Tripod Tells The Tale of the Adventures of Tosswinkle the Pirate (not very well)

Tripod @ Royalty Theatre

8:00pm, Thu 14 Mar 2002

Score: 4

Short Review: Tossy

Wow, what a bummer. I was really looking forward to this show after seeing Tripod last Fringe, and had heard from friends that the boys were running hot, but I left this show thinking that I’d just blown another prime 8:00pm timeslot.

The “symphonic” musical intro to the show lasted way too long, though it was followed by an ad for the show (which was really quite good – stilted english a-plenty). Thereafter, the “Tosswinkle the Pirate” plot got thrown into the fray, which was really an excuse for silly, surreal, and just plain over-acted antics. The only time a smile was drawn to my face was when Yon let loose his “Madam” quip, and the “Everyone’s a tosser” song. Oh, and the “Megamix” (a pepped-up remix of all the songs from the Tosswinkle shamozzle) was quite clever also.

Heavy hearted, I was about to leave, when the audiences’ applause brought Tripod back onto the stage for the obligatory “tell your friends” bit. There they urged “Go see The 4 Noels, they’re tops”. Ah. That explains it all.

Shut Up And Love Me

Karen Finley @ Union Hall

7:00pm, Wed 13 Mar 2002

Score: 6

Short Review: Abrasive

Branded obscene by many US political heavyweights, voted “Woman of the Year” by Ms. Magazine, and immersed in court actions against the US Government (over her revoked NEA funding), the last thing you can say about Karen Finley (especially having done a bit of research around the Web) is that she is a shy, introverted lass. Heavens no.

Finley appears, wiggling her arse at the 20% capacity audience, before beginning a strip tease to a Barry White tune. She stopped suddenly, anxious that some late-comers had brought a child in with them. Assured that this was not the case, she resumed her strip, wandering into the audience to lap-dance and rub her genitals on a punter’s shoe. Reclining on a lounge onstage, she indulged in five minutes of stilted ad-lib, before launching into her monologues.

Her monologues were… interesting. Many of the initial pieces saw her scooting between multiple “characters” (or voices) in a very disconcerting manner – it made all the monologues seem as though they were written with scatterbrained manic characters in mind. The “war veteran” piece, as well as the closer, were really quite good – the rest, however, suffered from a fatal flaw…

Finley constantly interrupted her own performance – to tell the audience that they should have laughed (“I NEED YOU!”), should be applauding her, or just for some barbed, self-effacing humour. This made the going tough; it made me feel like I was watching a rehearsal, rather than the work proper. Add to this the almost inexplicable “honey time”: after summoning the help of audience members to pour two pitchers of honey onto the centre of the stage, Finley proceeds to cavort naked in the sticky substance, before continuing the monologues.

In a Time article, Finley said of her performance that she “basically just runs around the stage making political-emotional commentary”. If you can handle the fact that she does this mostly naked, and that the commentary is delivered in a hard-to-digest and abrasive manner, then this may be the show for you.

References: 1 2 3 4 5

Swallow Me

budgie lung @ Ausdance Studio

8:15pm, Tue 12 Mar 2002

Score: 7

Short Review: Manic

As we park our arses in the tightly-seated Ausdance Studio, Greg sits nervously on a couch. The lights dim; TVs embedded in the set, and Greg leaps manically around the set, living his life as a pro golfer. He calms; cuts a few lines of coke on a Nana Mouskouri album, when his Mum drops around unexpectedly.

Such is the opening to this highly-charged, mile-a-minute play from the pen of Josh Tyler. Rory Walker appears far more at home with the role of Greg than his performance in Killer Joe, and delights with his coke-stricken behavior. The rest of the cast is competent, as is the direction of the work. The strobe-light was used sparingly well, and clever use was made of the TVs in the set.

Well, I’m not even going to pretend that I know what was going on here – I like to take the surrealist view, that the drug-peddling Eddie (“I’m a steaming red hot cock”) was the gremlin on Greg’s shoulder, and the white-clad Kitten was some kind of angelic figure – but that’s probably way off the mark. There is a very unsubtle use of wit in the play, which doesn’t detract from proceedings, and the last monologue/rant is very ills-of-society-centric ™.

