glenn Close's Fatal Attraction - but without the bunny-killing. Equal parts love, hate, joy, sadness, superiority, venom, Karen convincingly flipped between her bi-polar states on her way to total annihilation. An impressive start.

Then Cat (Michael Finney) appears for a raw, explosive and profane burst. Whilst I approve heartily of his mandate of cat-hate, his abrasive monologue - addressing the perpetrator of a heinous act - is unrelenting in its aggressive derision of the recipient, homogeneity, and cats.

The final act, Buried, is a belter, with Nick (Finney) helping Candy (Paterson) bury her child. A portrayal of manipulation and weakness ("You know your problem? You're weak and pissy"), this act gathered steam to a wonderfully climactic finish.

Heather Frahn provided (frankly) sensational music throughout all three performances - creating a sinister backdrop, uneasy tension, or impact effects as required. Her singing voice was also striking, whilst providing a distraction between the second and third acts. As with Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Casey Van Sebille's set design was both functional and elegant - and the lighting was superb throughout, casting ominous shadows upon the back wall at Fowler's at emotionally appropriate moments.

Briefly - well worth seeing. Another success story for Budgie Lung, and long may they continue.

Posted by pete at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ed Byrne

Ed Byrne @ The Arts Theatre

10:30pm, Thu 4 Mar 2004

Score: 9

Short Review: Bloody funny scrawny bugger :)

Oh yes, thoroughly good stand-up.

Ed Byrne has a fabulous style, a not-unintelligible accent, is really quick on his feet, and tells some bloody great jokes.

What more do you want? He jokes about travelling, Australian-isms, and sex. And he's really funny.

I don't really know what else to write. Ed Byrne is bloody good VFM.

Posted by pete at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Suburban Motel - Criminal Genius

Bakehouse Theatre Company @ Bakehouse Theatre

8:30pm, Thu 4 Mar 2004

Score: 5

Short Review: Flat

Criminal Genius is the second of the two Suburban Motel plays by George Walker that Bakehouse is presenting this Fringe. Sadly, this paled somewhat next to Problem Child to me because of the less polished performances.

Rolly and Stevie are a bottom-of-the-barrel father-and-son team of petty criminals who "don't do violence". When they botch a job requested of them by their boss Shirley, committing a kidnap instead of arson, a twisted tale of multiple revenges ensues.

In general, the acting in this play was only adequate - Roger Newcombe's Rolly was earnest, and once again Patrick Frost stole the show as he reprised Phillie. Anna Linarello appeared to be tripping all over her lines, and Emily Hunt was less convincing in her role as the rebelling Amanda than in Problem Child. On the whole, a flat and slightly disappointing piece of theatre.

Posted by pete at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Suburban Motel - Problem Child

Bakehouse Theatre Company @ Bakehouse Theatre

7:00pm, Thu 4 Mar 2004

Score: 6

Short Review: Disturbingly familiar...

Problem Child is the first of the two Suburban Motel plays by George Walker that Bakehouse is presenting this Fringe. And, for me, it's the better of the two, due to the almost farcical script and solid character portrayals.

Denise and RJ are trapped in a small-town motel room - Denise yearns for her child (kept from her care by social worker Helen), and RJ is addicted to daytime talk-shows. Phillie, the motel manager, provides comic relief.

The performances were solid all round - Emily Hunt was great as a manic mother, and Nathaniel Davison played RJ with a small-town familiarity that I could identify with. The standout, though, was Patrick Frost's Phillie - a well-weighted and funny delivery. This solid piece of theatre can hardly be considered essential Fringe viewing, but doesn't detract from Bakehouse's growing reputation.

Posted by pete at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Dog's Breakfast starring Joanne Brookfield

Joanne Brookfield @ Margaret Murray Room

6:45pm, Wed 3 Mar 2004

Score: 6

Short Review: Disappointing... but the potential is there

After having a lovely chat with Joanne (about life, the universe, and fringing) out on the Barr Smith lawns by FringeTIX, I decided to catch her show. And whilst she's a lovely person in real life, "A Dog's Breakfast" isn't really her best side.

