Grist To The Mill Productions. Studio at Bakehouse Theatre. 23 Feb 2018
In the vein of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Gratiano sees one of Shakespeare's minor characters catapulted into the limelight and given the opportunity to tell the story from their point of view.
The piece is a one-hander written and performed by Ross Ericson. Ericson delivers a sequel to The Merchant of Venice where the irreverent Gratino is the main event. Shakespeare's characters are transplanted into Mussolini-era Venice where, three hundred years later, the same echoes of antisemitism are being used to turn a country against itself in the lead up to the Second World War.
Gratiano, chatty and flippant in his original form, is reinvented beautifully as a cockney gangster. Inside a police integration room, he is being questioned over the recent murder of Bassanio. Suspected of having a hand in the "unlawful killing", Gratiano protests his innocence to the unseen Police Inspector and in the process, reveals his tale.
The show’s first half stays within the boundaries of the play and we are treated to Gratiano's take on the characters and their motives. It is engaging and funny. The script is skilfully written in Shakespearean verse and done justice by Ericson's brilliant portrayal. He masterfully delivers the complex dialog whilst embodying the cheek and cocksure swagger of an old school London mobster.
As the play progresses, it steps beyond the close of Shakespeare's piece and this is where it truly shines.
Ericson's characterization never falters and he breezes through a number of obvious lighting blunders with complete professionalism. He keeps you engaged throughout. The sparse set provides everything required, which is virtually nothing other than Ericson himself.
The production cleverly modernises Shakespeare and provides a different and very engaging slant on one of his better known plays. Much more than that, it uses the play as a platform to explore the insidious nature of institutional racism. Ericson shows how it can linger through generations, easily manipulated by an isolationist agenda and capable of inciting horrible acts of callousness and indifference.
The Merchant of Venice is the vehicle through which Ericson tells a much bigger and more culturally relevant story. If you are just looking for a new look at Shakespeare in this piece, you will be disappointed and miss its true strength.
Through Gratiano's own realisations, Ericson portrays the personal cost of standing aside and allowing bad things to happen to fellow humans: neighbours, colleagues, or even strangers. A failure to move, to speak, to protest, leaves the bystander forever scarred. Could such a person have the courage to right the wrong if a second chance at justice presented itself? Could a society condemn them if they did?
Don't miss this one, its well worth it.
Nicole Russo
5 stars
When: 23 Feb to 3 Mar
Where: Studio at Bakehouse Theatre
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Amelia Ryan. Spiegelzelt at Gluttony. 25 Feb 2018
Pregnancy and baby spew! What makes the reality of it comedy show-time viable? What’s more, Cabaret viable; seriously?
Well, Amelia Ryan’s The Breast is Yet to Come is a cabaret for parents where their pram sized short people are very welcome – particularly given the business of said short people coming into being is the subject matter. Naturally, said short people have no recollection of it. Ryan, and a sizeable number of the 99% female audience in the full house, bloody well do! Gentlemen note! More about you later.
Ryan weaves together a recognisable top-hits set of melodies with sharp choreography tearing up every myth of ‘why a baby’; from the relationship decision to procreate, to the theory of pregnancy ‘baby brain’. Ryan executes these in a manner which subtly manages to convey experiences recognisable to her female audience, building a kinship with them, while archly having a dig at the existence of such myths surrounding natural experiences.
Garbed in a lovely blue one piece gown, sparkling ear rings, and perfect hair, this archness is deliciously accentuated in performance. My, doesn’t the woman who gave birth four months ago look marvellous! This dig was aided by use of a Humpty doll wrapped in a blanket as a surrogate baby passed around the audience.
Which brings us to the baby daddies. Ryan’s warm and easy engagement with the audience is for all. Yes the gentleman cop a serve, but it’s in the indirect, comic, yet inoffensive way you’d hope a good relationship chat might work.
It’s when Ryan pulls a pair of trackie dacks and a t-shirt, with a baby bump, over her glamorous attire that she really shows off a delightful skill for making a serious point with great humour and warmth, directly involving the near two handfuls of daddy babies in the audience.
David O’Brien
5 ‘twinkle, twinkle little’ stars
When: 24 Feb to 11 Mar
Where: Spiegelzelt, Gluttony
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Jens Altheimer. Le Cascadeur at The Garden of Unearthly Delights. 24 Feb 2018
With a combination of shadow play, puppetry, and various types of Rube Goldberg machines, Jens Altheimer steals our imaginations with a beautiful little tale of friendship, fear, rejection, and love. Loose Ends is a captivating hour of children’s theatre.
Billed with a G rating, there are some complex themes that very little, little ones will struggle to understand. A basic reading level is also necessary to fully comprehend the non-verbal performance.
Altheimer plays a recluse of sorts, whose fear of the world has trapped him in the confines of his own home. The unnamed character desires organisation, structure, and safety, and has confined all of his possessions – including his emotions – into labelled boxes.
The repetition of daily existence wears him down however, and soon he desires the comforts of friendship.
Spinning wool onto a wooden spool, Altheimer creates a companion to share his life with. He fully invests himself into his new, wooden friend. But friendships are complicated; and this one is no different.
Using a raft of ingenious contraptions made from everyday items, Altheimer draws laughter and joy from both children and parents alike. His Rube Goldberg machines have everyone cheering when they succeed, and rooting harder for him when they don’t.
