★★1/2
Adelaide Fringe Festival. The Studio at Holden Street Theatres. 20 Feb 2021
Lost Lives is a new play for two actors written by Spencer Scholz and is presented by the relatively new company Safari Street Creative. The company’s promotional material states they are committed to theatre that is “dangerous, exhilarating and unpretentious”. Lost Lives is a solid attempt to rise to that mission, but it would benefit from being workshopped to bring the grittier themes to the surface.
The action of the play centres on a bedroom that is the scene of a murder that has happened sometime in the recent past, and it’s a bloody mess, literally. A forensic cleaning crew of two is assigned to the scene, and both have back stories: ‘she’ (played by Esther Michelsen) has a former association with the murder victim, and ‘he’ (Ceejay Singh) is on his first assignment, wants to impress, and is keen for a positive recommendation from her. He is muslim and nervous that because the alleged perpetrator of the crime was also muslim this might somehow impact on her perception of how well he does his job. In a world where people are often unjustly ‘guilty’ by association, this theme might have been explored more deeply than it was. As the action unfolds, we learn more about the two characters, particularly her, but not enough of it contributes to shoring up the central story line, that the clean-up is happening the same day as the culmination of the trial of the alleged murderer.
Michelsen and Singh at times underplayed their characters but this is more likely the consequence of a text that, with few exceptions, didn’t demand heightened and more nuanced responses. The resonant ambience of The Studio at times combined with the distinct spoken accents of the two actors to impact vocal clarity. Speaking from behind masks and face shields, which were part of the realistic costuming, compounded this problem on occasion.
Scholz directed the production and capably moved his cast around the minimalist but effectively designed set.
Kym Clayton
When: 20 to 27 Feb
Where: The Studio, Holden Street Theatres
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
★ Adelaide Fringe Festival. The Piglet (open-air) at Gluttony - Rymill Park. 19 Feb 2021
Like many comedy events, its advertising cashes in on either the name of its star performer or on a catchy and provocative title. Pretending Things are a Cock (PTAAC) is obviously an example of the latter, and unfortunately it doesn’t have much more going for it.
If you are unaware of the history of the show – and this one has previously appeared in the Adelaide Fringe as well as other major festivals throughout the world – and you purchased tickets on the basis of its advertising, pedigree, and previous rave reviews – you’d think you were in for a hoot of an evening, but it just doesn’t happen.
PTAAC is basically a slide show, with narration. The photos are of comedian Jon Bennett posing often in a contorted position in front of a famous monument or other natural phenomenon pretending they are his penis. They have been taken and collected over many years of travel. Some of them are cliché (such as Eiffel Tower) but many others are hilarious, inventive and funny, but after dozens and dozens and dozens of them it all gets rather tedious.
The success of the show ultimately depends on the quality of the narration, and in previous seasons it seems that Bennett himself performed the show, and reputedly his patter linking one phallus photo to the next was hilarious. Not so tonight, where the show was presented by someone else – his girlfriend we believe – and it fell flat. Her story telling comes across as being very studied and over-rehearsed – it lacked spontaneity, and any potential for humour slowly evaporated in the warm balmy air of the open air performance space, as did the audience.
Kym Clayton
When: 19 Feb to 2 Mar
Where: The Piglet, Gluttony
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
★★★ Adelaide Fringe Festival. Space Theatre. 18 Feb 2021
Sea Wall is a one man play written by the celebrated Simon Stephens (stage adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, Heisenberg) and performed by Renato Musolino, who is rapidly becoming an Adelaide favourite (if he isn’t already). It is essentially about one man’s grief at the death of his child and the inevitable discussion of some of life’s big questions: what is the point of life? Is there a God? Do human beings need organised religion in the face of overwhelming tragedy?
In typical Fringe style, the setting of Sea Wall is minimalistic, and its design is credited to Kathryn Sproule. It comprises nothing more than an empty stage with a monolithic grey stage-block as a backdrop, and a single chair. Sparse. Empty. Achingly cavernous like the man’s pain.
