Festival Freak

Well, it's all over for another two years - yep, ff2000 has drawn to a close. It was lots of fun for me, and a lot less stressfull than ff98... deliberately so, since I planned to take it pretty easy in the last week.

Overall, this was a pretty neat three weeks. There were some downers - a few of the Festival shows seemed to be all gloss and no substance. Matt King ran himself over. The Hindley Street venues didn't attract the crowds they deserved.

But on the plus side, there was some brilliant theatre. The Foreign Legion came to town again and provided the two best shows of ff2000. The newly-formed International Brigade also provided some great stuff, the Mercury proved to be a comedy hotspot, and the Nova continued where it left off in ff98.

Anyway, without further ado, here's a bunch of useless facts. And a bunch of scores which I re-jigged because I felt like it.

Pete's Show Visitations:

• Best of ff2000: Hard Times (theater simple @ The Foreign Legion)
  
• Total number of shows: 63 (49 Fringe, 14 Festival. Additionally, 1 Bonus show (well, Mr Bungle was in town) and I saw Stewart Lee twice.)
  
• In percentage terms: Fringe = 78%, Festival 22%.
  
• Shows that got a covetted "10": 3 (5%)
  
• Shows that weren't a WOFTAM: 48 (76%)
  

ff2000 Site Info:

• Hits: not enough to justify what I've done
  
• Hits received from: (more info later)
  

Posted by pete at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's over!! Why not check out the wrap-up!! Shows seen: 63... is this a record?

Posted by pete at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Keep Up Your Standards

Festival Theatre

8:00pm, Sun 19 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: Ascendary

Erk, what a tough show to review. I like Robyn Archer a lot, I think she's done great things for the last two Festivals as Director, but... I thought this performance, her swansong, was a little lacklustre.

Archer's deep, smoky vocals front a 5-piece concert backing band, led by Paul Grabowsky. All musicians were great, and the collective artists all seem to love doing the show - they all seem to have fun, and there were numerous little jokes throughout the performance. However, the opening 3 or 4 songs were distinctly flat - mainly due to the lack of emotion in Archer's vocals. This fault slowly evaporated over the course of the performance, with the last song of the evening being the most emotive.

Vocal styles - there were a few (Archer's yodelling was quite amusing). Languages - there were also a few of them, but most (excluding the final song) suffered from over-enunciation. Archer's voice was also a little variable: limited range & power through notes varied considerably.

At the end of the day, it is difficult to tell whether the raptuous applause rained upon the performers, and Archer in particular, was due to the performance, or Archer's directorship of the past two Festivals. I tend to think the latter, which is warranted.

(As an aside, Archer came out at the end of the performance and threw her shoes and earrings into the crowd... she was lapping up the applause like a thirsty puppy!!)

Posted by pete at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Arj Barker

Mercury Cinema

10:00pm, Sat 18 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: Anh!

Sydney comedian Anh Do came out to warm the crowd up for Arj, and (to be frank) he was bloody brilliant. More punchlines than something with a large number of punchlines indeed. Alas, he was on for a mere 5 minutes; then out came Arj.

My first reaction was "oh no, this is going to suck" - Arj struggled for a few minutes. Soon after, however, he opened up and the laughs came thick and fast. Covering such topics as sex (the perennial favorite), smoking and dating, Barker's style was exceptional - no just-stand-up-and-tell-the-jokes stuff here. His use of volume and tone in delivering his gags was great.

Yet, at the end of the day, I would have happily traded 20 minutes of his act for another 20 minutes of Anh Do. Ah well... Arj was amusing enough to check him out next Fringe.

Posted by pete at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Symphony Under The Stars

Elder Park

8:00pm, Sat 18 Mar 2000

Score: -

Short Review: Symphonic

We arrived at Elder Park late, just before the second half of the program commenced. There were people everywhere. Anyway, the second half started with "Slava!", a neat piece, but something was not quite right... The second piece, Maurice Jarre's "Building the Barn" (from the movie "Witness") made the problem evident; the amplification system used to deliver the music to the masses seemed a bit bass heavy.

We moved from our original position (about 15 metres from the stage, to the left) and went behind the stage - and behind the speakers. Success!! The booming bass was gone, and we were able to enjoy "Finlandia" immensely. After the impressive opening to the classic "Sabre Dance", it was time to leave... no rest for the wicked!!

(Incidentally, we were late because we stopped and had a look at the Light/House exhibition, a display of a dozen innovative house designs. This was, without putting too fine a point on it, brilliant - some of the designs presented were nothing short of astonishing. Congrats to all involved!!)

Posted by pete at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Never Swim Alone

Bakehouse Theatre

6:30pm, Sat 18 Mar 2000

Score: 9

Short Review: Brutal

This was one meaty show. 50 minutes of brutal male truths, starting with giggles and ending with violence. Written by Canadian Daniel MacIvor (whose also wrote House Humans), it takes a no-holds-barred look at the current state of the modern male psyche.

Two men - Bill and Frank - stand facing each other, best of friends. In unison, they greet the audience... they speak in unison for much of the night. They face each other in thirteen rounds, referreed by a ghost of their past. The initial rounds are mostly friendly, jocular boasting and laughs at the other's expense, but as the play progresses the comments get more and more vicious, until both men get pushed too far...

This play had a lot to say about "winning", and what success really is in these times. Bill has a successful emotional life, whereas Frank has forgone his in pursuit of the almighty dollar, and is also the more physical of the two. Who is the real winner? The thirteenth round, happily, leaves this question unanswered.

Quite simply, this was a great bit of Fringe theatre. It was fantastic to see a small, local company like Bakehouse producing quality stuff like this! Matthew Bartsch and Erin Klein are fabulous as Bill and Frank, Marlo Grocke plays her small role well, and the direction is faultless. Kudos to all concerned!!

Posted by pete at 06:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Quiet Room

International Brigade (Cosmopolitan Centre)

4:00pm, Sat 18 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: Maniac!

A chronical of the mental exploits of a schizophrenic woman locked in a padded cell, The Quiet Room is a solo tour de force for Pam Levin (who both looked and sounded like a psychotic Jena Cane - Quixote, Mirette and Bellini). With just a mattress, a toothbrush and her mental hospital gown & slippers to keep her company on stage, Levin does a wonderful job with a patchy script.

Levin plays the many schizo personalities of Sissy, who has a self-acknowledged "aggression problem". Locked in the "quiet room" for attacking staff in her hospital, she invents a duck (one of her slippers) to inhabit the room with her, and cycles through many personalities (including the duck!) to fill the audience in on her history. Along the way, she details her descent into madness, her many issues with God, and does a great Flashdance to Michael Sembello's "Maniac".

However, at the end of the day, the script is a little too disjointed for my liking - sure Sissy was schizo, but at times the script seemed to skate all over the place. There were some great comedic moments, though - the word association games, and the duck having a hypoglycemic attack were brilliant. And Sissy's first steps into madness scared the shit out of me (and any other daydreamers!). If only the script were a little tighter...

Posted by pete at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Arrogant Worms

The Governor Hindmarsh

10:00pm, Fri 17 Mar 2000

Score: 8

Short Review: Song-a-rific!

Take a quick ride down Port Road (not too far, you might wind up in *gasp* Port Adelaide ;) and go to the Governor Hindmarsh. We did so on St Patrick's Day, and managed to find a pub full of pissed people dressed in green. And the Arrogant Worms, another Canadian comedy export.

