Adelaide Fringe Theatre 2010

Previewed by Murray Bramwell

Like its dirigible-sized, tu-tu clad lunar mascot in Victoria Square, the Adelaide Fringe expands ever more. This year’s model claims 705 events, the largest ever here, and second only to the Edinburgh mothership anywhere in the galaxy.

All this plenitude is a boon to Adelaide audiences, with ticket pre-sales going bananas and the throng to the Garden of Unearthly Delights already well established.

The Fringe has the best of all worlds. Those who want the known universe can find familiar faces from the comedy circuit and attend soiree performances by friends and local favourites. Others, wanting to venture where none have gone before, can seek out experiences original, exhilarating and sometimes tantalizingly awful. That’s the buzz of the Fringe’s uncurated bounty – it’s a cultural chook raffle. And, for the artists, performers, hucksters and brave souls who are the presenters, the Fringe is the free-market at its most Darwinian. Some will clean up, some break even and others lose, not only their shirts, but perhaps a few layers of skin as well.

This is especially true of the crowded theatre program. In an average week in Adelaide we might find two, maybe three, events of interest. In three weeks the Fringe theatre listings last year numbered around 75. Now, in 2010, they exceed 120. That is a huge program and there is plenty to consider.

The international contingent is again strong with old favourites from Seattle , Theatre Simple, bringing a new show Myth Understandings (at the Odeon) and a old fave, the random scene impro 52 Pick-up. The marvelous Guy Masterson returns with his Centre for International Theatre line-up, this year at Higher Ground in Light Square. He reprises his Dylan Thomas classics Fern Hill and Under Milk Wood and brings a swag of new shows including Scaramouche Jones, The Event, Bully, and The Sociable Plover.

Holden Street Theatres are hosting sixteen events including the UK import sponsored by HST themselves, Heroin(e) for Breakfast, a strong new work from writer/director Philip Stokes with a sharp cast and a harsh subject. Also at Holden Street – Sartre’s In Camera from No Exit, Ionesco’s Rhinoceros from Urban Myth and interstate shows Goat Town from Shiny Side and Tim Watts’ charming multimedia Adventures of Alvin Sputnik.

There are several notable season returns to the Fringe. The first is the Flying Penguins’ outstanding production of Sam Shepard’s True West. With an excellent cast directed by David Mealor, it plays at AC Arts until mid-March. Also worth a visit is the droll black comedy, Death in Bowengabbbie written by Caleb Lewis and performed by Andrew Brackman at the Tuxedo Cat. It is presented by the Tamarama Rock Surfers who also have The Chronic Ills of Robert Zimmerman in season (along with NIDA: Sex Wars and others ) at the Bakehouse.

Also worth checking out are Ladykillers with their on-line devised, music theatre work, Based on a True Story at the Ed Castle and Best We Forget, more zany culture commentary from the perky Isthisyours group. The prolific Accidental Productions have a bevy of works at The Stables including Krang, Almost an Evening and The Umbrella Plays, short works by Australian playwright Cerise de Gelder.

One of last year’s Fringe highlights was Daniel Clarke’s production of After the End by Daniel Kelly. This time, he is directing My Name is Rachel Corrie. Taken from the Writings of Rachel Corrie. Edited by Alan Rickman and Katherine Viner. It is the grim story of the young woman crushed by a bulldozer on the Gaza Strip while protesting the destruction of Palestinian homes. Performed by Hannah Norris, it promises to be a memorably serious moment amidst the Fringe carnival.

The Adelaide Review
Published March, 2010.
Adelaide