Initial impressions were good - as the audience rolled in, Brookfield lay on the stage floor, constantly cracking jokes about "stand-up" comedy. Unfortunately, when she did stand up, the laughs were a little thinner on the ground. It's not that she can't be funny - her delivery is great, and let's face it, she's as cute as a bug's ear (even with the knickers her gran bought her) - but it's the material that lets her down. I mean, when throwaway dead-spot lines like "I might as well just slap Pal on my vag" fail to get a decent audience response, you might have to tweak the show a bit.

To be fair, there was some good stuff though - her avid Googling raised a few good chuckles, and the image of Joanne accosting "serious" Festival-goers gave me warm tinglies. And it's always great to see some creative swearing from a cutie. But, at the end of the day, there's better comedy around at the moment.

Posted by pete at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Morphia Series

Helen Herbertson & Ben Cobham @ Secret Location(!)

6:30pm, Tue 2 Mar 2004

Score: 8

Short Review: Exquisitely subtle

The description in the Fringe Guide was sooooooooo attractive: "You are taken to a secret location, eat and drink a small exotic treat, enter pitch black, silence, as light grows you see a figure moving in the distance." How could I not attend this event?

After jumping in a mini-bus (driven by lighting designer extraordinaire Ben Cobham), we were taken well outside the CBD to a shed in suburbia. Inside, after letting our eyes adjust to the absolute, inky blackness, we were guided to a small seating area. A bite-sized piece of polenta & mango, a snifter of Brooks Brothers muscat, and the actual performance began.

As with Herbertson & Cobham's production in ff2002, Delirium, the lighting is really the star of the show. Every aspect of the performance (both lighting and movement) was exquisitely paced, with an utterly unique mood being generated over the three acts of the piece. And a real surprise in store for the ending, too :)

Back out of the darkness for the mini-bus ride home, and the experience is complete. No aspect of this event was "sharp" - but everything about it was carefully calculated, allowing to subtleties of each element to collect into a single, wonderful experience. I'm so glad I took a chance on this one :)

Posted by pete at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Canned Hamlet

Sound & Fury @ Little Theatre

10:20pm, Mon 1 Mar 2004

Score: 5

Short Review: A ridiculous mess

Three men do a necessarily abridged version of Hamlet within about 40 minutes.

That's about all there is to it, really.

Yes, this is another one of LA-based Sound & Fury's Fakespearean plays, which works hard to get the juvenile and slapstick laughs running thick and fast. There's a fair few amusing bits, and the trio worked well together, but I always felt one step removed from the action - a kind of overwhelming feeling that I wasn't in on the joke.

Which is a shame, really. Sound & Fury are obviously talented - the timing between them is immaculate - but I just wish that power could be used for good, instead of evil.

Posted by pete at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Music of Transparent Means

Music of Transparent Means @ Bakehouse Theatre

8:00pm, Mon 1 Mar 2004

Score: 6

Short Review: Patchy noise-fest

Entering the intimate Bakehouse Theatre, the first thing you notice is the variety of drums, keyboards, saxes, digital gear, and even old tube amps that litter the stage. 20 musicians appear and, all utilising tom-tom drums, watch a single computer screen for cues on timing and rhythm.

Backed by a video projection of various images, Music of Transparent Means is a collection of interesting noise landscapes. The second piece, "Second Presencing", was deep, murky, and sinister, with wonderfully controlled swells of volume. "Emerging Like an Infant From the House of Truth" was another cracker, essentially just groups of notes repeated over and over by the small ensemble of musicians at different frequencies, building to a brilliant crescendo.