Quite simply, these guys were really funny. Any group that takes the piss out of Canadia (sic) and their most famous exports - Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, and Shania Twain - gets the big thumbs up from me, and their Internet love song "Log On To You" is right up there with Tripod's Political Song. Any any song that starts "I am cow, hear me moo" is sure to win kudos from this little moobaa.

If this act had a fault, it was that they didn't localise their content enough... most of the songs were obviously their stock Canadian stuff. Which is still cool, because it was all funny.

(An aside - it was a hot night, and the show was in the rapidly-heating-up balcony at the Gov (the butt of many jokes). After an encore, despite the fact that the Worms were obviously hot, tired and bedraggled, one particularly pissed audience member refused to let the Worms leave until they did another song - "I was just starting to like you guys". They complied :)

Posted by pete at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Slaughter/Guernica

Proscenium Club

8:00pm, Fri 17 Mar 2000

Score: 6

Short Review: Patchy

Two plays presented by the Footlight Theatre Company (Vic, NSW) in the Proscenium. First up - I like the Proscenium as a venue; it works really well, especially for plays which can surround the audience. Second - try "Red Bull" Energy Drink. Neato.

Enough plugs. First play up was the Slaughter - Scenes from Germany, writtn by Heiner Muller. The programme notes that Muller is widely regarded as "one of the most influential and controversial writers in European theatre". It should also add that he has penned some of the most atrocious rhyming couplets ever - the dialogue was not pretty at all. Muller (apart from having a cool surname) is no Shakespeare. But then, maybe that fits in with the whole darkness surrounding the piece... :)

Slaughter displays five tales of betrayal in different situations throughout Germany in World War II. The first was remarkable for the awkwardness of the dialogue between two brothers. The fourth betrayal received the most passionate direction of the play, with a frantic attack scene. Other than that, the most fun I had during this play was groaning inwardly at the rhymes.

The second play, Guernica, was much better. Intimidated and ineffectual, but very loving, Fanchou has had the love of his life buried underneath the rubble of their toilet during a bombing raid. The banter between the two of them is most amusing; the constant passing of planes overhead creates a sense of diminishing time, as does the faceless woman with child. The writer also provides a humorous distraction. Great stuff!

In all, one good play, one not-so-good... On the other hand, my SO's opinions were completely the opposite of mine. So, with that in mind, you might roll up and love both. Or hate both. That's the great thing about opinions, eh?

Posted by pete at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mongolmongol - My Wonderful Left Hook

Uniflex Physical Theatre

5:30pm, Fri 17 Mar 2000

Score: 5

Short Review: Indistinct

My Wonderful Left Hook by Korean company MongolMongol is part mime, part dance, part musical. Unfortunately, all the seperate pieces don't really gel together that well to form a coherent piece of work; more a well-produced jumble.

The positives first: there's a cello, so I'm happy from the start (references: 1 2), and the cellist also has a wonderfully haunting singing voice. So the aural aspect of the performance was great, as was the lighting and overall direction. The dancer (sorry, no names!) was also elegant; the movement of her arms was mesmerising.

Now the negatives: the miming varied from competent to pretty bloody awful. What the hell happened to the baby? I've got no idea, the miming was that bad... did he throw it away? drop it? kill it? make it's head fall off? It'll take someone with either (a) a whole lot of imagination, or (b) a script to explain it to me. The plot was outlined on a flyer presented to patrons; good thing, too.

So, a mixed-performance piece which only really satisfied the ears. A pity, really, since I think there's a gem of an idea in amongst it. But kudos to Mongolmongol for bringing it out here - they're all really nice people (just a shame the piece wasn't up to scratch).

Posted by pete at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Adam Hills - Goody Two Shoes

Nova (Cinema 3)

10:50pm, Thu 16 Mar 2000

Score: 6

Short Review: AlmostThere

After Adam Hills' previous show (My Own Little World), I thought I might as well hang around to see his new work. And, whilst not up to the standard shown by the older material, there were still some gems to be found.

For starters, the session of the show I went to was being "signed" for the hearing-impaired. There were many laughs to be had from this alone - Hills deliberately listing of risque cocktail names (and watching the interpreter sign Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" was cool). Again, Hills also had a large amount of musical humour in the show (not sure that would have been good for the hearing-impaired), including his brilliant construction of a boy-band from the audience.

In all, this too was an amusing show, although a little rough around the edges. It'd be nice to see the show after a year on the road, to see how well it polishes up.

Posted by pete at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Adam Hills - My Own Little World

Nova (Cinema 3)

9:40pm, Thu 16 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: Flugley(!)

This'll be short and sweet - Adam Hills let loose with a volley of jokes, some toilet humour, a lot of audience participation (getting someone to do a James Brown-style entrance), and even more singing. His songs were, on the whole, pretty amusing - not up to the standard of, say, Tripod - but his multiple renditions of many national anthems were bloody amusing.

Quick review, eh? But what's the One-Word-Review about, then? Well, as a closer, Hills invited the audience to yank words from nowhere as substitutes to known words - hence, "love" became "flugle". In all, a pretty good show - you could certainly do worse.

Posted by pete at 09:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Shock Headed Peter

Her Majesty's Theatre

7:00pm, Thu 16 Mar 2000

Score: 9

Short Review: TragicallyFunny

Shock Headed Peter dwells on the horror stories parents (used to?) tell their children to keep them from doing naughty things. In bringing the story of Shock Headed Peter (a hideous child to uncaring parents, who hid the child in shame under the floorboards), those involved have created a fantastic and highly amusing story that truly is fun for all ages.

Using the story of Shock Headed Peter as a central theme, the cast (led by the wonderful Julian Bleach) perform the afore-mentioned stories to the music of the brilliant, brilliant, brilliant Tiger Lillies - Martyn Jacques constant castrato and Adrian Huge's deadpan humour are sensational. The stories are acted - watch Harriet burn! - or subject to very clever puppeteering... my favourite story was "The Man Who Went Out With A Gun"... most amusing stuff.

Thoughout the whole show, the audience is barely given a moments' respite from laughter - even mistakes are cleverly handled. If there is any flaw to this show, it was that it probably went a tiny bit too long - maybe only one story though. Otherwise, simply brilliant.

Posted by pete at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Drumming

Festival Theatre

5:00pm, Thu 16 Mar 2000

Score: 9

Short Review: Organic

The second of the dance pieces from Rosas (the first being Fase), Drumming has to be one of the most tightly choreographed, yet at the same time, most casual looking dance performances I have ever seen. And in no way is this a bad thing.

Drumming is set to a 58-minute piece of music (again by Steve Reich) which, strangely enough, is entirely percussive. Twelve dancers onstage intermittently prowl the outskirts of the stage, then leap into the fray - and I mean leap. Like anxious gazelles, the cast run, leap, twist and turn across the stage at a furious pace.

There's a good reason why my One-Word-Review is "organic"; when involved in the action, the dancers don't all move in mass unison, but instead in small groups or flocks of only two or three. Where my previous gazelle metaphor is pretty close to the mark, on more than one occasion did I think that there were flocks of birds skipping across the stage. The sheer beauty of the work, however, is in the choreography - different groups running (skipping, flying) at full speed intersected with others, whilst more solitary participants bubbled around in the background like some human game of Life.