I left this one feeling a little overwhelmed – there’s a lot going on, and the pace at which it’s presented makes it feel a bit… messy. Having said that, it is a wonderfully Fringey mess to indulge oneself in.

Macbeth

this Rough Magic theatre & film @ Adelaide Gaol

9:00pm, Mon 11 Mar 2002

Score: 8

Short Review: Blood & Gore

Me, I’m a big fan of Macbeth. Ever since I was introduced to it through “The Young Ones” all those years ago (“All hail McVyvyan, Thane of the Outside Toilet, and that little gravelly patch next to the garden shed”), then got the real thing in Year 11 at school, I’ve always thought that this was the Bard’s best work. Thus, I feel compelled to check out any Macbeth productions that come to town. And, having seen Rough Magic’s previous Fringe productions (“The Tempest” in ’98, “Richard II” in 2000), I thought that this would be a good bet.

Most of the familiar Rough Magic crew returned for this production, and (as with “Richard II“) there was a geurilla military motif. Set inside the old Adelaide Gaol, sets were suitably sparse, and the upper storey of the backround building was effectively used to whip through the action of Acts IV and V. Unfortunately, the outdoor venue suffered a little from passing trains and planes, and the audience suffers from a bit of wind chill too (so rug up).

Performances were good all round – Dana Miltins was a delightfully devious (and franticly insane) Lady Macbeth with a Little Black Dress to die for. Sheanna Maine was a great Ross, and Rockwell Csorba’s Macduff was superb. Unfortunately, the only flailing performance was that of Macbeth himself – Peter Davies seems to have taken the emotional cues for his character from Act III, and so we see nothing of Macbeth’s descent into madness.

The direction of this production was also good – there were some well-executed biffo scenes, and the portrayal of the witches as members of the media was amusingly sweet. The use of pre-recorded images on the gaol wall was interesting – those at the beginning of the piece were useful as background material, but the latter recordings added little. Still, they’re relatively minor gripes – and the failings of Davies’ performance doesn’t have the impact on the production that one might imagine. This is well worth a look, and Rough Magic’s best work to date.

Me & My Friend

Potato Theatre Company @ Little Games Room

7:00pm, Mon 11 Mar 2002

Score: 9

Short Review: Touching

Penned by UK playwright Gillian Plowman, “Me & My Friend” is actually one act of a full-length play, and deals with the story of two 40-ish men recently “released” from a (now closed) psychiatric hospital, in the guise of an “early-release” program.

Encouraged to prepare themselves for the trials of the real world again, we see Oz and Bunny engage in all manner of role-playing. Oz – troubled by his own lusts, and feeling rejected by his deceased mother – adopts his pre-psychiatric-hospital persona as a postman to fixate on the woman in the flat upstairs (the link to the other “half” of the play, not seen here). Bunny has a more violent and troubled presence – having lost his marriage to his work obsession, he feels an overwhelming need to succeed at his forthcoming job interview (and I noticed he was wearing a suit, tie and trakky daks!). Their relationship is very… odd-couple-ish, which lends itself to light-hearted moments: “being circumcised gives you confidence!”.

This is a very poignant play, presenting a very special friendship and then destroying it in a genuinely touching moment at the end of the piece. Wonderful Fringe theatre. Not only that, but it uses the word “lugubrious” (for the third time this Fringe).

Scared Weird Little Guy’s Superband

@ The Famous Spiegeltent

11:59pm, Sun 10 Mar 2002

Score: 9

Short Review: Stompin’

The Scaredies Superband, after a prolonged wait, ripped into a set that sounded like my “80’s Greatest Hits” collection – “What I Like About You”, “Turning Japanese” and “My Sharona” straight off the bat. The banded sounded bloody great, to be honest – Scaredies on guitar and bass, with accompaniment of guitar, drums and a horns section(!).