Still, sometimes it all went wrong - "Husk" once again tried to attain a phasic swelling of notes, but too often the sax and bowed guitars clashed, creating a discordant mess. And the first piece after the interval, a reworking of John Cage's "Fontana Mix", reminded me of a D&D night - four guys sitting around a table, twiddling their knobs, doing something that may have been exciting for them, but not for us.

But the important thing to recognise is that Music of Transparent Means is not just random noise, but is in fact as ordered (if not more so) than "normal" music. That said, ordered or not, it can still be perceived as crap - "Fontana Mix" proved that point admirably. Still, MoTM should be applauded for presenting such a brave piece of work.

Posted by pete at 07:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Blue Orphan

Catalyst Theatre @ Scott Theatre

5:45pm, Mon 1 Mar 2004

Score: 6

Short Review: Dripping

"The Blue Orphan", a butterfly held in high regard in the storyline, is a very lush piece of musical theatre by Canadian group Catalyst Theatre. Lush. The costumes, the backing music, the songs all have a sweet weight to them - and this only exacerbates the overpowering feeling of melancholy that drowns the show.

First up - I was not expecting this piece to be a musical. That said, even with most of the story told in sing-song rhyme, it didn't really detract from the show - save the effect of over-emotionalising the experience. Some of the characters were wonderful - Harold the paranoid child watching shyly over his love, Jim Tibue the town recluse, the bird-girl, the Robbie Coltrane-esque Sister of the Orphanage. Narrated by young Jonah, fleeing the Orphanage into town, there's not so much a story, more a series of character pieces.

The lighting was superb - the back- (or front-) lighting of curtains onstage to hide or present characters was superb, and the projection of shadows was also used well - witness the bird-girl's attempts to fly! Likewise, the sound was wonderful - as mentioned before, the instrumentation of songs were lush, voices (especially the singing narrator) strong - although the arrival of the storm wasn't great for us tinnitus sufferers.

But in the end, the lack of plot and overly mournful feel of the piece was discouraging. A lovely spectacle in parts, but not a great show.

Posted by pete at 07:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Valeri and Gleb

VIP-Concert @ Scott Theatre

4:00pm, Mon 1 Mar 2004

Score: 7

Short Review: Spandex-a-riffic!

An indecipherable, gruff accent barks out something akin to a welcome message, and Valeri Kaparulin & Gleb Ivanov take to the stage. Theirs is a very physical kind of comedy, mixing mime, classic clownery, and audience tomfoolery.

Opening with some simple mime, they rapidly moved through a imaginative bit of juggling ball-play (!), a rather risque tale involving Adam and Eve, and an excellent audience symphony. Throughout, Valeri's rubbery face contorted in an audience-pleasing manner, whilst Gleb's impossible gangliness sealed in the black spandex the pair wore raised many giggles.

The only problem with this show? The fact that there were just 13 people in the audience. In the vast expanse of the Scott Theatre, this was a tragedy. Valeri and Gleb, like most non-stand-up acts in the Fringe, deserve much better.

Posted by pete at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Crazed

Vitalstatistix @ Eclipse

9:00pm, Sun 29 Feb 2004

Score: 4

Short Review: Couldn't see what the fuss is about...

"A reinvention of the horror/slasher film genre from the perspective of the female victim hero." A bizarre intro. Plenty of projected video. Lots of screams. Plenty of tacky effects. A pumping soundtrack. What more could you want?

Lots, actually. Whilst there was a bit of enjoyment to be had from the "sewing" scenes - especially the Alien pisstake - most of the rest of this piece left me cold. Even the presence of Angelo Badalamenti's tunes (and plenty of them were used) couldn't save this, in my eyes. Or ears.

And yet the rest of the audience loved it. Ah well, I'll just be content to stick with the minority on this one.

Posted by pete at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Plato's Cave : Orpheus

Vic Waclawik @ Cloisters Carpark

8:30pm, Sun 29 Feb 2004

Plato's Cave is a neat little red-and-white-striped tent that sits in the Cloisters Carpark on certain evenings. Starting 8:30pm, short shadow-puppet shows with a pre-recorded soundtrack are performed every half-hour, up to 11:30pm.