In short - brilliant! It'll be a long time before I can get the image of all those fast-moving, swarming dancers from my mind. Incredible stuff!!

Posted by pete at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mr Bungle - California Screaming

Adelaide Uni Cloisters

7:30pm, Wed 15 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: Uneventful

This is neither a Fringe nor Festival show, but I'm writing something about it so no-one thinks I took a night off :) Mr Bungle return to our fair city for a show beset by sound problems, but which was reasonably entertaining nonetheless.

Neil Hamburger came out to cop some shit from the crowd before the arrival of the Bungle boys. He was crap. 'Nuff said.

Bungle opened up with a cover of "What The World Needs Now", swiftly followed by "None Of Them Knew They Were Robots", "Air Conditioned Nightmare", "Ars Moriendi" and a rhumba-esque version of "Carry Stress In The Jaw". The crowd was pretty placid, though, until "Travolta" kicked in, followed by "My Ass Is On Fire" - the old ones always seem to get the crowds a-jumping. Other highlights included "Desert Search For Techno Allah" and "Merry Go Bye Bye", as the main set & encore closers, respectively.

To be quite fair, this was a pretty average show. There were sound problems a-plenty, and even when the sound was clear, the live renditions of tracks from "California" were less than inspiring. On the plus side, there was "Merry Go Bye Bye"... But no stage antics, no amazing live versions, no great covers. Just plain-jane entertainment.

Posted by pete at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Voices

Royalty Theatre

7:00pm, Wed 15 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: CloseButNoCigar

Five people sit around a dinner table - a manager, an industrialist, a criminal, an intellectual, and a chairman-of-the-board. All are leaders, in one form or another. One man (Jeron Willems) plays the five parts, including their interactions.

Willems addresses each of the characters in turn, referring to the other characters when needed. Each character's monologue tends to espouse a point of view towards the free-market economy, ethics, religion, and a whole host of other themes. To be honest, though, some of the monologues were a little... flat? boring? And the entire script was very... um... wordy, to the point of self-indulgence.

I wanted to love this, I really did. But it just didn't gel. Jeron Willems does an outstanding job, and is clearly a great comic actor, but the performance and the script just didn't work together *that* well.

Posted by pete at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fase

Festival Theatre

8:30pm, Tue 14 Mar 2000

Score: 9

Short Review: Industrial

Two women come onstage in the dark for the "Piano Phase", the first of four such Phases for the performance. The lights lift. A simple pre-recorded piano melody starts playing. The two women start spinning around and around, casting their shadows onto the white backdrop such that one central shadow is formed with the superposition of the two women. The shadow takes on a life of it's own, and you have to keep reminding yourself there's only two dancers on stage...

So starts Fase, an incredible piece of dance from Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and the company she founded, Rosas. De Keersmaeker is joined onstage by Michele Anne De Mey, and the two look strikingly similar. The four Phases - Piano Phase, Come Out, Violin Phase, and Clapping Music, are all similar in that they all begin with simple repetitive movements which gradually become more and more complex as the piece progresses. Similarly, the music for each piece (created by Steve Reich) is constructed of small melodies or sounds, endlessly repeated, creating a mesmerising industrial feel to the performance.

Well, it might not sound like much, but I loved it. The only reason this didn't get a big "10" is because there were a few tiny little mistakes... but, given that De Keersmaeker is doing the choreography for the other Rosas performances, I can't wait to see them.

Posted by pete at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

La Chambre

The Exeter Hotel

10:00pm, Mon 13 Mar 2000

Score: 8

Short Review: Melancholy

Apparently, the turnout to La Chambre's gig on the 12th at the Stag was so miserable (3 people!) that they decided to cancel their gig on the 13th and go home to Melbourne. Unfortunately, the Melbourne gig they had planned was cancelled, and at the last minute the guys at the Exeter asked if they'd like to do a gig there... So it was that we, paying ticket holders, were NOT notified by FringeTix of the cancellation, but still managed to catch La Chambre anyway. Note that this was not, of course, an "official" Fringe show, but what the hell - they're my reviews, I can do what I want with them!

La Chambre, despite their name (and Fringe Guide description), were not your average chamber music ensemble; they were a more contemporary kind of band - guitar, bass, drums, cello, tokkai harp and, as a bonus for Improv Night, flute and sax. The music - well, it kind of reminded me of a cross between early Smashing Pumpkins and the more tuneful bits of Sonic Youth. Songs were very melancholy, but seemed to leap into life at intervals.

Highlights were the opener to their second set, and the final two songs of the night - both of which stretched into 10-minute improv pieces. Fabulous stuff! La Chambre showed themselves to be worthy musicians. For scoring... well, 2 points for wonderful songwriting, 1 point for Jonathan, the coolest drummer I've ever seen, and 5 points for having a cello (even tho it was drowned out most of the time :)

Posted by pete at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Giulio Cesare

The Playhouse

9:30pm, Sun 12 Mar 2000

Score: 8

Short Review: Bizarre

Robyn Archer is one brave Festival Director. I have been to several shows this Festival where I have seen several people of the "Festival Set" arch their eyebrows at what was taking place before them. This was another eyebrow-raising production, apparently based on the Shakespearean text.

The opening of the first Act, it must be said, was magnificent. The stage curtain, white, starts pulsing. The pulses get larger. The curtains part to show the battering ram creating the pulses. The curtain closes. The pulses fade. The curtains part. There sits Brutus. He inserts an endoscope through his nose, down to his vocal chords. He utters the first lines of the night, his vocal chords projected for all to see. Stunning.

The rest of the play... well... you know what it's like when you're watching a Lynch or Greenaway film for the first time, and you've no idea what's going on? Giulio Cesare created a similar feeling in me. Don't get me wrong, the plot was dead simple - Brutus kills Caesar, then the weapon used in the act returns unto him, with which he suicides. There you go - a one-sentence plot summary. Simple.

Ah, but if only the imagery used in the play were that easy to decipher! Some of the prop devices used to support the actors were truly amazing - a chair walking of its' own accord, the prevalant use of a fox, a cat (complete with Exorcist-style spinning head) and even a seahorse... what was going on? Act 2 replaced the actors playing Brutus and Cassius with two scrawny women... apparently, their anorexia was meant to represent the need to empty oneself in penance.

I think I've used the word "apparently" a few times now - and with good reason. Some of the symbolism seemed... well, tenuous, if you catch my drift. Again, the comparison to Lynch/Greenaway comes to the fore - not only for the far-reaching symbolism, but also for the wonderful aural (I hesitate to say "musical") score. A lot of the imagery was recurrent between the two acts, also, elaborating on the theme of the returning dagger.

So - did I like it or not? Well, here's the thing about me - I'm much fonder of a performance that looks average, but adds depth through indecipherable imagery, than of one which looks pretty but is straightforward. It gives something to think about on the way home, no? So I rate this one pretty high.

Posted by pete at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Scared Weird Little Guys - Rock

The Famous Spiegeltent

7:00pm, Sun 12 Mar 2000

Score: 8

Short Review: RockOn!!

A gap in my schedule, and an urge to see what this Spiegeltent thing was all about, encouraged me to snaffle tickets for this, the last performance of the Scared Weird Little Guys this Fringe. Boy, am I glad I did.

