Dawson Nichols. Bakehouse Theatre – Main Stage. 2 Mar 2015
Dawson Nichols, playwright and performer, is a keen observer of the myriad fragments that make up an individual’s life. Like a gifted painter who can distinguish the finer details of light, shade, and colour that define a subject, Nichols perceives the smallest of things that comprise a life event, and he then exercises the even rarer ability of putting it into words in a way that leaves the reader in no doubt what is intended.
Nichols is a wonderful storyteller, and the magic of his stories lie not so much in the plot but in the telling. In fact, his plots are often quite confusing.
To tell the truth, one was not always clear what Stop Start was about, and I suspect I was not alone. When the playwright himself advises the audience at the conclusion of the performance that reading a copy of the script, which is available for purchase in the foyer, will help clarify any nagging doubts, you know that you have been immersed in something quite cerebral (or should that be obscure?).
But this is Nichols’ allure. He is unafraid of tackling challenging (and sometimes quite confronting) narratives and developing them into enthralling pieces of theatre that leave you astonished at his skill as a writer as well as performer.
Clearly Nichols knows his text – he wrote it so that goes without saying – but a lesser actor and director would make a mess of it. From the first moment that the lights bring him into focus sitting alone on a chair on an empty black stage, Nichols’ every movement and gesture, coupled with his uber expressive voice and incredibly clear diction, make for compelling theatre. He slowly and inextricably draws you into the substance abused lives of two estranged brothers – both played by himself – as they lay bare memories of their lives. But it’s not all bleak. There are frequent moments of comedy as the brothers’ recount some of their more awkward experiences, such as the loss of virginity (well, sort of!).
The flow of events is confusing at times. The plot bends time and it is not always immediately clear which character is speaking, but that is part of the pull of the show – having to wrestle with one’s own (relatively) clear mind and give over to one that is the antithesis, one that is addicted to multiple substances and to the idea of rushing towards the end of one’s life because normality is just a state of being insufficiently drugged!
This is wonderful theatre. It is difficult theatre, but it should not be missed. Nichols is a rare talent indeed.
Kym Clayton
When: 14 Feb to 6 Mar
Where: Bakehouse Theatre – Main Stage
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Creative Absence. The Crown and Anchor Hotel. 1 March 2015
Although this event is advertised as a single work entitled ego-less-ego-ist, by Bodhi Shribman, what you get is two short plays, including Bang, by Alex Petkova, in the one packed hour at the Crown and Anchor. I think I witnessed the world premiere last Sunday.
The plays are complementary (and ably directed by Petkova) in that both are self-inspections of Gen Y in the arena of female mateship and clubbing. They are close to the bone because their geneses spring from Adelaide experience.
I haven't much guidance on Bang, so here goes. It begins with three young women of emo fashion in a somewhat violent dance-like tug; I subsequently made up the story that the play was about bullying. The trio are bitchy according to the old adage - familiarity breeds contempt. One of the girls stands out as dominant - she makes choices between the others, and maybe being slimmer has something to do with it. Whatever, her higher status is found to be hollow. We see an isolated bunch with cultivated rules, and it’s easy to see how a perverse extension of this can lead to real danger; as seen in the second play, ego-less-ego-ist. With different characters, add alcohol-fueled muddled thinking, an overused social scene of unpleasantly repeating results, and a handgun. Both plays are well written in setting up the circumstances using realistic dialogue, and in building the tension to a point where resolution is demanded, and occurs with a twist. Black humour throughout.
The performances in these shows are rough around the edges, but edgy, and totally watchable. In Bang, Emma Kew, Suzannah Kenneth Lister and Louie Dempsey render easily identifiable images of what they see amongst their peers. Less yelling and more feeling would be appreciated. Kenneth Lister stands out in the first play for her character's controlling behaviour but also for a considerable amount of eyebrow acting. In ego-less-ego-ist, Kenneth Lister and Dempsey performed a balanced duo of shifting dominance which was exciting to watch. Set designer Bec Langman did all she could with a budget of $0.
A Go See for both the Gen Y this show is drawn from, and for those others who don't even know what's going on in their own city.
David Grybowski
When: 1 to 7 Mar
Where: The Crown and Anchor Hotel
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Scottish Comedian of the Year 2014. Ha Ha Comedy and Scottish Comedy Awards. Austral Hotel - The Red Room. 1 Mar 2015
Fummey is good fun, and having a black African (from Ghana) as a father, and a white Scottish mother, (who happened to be born in our very own Whyalla on Spencer Gulf) makes it quite obvious that he should kick his act off with many a tongue-in-cheek near-racist joke about his childhood (“nig nog” etc). This then led him into checking out where his audience hailed from, but unfortunately the wheels nearly fell of his act. He dwelled too long getting to know where everyone came from and he treated audience responses to his questions as if they were funny and ripe with material that he could exploit. They were not.
Fummey is a pub stand-up comedian, and it helps one to appreciate his act if you have a beer in your hand. Not because you need to drown your sorrows because the act is so bad – it is definitely not that – but because it reminds you that you are in a pub and therefore the not infrequent dropping of the ‘c’ word and the excess of ‘toilet humor’ is not entirely to be unexpected.