The show I managed to catch was Orpheus (and the Underworld). The puppetry was fine, but it was the soundtrack that made it work - Orpheus, rather than emitting harp-like sounds when strumming his harp, tended to belt out Led Zep tunes rather proficiently. Class!

Plato's Cave hosts four different stories; unfortunately, I only ever seem to be available when Orpheus is on, and can't comment on the others. Well worth 10 minutes (and a gold coin or two when the collection goes around after the show).

Posted by pete at 11:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Danny Bhoy

Danny Bhoy @ Nova 2

7:00pm, Sun 29 Feb 2004

Score: 7

Short Review: Ummmm...

OK, it's embarrasing confession time. I'm writing this "review" (snigger) a week after I actually saw the show. Slack, eh? Usually, in between shows, I'll jot out a few sentences that form the basis of my review, used mainly as a memory jogger. I neglected to do so in this case; all I've got are the scribbles in my notebook that read "open madworld / quick on feet / cock jokes / beagle / alligators / snooker ref w tourettes / 7". And you know what?

I remember bugger all about the show.

I remember that he used the Michael Andrews / Gary Jules cover of Tears For Fears' "Mad World" as entry & exit music. I remember that Bhoy looked almost cherubically innocent. I remember it took very little time for him to test the waters with the c-word. I remember that he was pretty sharp. And I remember laughing a fair bit.

But I'll be buggered if I can remember what I laughed at. "Alligators"? "Beagle"? Hmmmm.

Still, I scribbled down "7", so there's a score for you. But if it's memorable comedy you're after, this may not be the right gig.

Posted by pete at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kaze no Requiem

La Mosaique @ Nexus Multicultural Arts Centre

5:30pm, Sun 29 Feb 2004

Score: 3

Short Review: Shakti-fied

Upon arrival at the Nexus to see Kaze no Bon (kaze means "wind," while Bon is the Buddhist All Souls' Day), I was handed a flyer that explained that one of the two members of La Mosaique had died late last year, and that the piece to be performed during the Fringe would instead be "Kaze no Requiem", in her honour. Fair enough, and a touching tribute.

A word of explanation: after ff2002, I vowed to support the artists that Shakti (via The Garage International) brings to the Fringe (such as Tokyo Triangle), but necessarily not Shakti herself. So, after a decent first act (in which Tamae Sawa wore traditional Japanese robes, and appeared to pray reverentially at the fan of her departed friend), I was a tad apprehensive when Shakti appeared... for the rest of the show.

Let it not be said that Shakti lacks her own style, however - stomping all over the stage, inexplicable gestures and pointing, wiggling eyebrows in a manner that is disconcerting and probably only holds meaning to her. However, let's not mince words here, I hate her dancing.

It's a real shame she appeared in this dance. Shakti is a genuinely nice and articulate person to talk to. It's just that she absolutely ruined this potentially touching piece for me.

Posted by pete at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Man, A Magic, A Music

Movin' Melvin Brown @ Union Hall

3:30pm, Sun 29 Feb 2004

Score: 7

Short Review: Groovin' Melvin Brown, more like ;)

The house lights drop. In the darkness, a gorgeous, soul-filled voice can be heard from far off-stage. It gradually comes closer, the house lights come up - and there is Movin' Melvin Brown, 59 years of age, resplendent in his suit and silver tap shoes.

Melvin takes us on a tour of his life, along the way reminding us through song of the music of the times. This allowed him to belt out classics by Chubby Checker, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and James Brown - all mimicked with great aplomb. And when he's not singing or recounting his life, he's dancing - tap, the hambone, bounding all over the stage like someone half his age. And the stripshow act that he performs for one lucky lady in the audience... well, he really belies his age. Really!