Chock full of ROCK songs, this show had a real ROCK motif, including the audience ROCK-o-meter (cheers to the guy in the audience who got us to ROCK factor 10 with the cROCK pot! Ah, you had to be there :)

This show was pants-wettingly-funny from go to woah, with great songs about the GST, food additives, transexuals, and a plethora of re-worded classics ("Beer Stein of Bourbon" to the tune of "Stairway to Heaven" was just beautiful). The undoubtable highlight, though, was the encore, featuring 5 different renditions of Prince's "Kiss" - the rap version being a perfect ending to a great show.

If you haven't seen them yet... well, you missed out. But the SWLG's were great.

Posted by pete at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mirette and Bellini

The Foreign Legion (Cartoons)

5:00pm, Sun 12 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: Curious

Hmmmm.... odd one, this. One World (who brought us Quixote) present a story, strangely enough, about the fallen (literally) tight-rope performer, Bellini, and his doting friend, Mirette, who aspires to be "Queen of Cartwheels" in the circus.

In a nutshell: Mirette and Bellini meet. Mirette ("the Unreasonable") urges Bellini to re-join the circus from which he came. Bellini does not understand Mirette's compulsion. He spurns her, crushing her spirit, but then the roles are reversed as he urges her to resume her dreaming.

The cast are great - there's a real element of madcappery to their performances - and the production is full of neat touches - Bellini bursting into hideous song is most amusing, and the use of the clothesline for characterisations is superb. However, there was something missing from this play that stopped it being "great". Bummer, that, because all the ingredients were there.

Posted by pete at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another perfect score - Dawson Nichols stuns once again in "Virtual Solitaire"! Get on down to The Foreign Legion (Cartoons) now! And stay for the rest of the shows, too!

Posted by pete at 04:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Virtual Solitaire

The Foreign Legion (Cartoons)

2:00pm, Sun 12 Mar 2000

Score: 10

Short Review: Astounding

Once again, Dawson Nichols (responsible for the brilliant I Might Be Edgar Allen Poe last Fringe) has come up with an incredibly compelling piece of theatre. Dwelling on the plight of the Virtual Reality junkie Nathan, who is used as a guinea pig in the development of a VR game, the script introduces a plentitude of virtual characters who all seem to have something to contribute on the topic of isolation & solitary confinement.

Nichols appears on stage, initially as Nathan, complete with VR headset (the only prop of the show). As soon as he is drawn into the virtual world of the game, and its' creators, he removes the goggles to reveal glowing eyes (great use of mirrored contact lenses!). This was a masterstroke - as he stares into the crowd for the first time, you realise there is something sublimely different, perfectly cultured, about this performance.

And what a performance it is! Nichols ducks and weaves between a myriad of characters (I counted 32), with the fluid VR "transitions" between them revealing his wonderful sense of movement. When glitches occur in the virtual world, Nichols convulses in wonderfully convincing manner - apparently at random, but perfectly scripted.

The script (available for sale at the end of the show... buy! read!) is... well, intense. "Perfect" is another word that springs to mind. All Nichols' characters are wonderfully used - the beat poet provides gorgeous comic relief, the asylum guard helps display the Real Life history of Nathan, the prisoner on death row reminds us that we're all, essentially, alone. Not a line is wasted.

In short, go to see this show. Then join me, as we kneel and say: "All hail and praise Dawson Nichols, for he is Great".

Posted by pete at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Human in the Audiosphere

Rhino Room

10:30pm, Sat 11 Mar 2000

Score: 9

Short Review: PerfectPercussion

One-third of Pablo Percusso (a huge hit at the 1998 Fringe), Ben Walsh, thundered out a superb percussive set in front of a packed house at the Rhino Room (prolly not the most ideal venue for this, but adequate nonetheless).

On a tiny stage packed with things to hit (both conventional and not), Walsh's live percussion was accompanied by backing tapes (bass, on the whole, with some less complex percussion as well) and a projected visual presentation. It all managed to converge wonderfully.

Walsh's hands were a blur for most of the performance, and the rhythms he created were nothing short of incredible. This was a top-notch performance.

(There was also a Human in the Audiosphere CD available at the venue... highly recommended!)

Posted by pete at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Richard II

Old Parliament House

8:00pm, Sat 11 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: Verily

After a uniquely presented rendition of The Tempest in the Zoo last Fringe, Rough Magic returns to present Richard II in the austere setting of Old Parliament House.

As was the case with The Tempest, the direction is fabulous - Alice Teasdale has walked the modernist tightrope superbly, with soldiers in khaki and fatigues, noblemen in suit-and-ties. Despite lighting problems on the night, performances were solid, but the two major characters must be singled out: Damien Storer was wonderful as the hoighty-but-doomed Richard, and Nick Smart wonderfully restrained as Bolingbroke.

In all, a production well worth seeing. The setting within the Old Parliament House was a masterstroke, and the presentation of Shakespeare's work is very entertaining.

Posted by pete at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cool Heat Urban Beat

Her Majesty's Theatre

5:00pm, Sat 11 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: NoYo

Like many other productions at the Festival this year, Cool Heat Urban Beat delivers lots of visual and aural spectacle, but not enough lasting substance. As an exhibition of urban dance, it is fabulous; as a coherent dance piece, it is lacking.

I was unlucky enough to be present at a matinee in which one of the performers injured himself (attempting to do an assisted back-flip) early in the performance; for some time after, both the audience and the performers were decidedly flat. (I'm unsure as to whether the injured dancer resumed later in the piece; I suspect not, having seen the way he landed on his back).

The dancing was always vibrant and full of energy; the tap movements, in particular, were fabulous. And words cannot express the fluidity of movement displayed by the dancers - "fluid" really is the operative word there. The two live musicians - Daniel Moreno on percussion, and DJ Mizery on turntables - were also superb, engaging in a "duel" with each other while the dancers took a breather. DJ Miz was also seen teaching a youngster to scratch in the closing minutes of the performance!

All the performances were superb - so what was lacking? Well, variety for one thing - the show got into a group-solo-group routine far too often, and some of the dancers' solos did not differ greatly from one piece to the next. Sure, there were some truly superlative parts in amongst it all; but I personally found the performance to be too repetitive, and easily forgotten. Nice watching it while it's there, though.

(BTW - why is the programme so full of mis-prints? In a 30 second glancing, my little eye spied three typos... not a lot of care for $10, it seems!)

Posted by pete at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Because

Promethean Theatre

2:00pm, Sat 11 Mar 2000

Score: 5

Short Review: Adequate

Because, a play by Tasmanian Stella Kent, is brought to life by Thespian Tendencies (responsible for Dark Love). Although the play covers interesting and thought-provoking subject matter (following James McAuley and the Ern Malley hoax involving the Max Harris-editted "Angry Penguins" magazine), something has been lost in the translation to the stage.

Performances were all fine, although one may be able to acuse Richard Gruca of overacting in the role of McAuley (especially with that laugh!). Glen Christie also does a good job in the director's shoes. It's just that the play is presented... dryly. No real interest is forthcoming from the script.

Things improve in the latter parts of the play, but overall this play can only be described, at best, as adequate. A shame, really, since the subject matter could provide so much more.

