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.

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.

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”.

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!)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?