Sometimes his singing gets buried in the mix, but this man (who once had The Commodores open for him!) oozes class - his storytelling banter and gentle laugh are genuinely affable. And the fact that he covered "The Great Pretender" and "Johnny B. Goode" didn't do him any harm in my judgement, either. Movin' Melvin Brown sure knows how to put on a show.

Posted by pete at 03:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Charlie Pickering - LIVE

Charlie Pickering @ Rhino Room (Downstairs)

7:15pm, Sat 28 Feb 2004

Score: 7

Short Review: Surprising

After the emotional battering that I took at Parrot Fever, I was initially hesitant even turning up to this show, thinking that it would need a quality comedian to lift me out of my emotional hidey-hole. However, Pickering was good enough to win some serious laughs out of me, and should be lauded for being able to do so.

Opening with a great bit about the sheer crapulence of his venue (not to mention the bad technological luck the show had been having), Pickering belted through a great set, which ended with a video presentation showing Pickering trying to reclaim Cook's Cottage. Along the way, he showed his geekish tendencies by pulling out both a Simpsons quote and referencing the PlayStation, and at times tread a very fine line between decency and gross-out humour.

Throw in a bit of political satire, some great phrases ("bloodbath of Mums", "throbbing arse candles"), and you have a quality comedy experience. Sure he borrows liberally - the aforementioned Simpsons quote, several Bill Hicks-isms - but he convincingly makes the material his own. Recommended.

Posted by pete at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Parrot Fever - or Lies I've Told in Chat Rooms

theater simple @ Little Theatre

5:30pm, Sat 28 Feb 2004

Score: 10

Short Review: Wonderfully emotive

I'm the first to admit that I tend to stay reasonably remote from any kind of art; it's a rare piece of work that causes me to emote. Parrot Fever, on the other hand, had me weeping like a big blubbery mess... I can't recall ever getting so emotionally sucked into a piece of theatre.

Using the premise of book research for the investigation of online relationships, Parrot Fever weaves three different sub-threads together in a gorgeous script by Keri Healey. Encountering multiple characters online, each portraying a concoction of their own personality as they deal with more personal problems, I saw many truisms from my own online life - the support networks that form about those in need being a particularly poignant example.

All the theater simpletons - Monique Kleinhans, Andrew Litzky, Llysa Holland - turned in superb performances, and Mark Fullerton's smokey guitar provides a great background texture. Yes, there are laughs to be had at the expense of the antics of the chat-room inhabitants - but to a large extent, the humour is used as a foil for the sad, the tender, the wrenching sub-threads.

Parrot Fever is not to be missed. Simple as that, really.

Posted by pete at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Swindler... Catch Him If You Can

Patrick McCullagh @ Margaret Murray Room

4:00pm, Sat 28 Feb 2004

Score: 6

Short Review: Intriguing

Hmmmm, interesting show, this. Patrick McCullagh treats the audience to sleight-of-hand tricks, more trick shuffling than you can pole a stick at, and... not much else.

Don't get me wrong, this is still an interesting show. It's just that, in retrospect, there's not much to it. Some of his shuffling is freaky; he frequently used an up-close camera to display the true meaning of hand-is-quicker-than-the-eye; and his tips on loading the deck in poker games were... useful ;)

So I guess that's it... if you're at all interested in the mastery of sleight-of-hand, you could do a lot worse than to catch this show. There's also some great audience participation (as Michael found out... down $50 soon after the show started).

Posted by pete at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tyrannous Rex

company c NaNa @ Margaret Murray Room

11:00pm, Fri 27 Feb 2004

Score: 9

Short Review: A character-driven tour de force

After having chatted to the wonderful, quiet, polite Nicola Gunn, it was a real eye-opener to see her emerge onstage and play seven characters. Wrapped tightly in a cosy cardigan, she projects herself into the intimate Margaret Murray room so completely that it's hard to remember that there's only one person bringing these starkly different characters to life.