Posted by pete at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Matt King Tribute Show

Comix Comedy Cellars

7:00pm, Fri 10 Mar 2000

Score: 6

Short Review: Surprising

With Matt King's unfortunate accident (he was hit by his own car, in a comedic twist), local Adelaide comedians came together to provide a tasty replacement for the mighty Pom. Headlining the night was the incomparable Dave Flanagan, but Fringe acts such as Dave Williams also did pieces, along with a host of Comix regulars.

Overall, it wasn't priceless humour, but it was a lot of fun... and the quality of talent present eclipsed that seen in many other Fringe shows.

(BTW - Matt King is out of hospital, and tentatively re-scheduled for mid-May)

Posted by pete at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mas Distinguidas

Space Theatre

7:00pm, Fri 10 Mar 2000

Score: 9

Short Review: Fascinating

At last, a Festival show that I truly fell in love with. The Spanish performance artist and dancer, La Ribot, presented her second collection of "Distinguished Pieces" to a Friday night audience who all seemed as captivated as I with her performance.

As we entered The Space, La Ribot lay naked on the floor, rolling a mirror alongside her to allow the audience to see her entire naked form. This constituted one of her twelve "Distinguished Pieces" for the night. It was followed by other amusing, abstract, but just generally wonderful pieces.

This might read like a big perv piece, given that 90% of the time La Ribot is naked, but 'tis not the case. Indeed, she does make light of her nakedness ("Narcisa", "Manual de uso") and, whilst audience participation is minimal, the look she shot the audience member who laughed at the start of "Poema Infinito" was priceless.

La Ribot's Pieces, though best classified as performance art, also occasionally allowed her to show her classical dance background, her movements full of elegance and grace. This, for me, was a wonderfully enjoyable performance, definitely the best of the Festival so far.

Posted by pete at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Universe & All The Bits In It

Iris Cinema

11:00pm, Thu 9 Mar 2000

Score: 3

Short Review: Undergraduate

Imagine you're at Uni with one of those bearded Physics geeks who always thought that they were so wacky because they could seriously discuss the pros and cons of each of the Doctor Who villains. Got that image in your head? Welcome to the nightmare that was this show.

I could have sworn I was in a tutorial being led by such a person. I knew I was in trouble when the guy (no names... let's just call him "The Tutor") claimed that the world today should aspire to be like the world portrayed in Star Trek. Oh dear. And it went downhill, real quick, from there. Doctor Who, favourite dinosaurs, and the latest going-ons with NASA were discussed (and I do mean discussed - audience participation was almost begged) in a ramshackle "show" which had no real form or shape, and made me think that The Tutor was here as part of a bet with his post-grad buddies.

Well, I got a few (very few) laughs, and I'd rather go to this again than Bound Sonata, so it gets a skinny 3. However, if you're a Trekkie or Doctor Who fan who feels that you need to vent your opinions upon the world, roll up to this show. You'll be in like-minded company.

Posted by pete at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

House Humans

Bakehouse Theatre

9:30pm, Thu 9 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: Entertaining

Neat play. One man, his own little insanity, enacted in a small, intimate theatre for all to enjoy.

Peter Green brings his character Victor to life with enjoyable ease. He happily moves amongst the audience whilst portraying the fucked-up ("not weird... you have to be born weird, but you can become fucked-up"), going-to-therapy, wife-is-a-bondage-mistress Victor, detailing Victor's exploits (as well as those of Victor's friends from "group").

"House Humans" was a thoroughly enjoyable bit of theatre. No real faults, no real highlights. Just competent entertainment.

Posted by pete at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lano and Woodley - Slick

Masons

7:30pm, Thu 9 Mar 2000

Score: 4

Short Review: Infantile

Oh god, this was awful. I was so looking forward to this show - but all I got was wee/poo jokes and banal sight gags. Sure, Lano & Woodley are great performers - but why didn't they bring some actual humorous content with them?

Maybe it's just me, but Woodley pulling faces behind Lano's back just doesn't constitute humour. To be utterly truthful, I laughed at times during the show. Six times. I counted. Sure, the "audience participation" bit (a slow-motion tennis match) was funny, but not that funny.

Still, the rest of the audience loved it. They emitted some of the loudest laughter I've heard during the Fringe thus far. Maybe the status quo of comedy lies with such infantile antics. Oh, the horror.

Posted by pete at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Harry the Dead Poet - Live

Swingcat Club

3:00pm, Thu 9 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: Cool

Harry the Dead Poet (aka Harry Cording) is one cool, cool guy. Presenting an hour of self-scribed poetry in front of a small (but generally appreciative) crowd, you got the feeling that he didn't really care whether they liked his work or not.

From behind dark sunglasses and loud shirt, the Dead Poet recited works that covered themes as broad as politics, environmentalism, and midlife crises. His opening poem, "Poet of the Day", was great, as was his ode to "The Poet's Wife".

Some of his work was a little mundane, with predictable rhythm and corny rhymes. But overall, this mild-voiced (and genuinely likeable) Kiwi provided an entertaining hour of verse.

Posted by pete at 03:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Harmon Leon - Yank Me!

Boltz Cafe

10:00pm, Wed 8 Mar 2000

Score: 5

Short Review: Momentary

This was quite promising - Lehmo came out to warm the crowd up, dealt with some heckling in a good-natured way, then introduced Harmon Leon - who promptly struggled for 5 minutes.

Leon re-used a fair bit of material from previous visits - although the return of Timmy was welcome (even if his life wasn't threatened as liberally as last Fringe). However, his new material was patchy - about a 50/50 proposition.

His piece on the pros and cons of various religions was amusing; recounting how he tried valiantly to get sacked from a fast-food job inside three hours raised a few laughs; and his exploits trying to buy a gun whilst acting like a psychotic gun freak were downright hilarious. In between these highlights, however, the best he could manage out of this little camper was a smile.

On the whole - amusing enough, but why bother when there's much better around at the moment?

Posted by pete at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bound Sonata

Uniflex Physical Theatre

8:30pm, Wed 8 Mar 2000

Score: 2

Short Review: Self-indulgent

Wow, this was bad. Quoth the Fringe Guide: "Bound Sonata is the obsessive and compulsive in all of us". Well, the obsession seemed to be entirely on the performer's side of the fence, whereas the compulsion for me was to leave early.

Two performers, one very lean ("black"), the other heavier-set ("blue"). Black was average on both the movement front and the piano. Blue seemed competent on the movement side of things. The movement prescribed by the piece, presumably meant to symbolise the aforementioned obsessive/compulsive behaviour, was exactly that - that same, inelegant, gestures over and over again, interspersed with much pacing of the floor and whispering to themselves. Visual spectacle? Afraid not - shit boring is a far more apt term.

Interestingly enough, my SO was far more scathing of this piece than I - comments like "no talent, wrote the piece for Year 11 dance class and got a B" were passed around. In a more curious occurance, this has apparently had good reviews - why? What am I missing? And do I really care?

Posted by pete at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Un Re(a)d

Ngapartji Multimedia Centre

7:00pm, Wed 8 Mar 2000

Score: 5

Short Review: TryHard

The Post Hoc Performing Word Company come down from the Gold Coast to inject a bit of poetry, video, and live action into the fringe. Sometimes their multimedia effort pays off; most times it doesn't.