Despite these misgivings, Fummey is affable and engages well with his audience. His gags come quick and fast – once he hits his straps – and the audience don’t stop laughing.
Kym Clayton
When: 13 Feb to 1 Mar
Where: Austral Hotel - The Red Room.
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Mitre Khammash Media. Star Theatre. 28 Feb 2015
What could possibly go right for a production featuring seven singing inmates in a maximum security prison and their desire to win a talent contest during which one gets murdered and one gets stabbed in the chest?
Everything.
This is one of those Fringe shows that slips in almost unannounced, fires up, does its thing, and exits stage right without fanfare but having left its audiences (four out of five full houses) spellbound.
The story revolves around four inmates coming together as an acapella quartet (one is possibly a terrorist, one is high on drugs, one is new to the prison system and one is in for hacking into defence department computers). Their competition? A sad faced ukulele player. A shoe in you would think. But waiting in the wings is a 6 foot 7 inch tattooed thug and his dark eyed bearded side kick who have a trick or two up their sleeves.
All comes good in the end, though not for the contestant who gets killed, or the one who gets stabbed in the chest, or for that matter the Singing Inmates quartet. They lose the contest to the wicked duo that have transformed into the almost loveable lycra clad balletic gymnasts, Snake Eyes and Jimmy Sticks, who go on to better things... we are left to believe.
The storyline is a vehicle for the remarkable talents of the onstage team. The cast: Mitchell Bartel, John Khammash, Sama Aghili, Ryan OʼDea, Matthew Lykos, Ben Catt, Tyson Olson and Aaron Vinall, sing, dance, and beat box their way through this tight little 2 act cabaret cum comedy cum drama cum proscenium arch production with consummate ease. Their skill belies four months of intense singing development, choreographic input and script development, all handled within the onstage team itself.
But it’s the singing voices, the precise harmonic qualities, the absolute confidence between the seven performers, and the energy behind each number that seduces the audience. The sheer vigour and clarity of the vocal element of this production is almost overwhelming.
The on stage microphone technique is impeccable and the technical volume control from the bio box is subtle and never overdone.
Everyone’s a winner.
Twenty-five year old Mitre Khammash as producer (and the up-front financial backer) is also writer and first time director after recently graduating from the Adelaide Centre for the Arts production course. What a remarkable debut as a director. A historic moment at the end of the final show when Khammash took a solo bow and the house erupted in applause and wolf whistles.
Lighting design and operation by Luke Bartholomew is stunning and even the set change black outs ever so subtly lit in green or blue or violet were theatrical statements in their own right.
Stage management by Laura Pearson (currently at A C Arts) is a difficult assignment in this small theatre. Many set changes are (tables, benches, flats) soundlessly placed in a choreographed display of true professionalism by Pearson and her backstage team.
Costumes by Melanie Pearson are the real deal. Hair and Make-up by Kassie Davies and Genevieve Carey deserve a mention, particularly when so many of the inmates had paint on tattoos, particularly the very tall Snake Eyes whose whole body had to be painted up each night.
And the venue? Theatre Two, Star Theatre, Hilton. One of the best small proscenium arch stages in Adelaide. Malcolm Harslett (Mighty Good Productions) in whose capable hands the Star Theatre complex has been run for many years has done a fine job in presenting the space and providing this unique inner suburban performing arts venue for new talent. Bravo Malcolm!
How does one sum up such a rewarding audience experience by a talented team of, on the whole, new to the performing arts practitioners? By taking risks and supporting local talent (onstage and back stage and technical) here, in Adelaide, before they drift interstate or overseas.
Itʼs a ten out of ten from me. Will there be a sequel? If I told you, I might be killed by Snake Eyes!
Martin Christmas
When: Closed
Where: Star Theatres - Theatre 2
Bookings: Closed
The Garden of Unearthly Delights – Le Cascadeur. 28 Feb 2015
Dressed in workman’s overalls and ready to take out the garbage, the Trash Test Dummies tear up the stage in a bumbling, tumbling laugh-out-loud performance that only a blind-man would fail to enjoy.
Their key prop is your domestic wheelie bin from which they flip, juggle, balance, beat and hide throughout a myriad of skit length sequences. Jamie Bretman, Jack Coleman and Simon Wright are the three performers who dazzle us with their acrobatic skill and slapstick comedy.
Audience members aren’t safe from the action as the players traverse the auditorium chasing each other in and out of seated audience members. After challenging the audience to a ball fight, ducking and diving is in order when all the kids and most of the adults collect up the balls and return fire.
The story is quaint. The three friends look at various emotions including exclusion, love, enjoyment, grief and celebration. But there is never a dull moment in the journey and by the show’s end it is clear, everyone has had an amazing time.
Take the kids and don’t miss this show – there is nothing ‘rubbish’ about the Trash Test Dummies!
Paul Rodda
When: 25 Feb to 15 Mar
Where: The Garden of Unearthly Delights – Le Cascadeur
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au