You can tell this is going to be a bit different from the outset - Gunn utterly convinces you that she's a large cat (later confirmed to be a leopard) riding a bicycle (!). She then effortlessly sashays into Rex's housekeeper, Winnie, and thenceforth through the rest of the characters in this simple, but effective, tale of love-come-treachery. The script is wonderful - the highlight being the appallingly good double entendres during the flirtation scenes of Rex and Irma.

But Gunn's performance is the real star here - as I've mentioned before (and will continue to discuss, at length, to anyone willing to listen), her ability to create the impression of such disparate characters was incredible. One of the final scenes, as most of the central characters walk past Rex for the last time, was simply stunning. STUNNING. Yep, really, she's that good.

I mean, Nicola Gunn makes you really believe a leopard can ride a bicycle. How good is that?

Posted by pete at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Danny and the Deep Blue Sea

Natland Theatre @ Worldsend Hotel

9:00pm, Fri 27 Feb 2004

Score: 9

Short Review: Intense and confronting

A hot, steamy Friday night upstairs at the Worldsend. I sit in the front row, directly in front of a battered and bleeding Renato Musolino (Danny), drown in his pain and hopelessness before the show starts. Leaning at the bar, Danika Gael-Krieg picks at her pretzels, musing aimlessly. At the back of the room, a guitarist strums. The atmosphere is gritty, smokey, textured - there is a real feeling of the underclass that these people belong to.

And then the show starts - and it is brutal. The two characters verbally and physically attack each other relentlessly, each trying to get the upper hand. This scene is draining, moving, stunningly powerful. A short intermission, and the second scene commences in another room, a bedroom scene. At first the abuse seems to have ceased, that the characters have found solace in each others company; but then the assault begins again, on a far more intimate - and damaging - level.

Make no mistake, this is not flowery theatre. It's harsh, abrasive - "brutal" is the best fit, but I've probably used that a dozen times already. But this is a thoroughly excellent piece of theatre - all the performers are excellent, and Casey Van Sebille's set design for the bedroom scene - the audience views the performers through holes cut in the walls of their enveloping box - is inspired (I often found myself using the rectangular holes as a makeshift movie-camera, framing the action as I'd like to see it on-screen).

Excellent, excellent stuff. Well worth the trip out to the Worldsend.

Posted by pete at 09:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Morph

Fresh Track Productions @ Little Theatre

7:00pm, Fri 27 Feb 2004

Score: 6

Short Review: Globulous

Recalling Fresh Track's previous Fringe effort (The Return, ff2002), and being intrigued by the description in the Fringe Guide, I thought I'd give Morph a bash. And I found a very uneven mish-mash of the good, the bad, and the... odd. Melanie Vallejo's voice has certainly grown up a bit since 2002, and she roams the stage in a most assured manner as the dancer Grace. Brendan Rock's Be begins life as a mildly intriguing character, who becomes downright annoying after "The Break". "The Break"? Well, Morph is pretty much a tale of two halves. Grace begins as the epitome of perfection, Be the inept and indestructible; after The Break, characteristics are essentially reversed. Oooooh, clever.

The good? Some of the dialog was great - there's not many shows that feature a line like "I want to be porked by you." Grace's evocative description of her dance, the culmination of her life's work, reminded me of a few dance pieces I've seen. And both actors performed within the bounds of their characters well.

The bad? The short scenes in the first half designed to demonstrate the growing bond between the two; I loathed that short, flashy style. The fact that, generally, the characters weren't convincing - harrumph. And what was up with that birth scene?

Somewhere along the line, Be said "it's not good to go around expressing shit". Yes, quite.

Posted by pete at 04:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Scared Weird Little Guys 30 Minute Variety Hour

Scared Weird Little Guys @ Royalty Theatre

9:00pm, Thu 26 Feb 2004

Score: 7

Short Review: Same old Scaredies

This Fringe, the Scaredies present a show in the format of an old-style radio show, with superb backing from the SWLG Superband. Though this format offered opportunity for oodles of new material, it was pretty much the same SWLG as in ff2002.