Then came the special guests for the evening – pretty much most of the rest of the Fringe. Tripod come on for a crowd-pleasing “YMCA”, Brian Nankervis did an awesome Jagger impersonation for “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, Phil Nichol popped in for “Blister in the Sun”. There were many others I couldn’t place – “Mickey”, “Call Me”, “I See Red”, “TNT” – and special kudos to the guy that sang “Advance Australia Fair” to the tune of “Working Class Man”. The 3 Canadians rounded out the guest slots for a great Beastie Boys imitation (Derek complete with sad 70’s sunnies and arse hanging out of his pants) – “Fight For Your Right”.

The Superband closed their main set with a limp “Eye of the Tiger”, but happily returned for an encore of “Rock and Roll All Night”. Ignoring my pleas for “Tainted Love” (which would’ve made for a perfect 80’s night), they signed off with a stompingly emphatic “500 Miles (I’m Gonna Be)”. Bloody great stuff.

Otis Lee Crenshaw

Rich Hall @ Nova 2

9:30pm, Sun 10 Mar 2002

Score: 8

Short Review: As Per Usual

Rich Hall’s alter-ego, Otis Lee Crenshaw, returns to the Fringe on a prisoner-exchange program once again. And, as required reading, one should check my review of Otis’ last appearance in Adelaide.

So what’s changed since last visit? Well, in essence, not a lot – he’s still got his guitar and bass offsiders, and a lot of the songs are familiar (the return of the Adelaide Song, “He Almost Looks Like You”, “Penitentiary Song”), but let’s face it – they’re good material. The newer songs were great, too – “Bag Lady” is a cracker, and “Kicking that Smack for the Red, White and Blue” was amusing too.

But the beauty of Rich Hall is his impromptu serenades and wordsmithery: tonite the subject of his derision was Michael the Number 2 Chef. As always, Hall’s ability to come back from comedy death with a pearler of a verse is awesome. Hecklers were handled without any trouble, and his Elvis comments (“buried in the backyard like a hamster”) had me in stitches.

If you saw Rich Hall / Otis Lee Crenshaw in ff2000, you probably don’t need my recommendation now; if you didn’t, get on down and see him now.

More Please Miss Kate

Miss Kate @ Worldsend Hotel

7:45pm, Sun 10 Mar 2002

Score: 6

Short Review: Ocker

Miss Kate, a native of Cairns (now banned from performing there), bowled onto the stage wearing a VB cap and a Liz Hurley-esque VB t-shirt, complete with safety pins. In between memorised poems of her own creation – “I’m a wordsmith” – she also interjected stories of her past, in the most ocker-country-bargirl accent imaginable.

Let’s face it – Miss Kate isn’t going to challenge Dawe, Dennis or Paterson for the title of “Australia’s Greatest Poet”. A lot of her compositions were very… unwieldy, but the “Sensitive Man” poem and the “Ode to Helga The Swedish Whip Girl” were bloody funny. And she has a fire, and a passion, and the greatest accent you could imagine from a female – and the show’s free. True dink. What more could you ask for?

Les Arts Sauts

@ Torrens Parade Ground

5:00pm, Sun 10 Mar 2002

Score: 5

Short Review: Ripped

As I sat in my deckchair within the 21 metre white bubble hemi-sphere atop the Torrens Parade grounds (hereafter known as the “GooberDome”), I had to suppress the rage my fellow GooberDome-goers were creating within me. “Why aren’t the seats numbered?” “We watch SBS and ABC, so we know how to say ‘Les Arts Sauts’.”

Ugh.

The show begins on a very dull note – a lot of swinging about high up in the GooberDome by a trapezist or two. People swinging in from the sides of the Dome in some semi-choreographed routine. No real thrills here.

About 25 minutes into the show, chains descend from the roof to lift the steel rig – upon which the band (cello, bass, viola, singers) perched – to the top of the Dome. “Cool”, thinks I, “they’re going to do acrobatic stuff off a swaying metal rig”. But no – the rig was firmly fastened to the support structure of the GooberDome. No swaying at all.

