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
Nath Valvo. Campanile, The Garden of Unearthly Delights. 20 Feb 2018
Nath Valvo is one show pony you don’t want to miss this Fringe season.
If you enjoy topical humour, delivered with bountiful sass, then do yourself a favour and see this show at Campanile in the Garden of Unearthly Delights. This year marks Valvo’s fifth appearance at the Fringe and it’s obvious why he keeps getting asked back. From start to finish, Valvo has us in stitches; no moment of the hour-long performance leaves the audience wanting.
Valvo’s interactions with the audience are brilliant. Asking one man what his hobbies were the answer, “cattle”, is played on for the remainder of the performance to hysterical results. Despite the audience being a tad on the smaller side, even though as Valvo notes it is “tight-arse Tuesday”, his quick-lipped comedy completely makes up for it.
Much of the humour centres on Valvo’s family, with hilariously relatable anecdotes. He has an uncanny ability to effortlessly slip random and fantastically funny one-liners into the middle of his equally funny stories. Not afraid to tackle political issues, Valvo makes multiple references to the recently passed same-sex marriage laws in Australia. Despite the positive result, Valvo has the audience in fits of laughter as he laments the pressure he now faces to marry.
Everything about Nath Valvo – Show Pony is brilliant.
If you haven’t seen this show, book your tickets now.
Alex Bond
5 stars
When: 20 Feb to 18 Mar
Where: Campanile, The Garden of Unearthly Delights
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Red Siren. Nexus Arts. 18 Feb 2018
Tales of sailors being shipwrecked by the seductive lure of luscious mermaids are born of romantically inspired myths of the 1700s. The Redheaded Cabaret offers an incredibly humorous, dramatic, thoughtful, and wickedly sensuous play on this idea, with a neat balance between poeticism and carefully leveraged raw heat.
It’s such a beautiful production, moved with ease. The focus is on theatrical elements, gentle or bawdy song, and choreographic grace, within which burlesque striptease is a delightful, diamond-like present for the eye, revealed from the most magnificent costumes imaginable.
Given this company’s focus on producing neo burlesque, it firmed its credibility on this score. Transforming those famed fans of traditional burlesque fan dance into ocean coloured body length fabric that became the waves within which sailors drown, was not expected!
Not content to focus merely on mermaid versus sailor, they explore mermaid feelings about love and sensuality too with superb, sharp, engaging humour that’s as sexy as it is hilarious and liberating.
The Redheaded Cabaret is after all, about fun. It’s in abundance in this brilliantly directed production, redolent with an intelligence as deep as the sea.
David O’Brien
5 Stars
When: 16 Feb to 2 March
Where: Nexus Arts, Lion Arts Centre
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
Paul Dabek. The Speakeasy at Gluttony. 18 Feb 2018
Paul Dabek’s self-produced and self-titled show Encore! is aptly named. The British magician definitely leaves his audience wanting more!
Entering the Speakeasy at Gluttony, Dabek greets the audience one-by-one thanking them graciously for their attendance. Once seated in the quaint performance tent he introduces himself, leaps onto the stage, and dives straight into a charming hour-long mixture of comedy and magic.
Good magicians leave one asking, “how on earth did they do that?”
Dabek’s performance is seamless.
Dabek has wonderful stagecraft. He keeps the show upbeat and moves around the stage with great physicality. His traditionally British sense of humour is quick and witty, but it is clear that physical humour is one of his core strengths.
The intimate performance space makes audience interaction extraordinarily real. Despite working predominantly with individuals, Dabek ensures everyone is taken along for the ride.
His wonderful sense of humour has the audience in fits of laughter; the jokes made not at the expense of audience members for a change. The especially cheesy puns are nicely punctuated with Babybel cheese wheels being thrown into the crowd!
As the performance comes to a close the audience is treated to one last surprise. The memorable first notes of Sir Elton John’s classic song Circle of Life blast out of the speakers, the lights dim and Dabek…
…well, the surprise shouldn’t be given away.
Buy a ticket and see this show, it is well worth it.
Alex Bond
5 stars
When: 18 Feb to 4 Mar
Where: Gluttony The Speakeasy
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au