Not that this is such a bad thing: the old songs still work on repeated listenings, the quiz segment is still fun, though Stump The Scaredies loses out somewhat due to the lack of audience participation. Ross, the voice-over guy, adds a spark of originality to proceedings; the Social Commentary segment was bloody funny; and their Enimem-inspired cover of Waltzing Matilda was inspired stuff.

In short - the Scaredies aren't messing with the formula much. If you liked them before, you'll like them this time too.

Posted by pete at 12:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Waiting for Godot

FourDoors Theatre Company @ Promethean Theatre

7:00pm, Thu 26 Feb 2004

Score: 8

Short Review: Bizarre

First things first: in no way, under no stretch of the imagination, would I ever consider myself to be intimate with Godot (or, indeed, any of Beckett's other works). So I approached this one as a virtual n00b, and was most intrigued to read in the program that the director of this production asked his actors to adapt their responses according to their impulses on the night. I'm pretty certain this approach contributed to the bizarre performance I bore witness to.

After a creatively revealing start to proceedings, the performance seemed to be completely played for laughs, and at some points became almost farcical. Vladimir and Estragon were able to procure much audience mirth from carefully weighted lulls in their dialog, and the set was cheesily elaborate. At times the humour seems a little out of place - is there really a "who farted?" joke in the original and, if not, did one really need to be added? - but, in general, the laughs come in the delivery: the deadpan "bellyfull of lamentations", "Abel... Cain... he's all humanity", "people are ignorant apes".

Pier Carthew's Pozzo impressed, especially with his comical pleas for help. Daisy Noyes all-thinking, all-dancing Lucky was gorgeous, and Dale March's Estragon provided a good foil for Seamus Maynard's superbly measured, wide-eyed Vladimir. Liberties were taken, I'm sure, but the results were well worthwhile - almost good enough for me to forgive the line "Critic? The highest form of insult." ;)

Posted by pete at 12:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lawrence Leung - Skeptic

Lawrence Leung @ The Trapeze Lounge

9:45pm, Wed 25 Feb 2004

Score: 8

Short Review: I'm a believer

Oooooh, this was lovely. Leung enters the tent to the strains of a rockin' version of Ghostbusters, and launches into his sceptical soliloquay. Using his mother as a foil for his jokes, and his own experiences travelling through Scotland searching for ghosts, he delivers a well-scripted show that's packed with observational laughs... and the odd heart-felt truism.

Leung's visual humour was spot on; the use of the projector was superb, especially when it came to his "proofs" (of why haunted houses weren't, and the statistical analysis of "bad luck"). His attacks on John Edward are focussed, but the end message is surprisingly positive - and the end of the show is really, really quite impressive.

(Oh, and after 15 minutes of searching around on eBay, I'll be buggered if I can find either Lawrence's Soul or Sense of Humour for sale. He lied to us. I hate when people do that.)

Posted by pete at 11:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Duck Variations

the kitten factory @ Star Theatres (Theatre Two)

8:00pm, Wed 25 Feb 2004

Score: 7

Short Review: Solid

the kitten factory's rendition of David Mamet's "Duck Variations" was a good, solid performance. Whilst not being the touret-inspired dialog of some of Mamet's later works, the dialog still belts along at a fair clip - covering the fourteen variations of duck-inspired existentialism in a little under 45 minutes.

Simon McCarthy and Christopher Parker don't fail their characters, and the set is delicious - real lawn! This is certainly worth a look if you're out that side of town.

"Better than nothing... well, a close second." ;)

Posted by pete at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Matt vs The Music World

Matt Elsbury @ Rhino Room (Downstairs)

9:45pm, Tue 24 Feb 2004

Score: 6

Short Review: How could you not like Britney?