When (what I consider to be) the act proper started, and people started ooh-ing and aah-ing, I couldn’t shake this little demon from my head – “Why wasn’t the rig up there before we entered the GooberDome? Why did we have to sit around for 25 minutes while they (essentially) set up? Why did I have to pay for that?”.

Well, for 20 minutes there was all manner of mid-air hijinks, and it was all pretty… disconnected. By which I mean that I was unable to emote at all with these tumbling acrobats. There was a little variety, and to be honest there were actually a couple of genuinely exciting stunts – but when I noticed that the music was (rather blatantly) being used to generate an increased level of excitement for the same tricks seen earlier, I started feeling ripped off. To be honest, the most spectacular part was the performers “dismounts” at the end of the show. Mmmmmm… freefall.

Initially, you’d think that kicking back in a deckie, looking up towards the action is a pretty good idea. Well yeah, it is – unless you don’t like looking directly into spotlights, whereupon you’re gonna have sore eyes, mon amis. And since I was parting with 67 sheckles for a 68 minute show, I expect to actually have a 68 minute show – not the 58 minutes we got (which, I must remind you, included 25 minutes of piss-farting around before the good bits started).

And, at the end of the day, I felt utterly relieved to leave the GooberDome. Les Arts Sauts took my gladly proffered money and provided me with an emotionally bereft, mesmerisingly duplicitous experience. Millions may love this show, but not I. Go catch every show in the Lunar Tent rather than this hyped gloss.

Mirrorball – Unseen & Unclean: Banned Videos

@ Uni Cinema

11:30pm, Sat 9 Mar 2002

Score: 8

Short Review: Bloody funny

The only Mirrorball show I could attend, this was probably the one I most wanted to see – a collection of music videos that suffered the wrath of the censors. A UK MTV production, this film included entire clips of the good ‘uns, snippets from the more well-known stuff (Madonna, Prodigy), and some staggeringly funny interviews with video producers and directors.

Surprisingly, there were a lot of 80’s New Wave videos – the film opened with Duran Duran’s banned “Girls on Film” video (complete with mostly naked women mud-wrestling and pillow fighting), and Soft Cell also showed up with “Sex Dwarf”. Other clips included tracks from Queens of the Stone Age, Massive Attack, Robbie Williams (“Rock DJ”) and Metallica.

In amongst all the videos banned for female nudity, there were a few nixed for other reasons – and these were some of the best clips of the night. The Cardigans’ “My Favorite Game” was a cracker, Death In Vegas’ “Aisha” was also very stylish, but the highlight for the night was undoubtedly Flowered Up’s “Weekender” – a rip-roaring monster of a clip.

There were the gross-out moments, too – Cradle Of Filth’s “From the Cradle to Enslave” topped them, with graphic shots of people bowing their own arms with hacksaws. The funniest bits, however, were the interviews with directors – most of them looked like they were totally tripping, and one justified his creation of a (essentially) porn video by saying “pornography is just really, really interesting to us”. Duh :)

A puzzling one was the inclusion of Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” – especially since the screened video was the most edited version of that clip I’ve seen. Other than that, however, this was a bloody amusing way to spend a Saturday night.

Late Show at The Arts

@ The Arts Theatre

11:30pm, Fri 8 Mar 2002

Score: 5

Short Review: Improv

I rolled up at The Arts Theatre and was stoked at the line-up for the night – the Cream of Irish crew (Tara Flynn, Ian Coppinger, Brendan Dempsey), as well as Dave Johns and Phil Nichol. Then I read the words that filled me with trepidation – “Improv Night”.

As we all know, this could be very very good, or very very bad. At the end of the night, it probably leaned towards the latter – helped by the (mostly young) audience suggestions, which ranges from “porn” to “porno” (as appropriate).

Well, the line-up seemed very quick on their feet, providing the odd laugh or ten, but it was no substitute for a “real” show. Phil Nichol impressed with his uniformly juvenile behaviour, and Tara Flynn – well, she’s a gorgeous Irish babe, and well worth seeing again :)

As always with improv, your mileage may vary.