A few select little ones get a go too, in a section of audience participation.
The result is uplifting, endearing, and simply delightful.
This really is a show for everyone, and one not to be missed for 7 to 12 year olds.
Paul Rodda
4 stars
When: 24 Feb to 18 Mar
Where: Le Cascadeur at The Garden of Unearthly Delights
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
A New Musical Revue featuring John Bucchino. Davine Interventionz Productions. The Parks Theatres. 22 Feb 2018
What’s in a life?
What does it mean to exist?
These questions have challenged us and plagued us as a species for centuries.
Does the meaning of life come out of what we do, who we love, or who loves us?
Is success defined by material wealth, meaningful relationships, or the joy we get from family and friends?
Is it all of these things? Perhaps it is none?
The songs in John Bucchino’s musical revue It’s Only Life, with original arrangement by Daisy Prince, are snippets of insight, or vignettes, into this complex notion of a ‘life’. There are no answers here. Nor does the revue pose any particular questions. It is just people, being people. Living life.
“The fearful artist, the frustrated lover, the vain queen, the bitch, the spoilt brat”, they‘re all in there. Living, loving, hating, hoping, being…
Producer/Director, David Gauci has inserted this ‘song cycle’ (if you will) into the generic everyday locations of our lives; a bar, the kitchen, a park bench, the lounge room, a dining room table. He has given this production a flow that aids in the construction of a narrative when one hasn’t been deliberately put there.
Bucchino describes it as something between a telly movie and a radio play; where the audience are required to “fill in the blanks”, and to use their imagination.
We do.
We see ourselves; we see our friends, our colleagues, and the everyday man. We are invited to share these people’s lives. And ever like the voyeur, we watch and then we connect.
Gauci has two casts for this production. Tonight’s included performances from Fahad Farooque, Carly Meakin, Joshua Angeles, Katie Packer, and Lindsay Prodea. The performances are simply lovely.
Most memorable are Angeles’ renditions of Grateful and What You Need, Farooque’s If I Ever Say I’m Over You, and the whole cast on That Smile.
This is a delightful little production. Once again Gauci has made something beautiful on a shoe string budget, and managed to uncover a gem of a suburban theatre in the process.
The icing on the cake is of course having the man himself, John Bucchino, playing the show on the beautiful grand piano taking pride of place at centre stage.
In his program notes, Gauci hints that perhaps this show may be his last.
Suffice to say, one hopes that is not the case.
Paul Rodda
4 stars
When: 20 to 25 Feb
Where: The Parks Theatre
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
James Seabright. Campanile at The Garden of Unearthly Delights. 20 Feb 2018
How could you not want to see a show with a title like that? All the presidential trappings are there: red, white and blue lights, the American flag, the presidential seal on the podium, even a Secret Service agent. In the queue, the audience is asked for questions to ask the president, and indeed, he holds a couple of press conferences.
Fresh from a mid-winter UK tour reprising his show after consecutive popular seasons at the 2016 and 2017 Edinburgh fringes, Simon Jay got his Trump past Border Force and into the Garden of Unearthly Delights. Jay is a hell of an actor because he couldn't be more different than Donald. He was nearly driven mad-insane as his sexuality conflicted with expectations, and then he just got mad-angry and wrote about the experience in a show called, Bastardography. But his interest in theatrical satire of British politics long precedes the Trump era. Sex, angry, politics - hmmm - maybe not that different.
The show opens with some actual historical news footage from the campaign and victory on election night and a beauty of President Obama stating, "Trump will never be president. I have a lot of faith in the American people. The job is not a talk show." Famous last words.
Everything in this show is quite alarming. Trump has an orange face with purplish shading - rather ghoulish and signifying a hyper energetic man. Jay, in spite of his gravelly voice, puts on a terrific effigy of Trump with mastery of his mannerisms and body language. It's very easy to believe you are in the presence of the potent president, complete with his vulgarity and disdain for the different.
During the 'press conferences’, and throughout the show really, Jay is as quick-witted as the real deal with the snide put-downs and ridiculous twitter-like comments. When asked a question on global warming, Trump manically bursts out laughing, and on whether he has had Hillary over for dinner in the White House, he replies that she is only fit to houseclean it.
What we also see is the Trump that was exposed during the campaign but largely unseen - his licentious behaviour gets plenty of exercise, as well as child-like tantrums. Even the most ridiculous thing Jay's Trump does seems plausible.
In fact, Jay's Trump was so good, he ran into a problem. I dare say nearly all of the audience in the show I attended strongly dislike the man, and Jay's impersonation was so successful that many people requested for audience participation were uncooperative - and somewhat sabotaged the proceedings - because they didn't like being in the presence of even a make-believe Trump, and wanted to screw him up. No worry, Jay had plenty of Trumpisms to fight back with. The Secret Service agent wasn't up to scratch, and the moralistic plea for righteousness and fighting fascism was out of left field and didn't work.
Very impressive, high energy and very funny. The only danger is it's too real and at some point your head's still laughing but your heart starts crying.
David Grybowski
4 stars (and stripes)
When: 16 Feb to 18 Mar
Where: Campanile at The Garden of Unearthly Delights
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au