Lighting by Chris Petridis is effective, and much of the play is performed with the house lights half-up. The performer sees the audience, and interacts with them at times engaging in direct but brief dialogue. The imaginary wall that separates the story from the real world – the so-called ‘fourth wall’ – is therefore broken, even if only temporarily. This is a deliberate choice by the playwright or director and its use typically signals the story becoming ‘aware of itself’, and this perhaps is the main problem with the play that director David Mealor has to deal with. The text is a lengthy and chaotic sequence of thoughts and reminiscences that almost border on tedium. The director and performer are faced with the task of making unmotivated text come to life. But it all leads to a key moment late in the play and the audience comes to an understanding. What has been previously said now makes sense and it does have motivation, but the earlier confusion still weighs heavily on the audience. The imagery in Stephens’ text at this key movement is savage and affecting, and from this point the performance becomes quite arresting. Quincy Grant’s underscore injects gravitas, and lightness when needed, and Musolino almost uses it as a prop. Clever.
Kym Clayton
When: 18 to 21 Feb
Where: Space Theatre
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
★★★
Shark Island Institute and The Artslab Kangaroo Valley. Holden Street Theatres. 17 Feb 2021
Ian Darling and Greg Fleet come from opposite sides of the tracks but were theatrically coupled at Geelong Grammar in the late ‘70s. Their bromance survived many episodes of years-long hibernation. After reconnecting early on life’s slippery slope, they thought that their lives were fascinating enough to workshop themselves into this fiesta of self-reflection and introspection. In other words, they play themselves as they recount the rips and curls of their enduring relationship in this world premiere production.
You may already know of stand-up comedian Greg Fleet and his battle with heroin addiction. He was kicked out of NIDA for such, yet nonetheless, he is a fine actor playing Greg Fleet. Ian Darling is an award-winning documentary filmmaker but probably wouldn’t have gotten through the front door at NIDA. No, wait a minute, he ‘fessed up to getting through the front door, and immediately back out again on the day of his audition, anxiously shying away from the opportunity. Decades later, he entered NIDA via the front door again – this time to help run the place as a director; one of his many board and executive positions. Fleet talks of Struggle Street as a performing art professional, while Darling - the Collins Street professional - laments not following his dream of a life in the arts with wistful regret and a hint of jealousy towards his pal. The irony is not lost.
The pair have locked themselves up in an art colony far in the bush ostensibly to make a two-hander of The Comedy of Errors, but not much happens and not much is at stake. Directors Terry Serio and Sarah Butler try to animate the script - written by Butler, Darling and Fleet - with some naff dance moves to snippets of nostalgic pop hits and random perambulations, but to no useful effect. It’s still two old friends having a chat about the past, and all so suburban - their ruminations aren’t any more interesting than mine. Darling even pondered if their play should go public. Hmm.
David Grybowski
When: 16 Feb to 21 Mar
Where: Holden Street Theatres
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
★★★★★
Holden Street Theatres & Martha Lott. Holden Street Theatres. 17 Feb 2021
The set is layered with a boy’s toy debris and an eight-year-old’s clothes lie strewn about his bedroom. With the theatrically missing walls, the whole shebang is like the aftermath of a tornado. Tornado Tom. Mum enters for an archaeological dig to find the cannot-do-without floppy monkey puppet and to pack an overnight bag for him. Tom has fallen off his perch again.
Holden Street Theatre’s artistic director, Martha Lott, has written, with developmental assistance from others, a forensically informative and emotionally wrought narrative for a single mother raising a behaviourally troubled boy and an older sister who is subject to collateral damage. From early days to the latest incident, Tom’s increasingly serious transgressions are revealed along with Mum’s search for help. And then there are the recriminations. Blame and well-meaning advice is always nearby, but help that leads to real change is elusive.
Martha Lott plays our heroic Mum with amazing verisimilitude. Lott’s Mum reaches the brink of emotional breakdown rather continuously only to pull back to get on with the job. Because there is no choice. This isn’t some alcoholic husband who cyclically abuses and apologises, whom you can leave; it’s your baby and you can’t give up. The subtext of being on your own, of the daily worry of the next phone call from school, and the effect on the daughter is excruciatingly palpable. Lott takes you right into the trenches with her and there isn’t much in the way of relief. The only hope is that the whole family has finally got individual mental health plans.
Director Yasmin Gurreeboo guides Lott to a wonderful balance of text and emotional import. It’s kind of heartbreaking, but great empathy for this family is automatic, and we should all know about this. Bravo to the creative team and to Lott’s first writing credit and performance in this world premiere!
David Grybowski
When: 16 Feb to 21 Mar
Where: Holden Street Theatres
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au