Matt Elsbury obviously loves his music. And, as with all appreciations of the divine, comes the disappointments of the somewhat less-than-divine. Hence, this show - a thorough venting of Matt's music biz angst.

Preceding his arrival onstage, Matt played a wonderful animation (in the guise of a wrestling video game) portraying him beating the shit out of Britney & Justin - a nice, humorous start. His spiel covered dodgy (and inappropriate) lyrics, manufactured bands, and inexplicable utterances - the highlight being a snippet he caught of a radio phone-in competition entrant repeatedly failing to spell "AC/DC".

The low point of the show was his own manufactured band's song and video. Yes, it was supposed to be bad, but there's no need to subject an audience to that much pain. Still, this was an enjoyable enough show - all the better if you're up-to-date with current music trends.

Posted by pete at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rod Quantock - Changing Regimes

Rod Quantock @ Nova 2

8:15pm, Tue 24 Feb 2004

Score: 8

Short Review: Quintessential Quantock

Ah, "quintessential" may be slightly misleading - bad luck, Quantock fans, there's no blackboard (or even whiteboard) to be found. However, Australia's favourite lefty comedian is still in fine form, depsite claiming to have done no preparation for tonight's show, the first in his season.

Covering the problems with the Australian left ("the Left overlooks the concept of assasination"), his desire to see our Prime Minister living at the bottom of a deep hole ("we should all be digging"), Mark Latham ("he was born in a manger"), and the real reason Australia has no space program, this was a rambling show that delivered heavily on the laughs, even as Quantock was allowed to "drift from satire to vitriol".

And, let's face it - if I've seen Quantock 4 times in 4 Fringes, then surely all Q-Fans should know what to expect. If you've seen him before, go again; if you haven't - and have a leftist leaning to your politics, or just don't care - then trot along to get educated.

Posted by pete at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The ObCell

Marguerite Pepper Productions @ State Theatre Company Rehearsal Room 2 (the bowels of the Railway Station)

7:00pm, Tue 24 Feb 2004

Score: 7

Short Review: Evolutionary

After a twisted accompanied journey to the depths of the Railway Station, we view the ObCell - Observation Cell - for the first time. Initially appearing as a simple bounded space, we soon discover that the back walls are video screens, and the supporting frame is littered with small cameras - as is the performer (Ninian Donald) himself.

Intended as an exploration into the reactions of the isolated and manipulated individual, as well as the relationship between man and technology, The ObCell begins nicely, with a very industrial feel (the hum of the air-conditioning unit actually added ambience), and clever use of the overhead mounted cameras (making the projected performed appear to be "climbing" when, in reality, he was writhing on the floor). There was also some neat feedback effects used in the frame mounted cameras, but unforunately the piece quickly slipped into a movement-followed-by-shock-therapy visual monotony. Additionally, there were some technical troubles - the audience was left to watch mostly static as one of the performers cameras went incommunicado.

The last third of the piece, however, was fabulous. With Donald's movements allowed to experiment with a perceived freedom, and some wonderful flaring visual effects, The ObCell more than redeemed itself.

Posted by pete at 11:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Return

Theater Company Nottle @ Eclipse

5:15pm, Tue 24 Feb 2004

Score: 9

Short Review: Bleakly comic

The first thing that struck me about this South Korean company's production was the lighting. It was absolutely superb throughout; the use of shadow was fabulous, and it demonstrated what is possible in a makeshift venue such as Eclipse. Music was also magnificent, creating an initially bleak mood, and controlling that mood over the duration.

The performances are wonderful: from the beginning of the show, we are treated to the wandering, the dispossessed, with the five principals generating an encompassing feeling of an underclass. The sparse Korean dialogue requires most communication to be done with facial expressions - and what expressive faces! Truly wondrous acting.

In all, a great piece of physical theater. Nottle are to be applauded for bringing their company, and this show, to our shores.

Posted by pete at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)