Being led into the Multimedia Centre by two rejects from Mad Max III (you know, the bit where Mel finds all the kids?) planted seeds of doubt into my head. The first 5 minutes of the pre-recorded video footage did not assuage these fears. Fine imagery was torn apart by lacklustre visual effects, with try-hard evocative-wannabe text skidding across the screen like a nightmarish PowerPoint presentation.

The closing 5 minutes of the piece (hereafter known as "the realist bit") was also a contrived bit of work. In between these two pieces, though, was a reasonable section ("the city bit") which, whilst being similarly contrived, made better use of the visual palette. And, on the plus side, the original music throughout was quite good.

On the minus side - the live performances accompanying the video had a Wank Factor of about 13 (out of 10). Overall, the writing was pretty poor too - whilst the Company seemed to have plenty to say about the garish ills of their home town (and, one would guesstimate, society in general), it all seemed to be written in a manner which seems to be desperately trying to create a powerful, evocative commentary... and failing. Still, the music and video elements of this piece seem to indicate that there is some talent in the group... somewhere.

Posted by pete at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Astin - Edgar Allen Poe

Arts Theatre

1:00pm, Wed 8 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: Disappointing

John Astin, bearing more than an uncanny resemblance to the real Edgar Allen Poe, presents one of the longer shows at this year's fringe. Clocking in at 1:45 - an impressive effort, given that it's a monologue - it runs out of stem about 20 minutes before its conclusion.

This is a bit of a shame, really - the first act (about 50 minutes worth ) is really quite good. Astin opens the show by letting Poe read his own obituary - a most amusing moment, with Astin wonderfully comic. The play then lays Poe's demons out before the audience, closing the first act on a particularly down note.

The second act was... flat. Astin noticeably stumbled on several lines, and his reading of "The Raven" left much to be desired... where was the inherent, brooding terror? However, most other excerpts from Poe's writings were cleverly moulded into the script (which was, on the whole, quite good).

After all the hype surrounding this play, I was expecting quite a bit from it - but it wasn't quite there. With the exception of the aforementioned faults, Astin was quite good; it's just that the script needed a tiny bit of trimming. Worth seeing for Astin's alter ego; just not quite the blockbuster we've been led to believe it would be.

Posted by pete at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No Spleen

Club Fringe

10:45pm, Tue 7 Mar 2000

Score: 8

Short Review: Witty

This performance bears an bit in common with another at Club Fringe, The Entire Contents of the Refrigerator. Both are one woman shows, both are staged sparsely, both are powerful performances (and both scored 8). But that's about the end of the similarities.

Carolyn Cohagan is a class act. Whilst it could be said that her performance did not require the physical or mental flexibility of Stewart-Lindley's Refrigerator monologues, she more than makes up for it with pure comedic style. Her sense of timing is exquisite, the speed of delivery varying from standing still (a wonderfully amusing and tense moment shared with the audience) to lightning fast (the opening monologue, travelling home in New York City). Through all this she recounts her own real-life experiences as she is knocked down by illness, resulting in the removal of her spleen.

Cohagan's characterisations are great, and she is a wonderful comedienne. There are a few flat spots in the story, but a lot of great spots too. This is one show well worth checking out.

Posted by pete at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Greg Fleet & Adam Brough - Interrogation

Nova (Cinema 1)

8:10pm, Tue 7 Mar 2000

Score: 6

Short Review: Despair

I like Fleety, I really do. I think his manner on stage is great, his delivery impeccable. But I am constantly driven to the depths of despair because he never gets 60 minutes of quality material together!

His latest show uses Adam Brough as a straight man/sidekick/prop, and there are some genuinely funny moments to be had. The opening of the show is amusing, and the "car chase" scene that the two of them do is quite cool. But beyond that, the laughs are pretty sparse... they're there, just few and far between.

Having said that, though, this is the best show I've ever seen Fleety do. And I can't stop going to see his shows because one day he'll have an hour of killer material that will do him justice. But this is not such a show.

Posted by pete at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To join the Daily Update List, just send a querying e-mail to ff2000@moobaa.com.

Posted by pete at 02:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ur/Faust

Queens Theatre

11:00pm, Mon 6 Mar 2000

Score: 8

Short Review: Powerful

Ur/Faust is an interpretation of Johann Wolfgang van Goethe's preliminary (the "Ur" means "original") treatment of his classic work. It is intense, abrupt, and powerful - but has a single significant shortcoming.

Director Benedict Andrews has created a harsh and grimy world where 6 figures cut their way through the Ur/Faust. The set, though relatively barren, is wonderfully lit, and the performers use all manner of acoustic (guitar, megaphone) and visual (small video cameras displaying on multiple screens) props. The impressive use of music was, not for the first time this fortnight, very reminiscent of that in a David Lynch movie - mostly moody in a smoky kind of way, but impacting when it needs to.

The performance itself was very powerful - up to a point. Nathan Page was perfect as Faust, displaying an intensity which was incredible. Likewise, Rebecca Havey's Gretchen was wonderfully cast. Why then, in the face of these two strong performances, was the decidedly wimpy and unexpressive Jed Kurzel cast as the pivotal Mephisto? Devil or not, Page's Faust could kick his arse any day...

This was the only failing of the production; everything else was superb. It's just that... well, it's the devil, innit? And he just looked like a big wuss, not someone who'd sell you a dud deal. But Ur/Faust is still well worth seeing, purely for the superlative performances of Page and Havey (and the exceptional direction).

Posted by pete at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mizumachi

Torrens Parade Ground

8:00pm, Mon 6 Mar 2000

Score: 8

Short Review: Depth

Much lauded as one of the "must see" Festival events, the Japanese theatre company Ishinha's first foray outside of Japan provides an amazing spectacle, both in the performances by the cast and in the unique set implementation.

Mizumachi is a "Jan Jan Opera", referring to the home base of Ishinha. The program informs us that this is a self-imposed style of opera using the local intonations and dialects, which tend to use the dialogue more as music than as pure speech. This is just as well because, like most of the people attending this performance, my grip on Japanese isn't that great. The performers, however, are able to create understanding out of that can't-understand-the-language nothingness.

Mizumachi is primarily a song-and-movement piece. The music, though often overpowering, was magnificent, and was able to create the perfect atmosphere for any given scene (although I could have sworn that I heard excerpts of Mr Bungle's "Merry Go Bye Bye" in there somewhere). The choreography for the dance scenes was also stunning, but when the piece strayed from dance into dialogue, it felt a little... lacking, both in impact and content.

Why, then, use "depth" as a one-word-summary? The answer is in the opening scene - there are four (count 'em) different "stages", one behind the other, upon which different dances occured. You concentrate on the movement one one "stage" for a moment, then something on another catches your eye - and you begin wondering what you missed. Director Yukichi Matsumoto thus deserves extra special credit for the spectacle he has produced - a complex visual weave of many different layers which makes the performance pleasing to the eye.

But when all is said and done, there's not much more to it than spectacle. There is a "story", but it's pretty much unimportant - just watch the wonderful performances on the clever stage (did I mention that the whole stage is mounted on a custom-designed lake, with the performers spending most of their time splashing around in the knee-deep water? Oh). The last three "chapters" are worth the price of admission alone.

