★★★★★
Adelaide Fringe. Neylon & Peel (WA). Holden Street Theatres. 25 Feb 2023
The “Beep Test” is a “thing” familiar to most school children. It is a crucial fitness measure which is counted in their overall school achievements. A lousy showing in the beep test can bring down the school dux. Such is the premise of this fast and furious home-grown Aussie musical.
Thus does Sandra (Jo Jabalde), the top student of Year 7C, struggle against the odds of the sports-star students to keep her high marks and, importantly, to please her demanding but demeaning mother.
She is up against Zach (Josh Reckless) and Jane (Sara Reed) who are super sporty rivals desperate to come out on top. There is also hapless Cooper (Jack Keen) who, with his interest in computer gaming, is the outsider and general victim of school teasing. Shamelessly favouring his footy-mad pet, Zach, the PE teacher (Lachie Hewson) pushes the cause of fitness with the hero-worship of champions. For anyone who is not a school sports fan, this psychology rubs in a very wrong direction. But, Naylon & Peel have squeezed a goodly dose of humour out of it, as well as an old fashioned tale of compassion and moral values. Yep, it is cornball. But it is irresistibly high energy and fun-filled, the cast, when not jogging through songs, performing some very creditable dance routines. The choreography is extremely slick and good looking and the cast members are fit as proverbial fiddles and very well-rehearsed and able as hoofers, especially Hewson as the hulking big coach fellow. For all his muscular bulk, this young actor moves like a dream. He’s a very expressive actor, too. Indeed, all characters are clearly and compassionately evoked. It’s an extremely competent production all round.
Connor Neylon and Jackson Peele are products of WAAPA. The Beep Test is not their first musical and one hopes not their last. It is an appealing show, impeccably enhanced by the obviously formally-trained cast and a fabulous accompanist.
The production has been earning five-star reviews wherever it has been performed - and here’s five more.
Samela Harris
NOTE: Programs available only by QR codes on the phone are the critic’s nightmare. One cannot and must not look at them during performance and definitely not take notes on them. Dropbox is an app. For heaven’s sake. Accept cookies. QR programs are odious and detract from a good impression of a young company.
When: 25 Feb to 5 Mar
Where: Holden Street Theatres
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