Posted by pete at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rich Hall (aka Otis Lee Crenshaw)

Nova (Cinema 1)

10:30pm, Sun 5 Mar 2000

Score: 9

Short Review: song-tastic

Rich Hall's alter ego, the six-time married, incarcerated (for involuntary bigamy) Otis Lee Crenshaw, was joined onstage by two likeminded Texans for an hour of song and hilarity. And there were buckets of both.

Hall's standard songs are hilarious - the opener "I Was Drunk" springs to mind - but it's when he gets into ad-lib mode that the laughs run thickest. His "couple song" (this night's victims were Bill and Jenny) was an absolute classic ("spreadsheets" - "bed sheets"... brilliant!), and the not-quite-ad-libbed-but-close-enough "Adelaide song" is a classic also.

Words alone cannot express how wonderfully funny this show is - I guess I'll just give it a good score and let you find out for yourselves.

Posted by pete at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wil Anderson - Terra Wilius: A History of Australia

Nova (Cinema 2)

8:20pm, Sun 5 Mar 2000

Score: 8

Short Review: Gut-laughs

Wil Anderson returns to Adelaide with a show that traces through the finer points of Australian history. Along the way, he has a dig at the government, the ocker Aussie male, and ponders a few more serious issues.

Wil has a great delivery style; he's basically your classic Australian comedian. Not afraid of poking fun at himself, he also manages to surreptitiously introduce material into his act that allows the most subtle of segueways into his next bit. The manner in which he does this is, in itself, a great laugh.

He lets himself down a little, though, by introducing more serious topics into the proceedings; racism and homophobia aren't great topics for laughs (where's Chelsea Lewis when you need her?), and he doesn't go chasing them either. However, you'll find that you've been gut-laughing though the rest of the show, so the few flat spots are easy to look over.

Posted by pete at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

North Darling in North Alone

Nova (Cinema 2)

7:10pm, Sun 5 Mar 2000

Score: 4

Short Review: PG

Whoa, this was not great at all. North Darling, the "good looking" one of the Three Canadians, brought forth a flimsy show which struggled to get any laughs at all.

The premise of the show was that North gets stranded on a desert island; this part of the story is told at the start of the show using some clever (and amusing) puppetry, but as soon as North appears on stage the play went downhill fast.

The puppetry used throughout the show was clever enough, but got more-ish after a while, and the manner in which North (and his accomplice AJ) constantly derided their own crappy production values got more than a little irritating. On the plus side, however, the "Ode to a Dead Dolphin" was great, even if you had to sit through 2 minutes of "fighting" with an inflatable dolphin to get there.

In short, this would be a great show for kids (be warned, however, that there is a little profanity uttered during the show). This type of humour is a little beneath anyone over the age of 12.

BTW: is it me, or does anyone else think North looks like Ade Edmondson?

Posted by pete at 07:10 PM | Permalink

The Enormous Club

Uniflex Physical Theatre

2:00pm, Sun 5 Mar 2000

Score: 8

Short Review: Candlelight

Born In A Taxi, a Victorian-based company, presented "The Enormous Club", a quality bit of physical theatre. Very qualititious it was, too.

The four performers smoothly traversing the stage, interacting well with each other and providing a great deal of subtlety and humour in their movements. The true beauty in the production, however, is in the innovative use of light (large amounts of the piece was lit only by the candles which the performers held) and the clever use of the (minimalist) props.

There is a rather lengthy discussion about the premise of the show, but it isn't needed; The Enormous Club is a great bit of physical theatre without having to place any subtext to it.

Posted by pete at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thinking of seeing "Writing to Vermeer"? Lash out $12 for the programme the night before, go home, and read the libretto. You'll enjoy the AV spectacle so much more...

Posted by pete at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Writing to Vermeer

Festival Theatre

8:00pm, Sat 4 Mar 2000

Score: 8

Short Review: Teeming

Let me guess - you've looked at the one-word review and thought, "Teeming? What's that all about, then?". Well, in bringing this production to Adelaide, co-directors Peter Greenaway and Saskia Boddeke have created a stunning piece of opera that's simply teeming with both aural and visual imagery.

As has been well documented in more knowledgeable tomes than this, "Writing to Vermeer" is based around a series of (fictitious) letters sent to the painter Johannes Vermeer from three women: his wife, his mother-in-law and his model. As Frits van der Waa writes in the programme, "Writing to Vermeer is an opera without drama... the narrative is kept to a bare minimum". Instead, we have an opera which is, for the most part, based upon minor events and domesticities, with just a little bit of Dutch history thrown in.

The most immediately appealling aspect of Vermeer is the visuals; Greenaway's touch is in abundance here. Several screens are lowered throughout the performance (both in the background and the fore), onto which pre-recorded video imagery is projected. This video footage is used to display Vermeer's works, imagery supporting the current scene's themes, or footage that would be impossible to produce onstage (the bloody killings of two brothers being a prime example). Projection was used extensively in the performance - images of flowing water projected onto the main stage produced a stunning effect.

As for the performers - well, they were great (gee, what an understatement). With the exception of the children who introduced most of the "letters", all singers were strong and precise. On-stage movements (I wouldn't really call it "choreography") were minimal, and created the feeling of modest domesticity. Louis Andriessen's music (which always had a menacing edge to it... or was that just me?) was superbly performed by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

So, with all this raving, why only give it an 8? Well, to be frank, operas aren't really my thing, so my opera ears weren't tuned up... and with this work, I think you really need the dialogue. I mean, imagery can only go so far. Speaking of which, I think
there were a few little over-indulgences... I mean, we've all heard about the live cow - but it only had 30 seconds of stage time! Whilst there was video footage of a cow for several minutes!

So, whilst it was a wonderful spectacle, let me offer this advice - if you're thinking of going, go buy the programme the night before and read the libretto. That way, you'll be able to enjoy the spectacle without worrying about trying to pick up the plot. Otherwise, make sure those ears are in opera-mode and free of wax.

Posted by pete at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The first perfect score has come in - go and see "Hard Times" at The Foreign Legion (Cartoons) now. And stay for the rest of the shows there!

Posted by pete at 07:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hard Times

The Foreign Legion (Cartoons)

5:00pm, Sat 4 Mar 2000

Score: 10

Short Review: Magnificent!!

Another combined theater simple and Ghostlight production, "Hard Times" (adapted from Charles Dickens' novel by Ghostlight) proved to be truly exceptional theatre.

In typical theater simple style, the stage was stark but for performers and purely functional props (but why was Zoe Galvez reading "Moby Dick"? :) The performers themselves were superb without fault: Monique Kleinhans plays her 3 main roles (the regal Mrs Sparsit, the woefully drunken Maddy and the militant Slackbridge) perfectly; Amy Augustine is wonderful as James Harthouse (and the impish Sissy Jupe early on); and the love between Llysa Holland and Craig Neibaur (as Rachael and Stephen, respectively) is absolute.

One other point of note is the direction; Bill Peters (as well as directing "Hunting for Moby Dick") controlled the floor with unwavering accuracy. In fact, it's nigh-on impossible for me to fault this production in any way - everything about it is superb, from the labour songs that open each Act to Amy Augustine's haunting closing song. To paraphrase Louisa Gradgrind: The only feeling I have ever been certain of is sheer, unadulterated love for this production. Without a doubt, this will be one of the highlights of the Fringe/Festival.

Posted by pete at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Quixote

The Foreign Legion (Cartoons)

2:00pm, Sat 4 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: Surprising

This was a tricky review to write whilst remaining factual. Go see the show and you'll understand why :)

Don Quixote, the Knight of Mournful Countenance, exists as a form of therapy within the walls of a mental hospital. The doctors within the hospital use the text of the novel to cajole the patients to mental stability with a healthy dose of roleplaying.

To be honest, halfway throught this play I was expecting the worst (despite the fabulous windmill scene); the performances all seemed way over the top, with the exception of Mark Fullerton (perfect as a noble Quixote) and Jena Cane (as the fluttery Dr Stucco & a wonderfully lovelorn Dulcinea). However, without giving anything away, the latter half of the play was just brilliant.

In all, a thoroughly enjoyable bit of work. Congratulations must go to One World Theatre - yet another great Seattle theatre company! If you like your theatre funny, extravagant, and with a twist, this is the play for you.

Posted by pete at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Adelaide Festival Opening Night Concert

Elder Park

7:30pm, Fri 3 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: Reconciliatory

The opening to this year's Adelaide Festival was a 3 hour concert, perforated by ads for upcoming Festival shows. For the large crowd that gathered on this chilly Friday night, there was a fair bit of quality music to be had.

Due to our late arrival (after a stunning dinner at The American Eatery), we missed the "official" greeting by the indigenous Kaurna people, the original custodians of most of Adelaide. We did managed to catch the end of the Warumpi Band's set, and they sounded great - beneath the screeching of their lead singer. Festival director Robyn Archer then came out and did a bit of a sales job, promoting her Festivalian wares, but that was only to be expected :)

The acts that followed including Kaha (most excellent work by these guys), Vika and Linda Bull (standard fare from these talented sisters), and a bit of a snippet of "Cool Heat Urban Beat" which had the crowd enthralled. Gotta see that show...

Quirky bit of the night - during the first song by local indigenous HR band Onslaught, the north-eastern face of the Festival theatre became the stage for three abseilers who managed a choreographed dance routine to the music. Most impressive - and unexpected - stuff.

Due to the fact that I dislike Paul Kelly's music, we left a bit early. Overall though, the concert had something for everyone (oooh, icky cliche). And what was more, I sincerely believe that, due to the high indigenous content of the program, and the resulting multicultural mix in the crowd, this one night has done more for Aboriginal reconciliation in Australia than our Government will ever manage. There - Pete's hat is in the political ring.

Posted by pete at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

(Not FF related, but...) There's a new restaurant on O'Connell Street, North Adelaide, called "The American Eatery". Go there tonite... great people, exceptional food.

Posted by pete at 07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Ecstatic Bible

Scott Theatre

5:00pm, Thu 2 Mar 2000

Score: 6

Short Review: Have-baby-person-dies

This is the world premiere of this Howard Barker play (ha! I saw a WORLD PREMIERE!), created in a unique collaboration between Barker's own production company, The Wrestling School, and the Adelaide-based Brink Productions. Barker and Adelaidean Tim Maddock split directorial duties between Britain and Australia (apparently directing different characters from the text), with the two companies coming together for just the last few weeks of rehearsal. A bold move indeed; but one wonders whether it was worth the effort?

Four "Parts" spread over 7 hours, 55 minutes (including intervals). Reportedly, there's 30 distinct chapters in there. And to be frank, I haven't got a bloody clue what was going on. This review should make that pretty clear, and I apologise in advance for any ridiculous typos, misnomers, lack of understanding, etc...

The play seems to centre around the reluctant immortals, Mrs Gollancz and her doting, but unrequited, Priest. Of that I'm reasonably certain, since it is introduced very early in the first Part. Thereafter the plot descends into a steady cycle which can only be described as "have baby, person dies", as Gollancz pops kiddies out everywhere, the Priest mourns Gollancz's lack of moral fortitude (and his own desire for her), and a complex array of characters intertwine to weave as complex a story as this little reviewer has ever seen.

There's an awful amount of angst going on; plenty of death, plenty of births to go with it, and the first three Parts seem to rely heavily on the concept of uncontrollable, unrequitable desires. Yet amongst it all there are still traces of impossible humour. The second Part, in particular, was particularly well scripted - in that it was coherent :) But what was up with that ending?

Without a doubt, the play was remarkably well done - all the performers (especially those from TWS) were exceptional, the sound was great, the direction and production competent. However, the content was as thick as mud and, apart from the second Part, almost impossible to wade through. Keeping track of the multitude of characters; who begat whom; who lusted whom; how many years had passed; whether character X actually knew Y; and so on. This is not for the faint of heart or loose of memory.

Barker has said that he doesn't mind if people leave in the middle of the performance. Just as well, really - the opening night audience thinned to about half it's original number by the end of the performance, with the performers equalling the audience in number. Was it really that bad? Well, no - as mentioned before, it was technically pretty good. But the sheer amount of information being thrown at you made it difficult to absorb and, by the final curtain, it was kind of a relief to step out of Gollancz's and the Priest's miseries.

My advice? If you don't already have an intimate knowledge of the play, go spend your 8 hours & $48 on four plays at the Foreign Legion & International Brigade.

References:

• Masthead Literary Arts Magazine
  

Posted by pete at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eric and Derek's Hot Nuts and Popcorn Show

Mercury Cinema

11:00pm, Wed 1 Mar 2000

Score: 7

Short Review: Talk-show

Oh, how we did laugh. Eric & Derek (along with Terry and the music guy - sorry, forgot his name) present a pretty-much-nightly talk-show style performance, complete with guests, ad breaks (live "clips" from other shows) and a little stand-up. As you could imagine, the quality of the show on any given night is pretty much dependant on the guests, and what a great bunch we had tonite...

First up (after a bit of awkward banter from the "hosts") was local Channel 10 reporter Chelsea Lewis. Entertainment reporter Chelsea Lewis. Who also covers "real" news stories. Like the Christmas Shopping. And back-to-school. To be fair, she also covers sieges - but she's "never been in any dangerous situations". Fine. Pretty much what you'd expect to hear from an entertainment reporter. But she also mentioned how she gets a little angry when she sees one of her stories get butchered by her bosses ("bosses" being Channel 10, a Fringe sponsor). And that she doesn't know how long she'll stay with Channel 10 "because of all the down-sizing going on". And that what she really wants to do is documentaries - "I want to change people's lives. Especially about racism and homophobia, they're my two big topics" (you could feel the audience groan).

Well, good on her I say. Who cares that, as an entertainment reporter - reporting on the Fringe - she'd only sat through two entire shows (including this one?). Who cares that it's every journo's dream to do doco's, and that people who bad-mouth their bosses aren't likely to survive the next round of down-sizing? Who cares that someone who wants to change people's lives doesn't know who Michael Moore is? Who cares about my appalling over-use of sarcasm? Get over it, Pete!!

The ad break for the night was a snippet from "Help Wanted", which looked to be a slapstick-ish bit of physical theatre. The real bonus for the night (besides listening to "but I really want to make documentaries" - FrontLine was sooooo accurate) was that the Tripod boys appeared for a bit of a chat. Witty to the extreme, they colluded well with Eric & Derek to create much mirth and merriment.

In all - the amusement factor was high, though probably not for all the right reasons. As always, your mileage may vary...

Posted by pete at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)