★★★1/2
Adelaide Fringe. The Kingfisher at Gluttony. 25 Feb 2024
As the Neighbourhood Watch patroller stalks through the audience looking for a robber, then pauses to hold up a picture of his prey, one of the oldest children’s show tropes comes into play: “he’s behind you!”
And so begins Stuff. Jon and Jero wake up, find their house has been burgled and their stuff is gone. Sounding very like B1 and 2 as they express their shock and horror, they devise a plan (of sorts) to hunt down the robber and get their stuff back.
The script is based on disagreements and indecision (this way, that way?) which the young audience, to their delight, must adjudicate. Other characters pop in and out, with life-size cutouts taking Jon and Jer’s places respectively, which is entirely acceptable to all.
Amongst the physical comedy and improv, there is of course the mandatory fart joke; their butts (as opposed to their Australian bums) have been stolen, and they simply cannot fart until they get them back. Of course, when they do, all wind breaks loose.
Stuff is very interactive, and ideally suited to the <8 years old audience: it’s pitched just past playschool but with all the booger, bum and messy body innuendo beloved of that age group. They even invite some kids up to tell jokes:
“What did sushi A say to sushi B? Wasabi!”
The show could use some bedding in, as it’s still a little loose, and there are times when it treads a fine line on condescension; kids are often smarter than you think. Needless to say, the stuff is all hunted down, as is the robber because of course, “he’s behind you!”
Arna Eyers-White
When: 25 Feb to 3 March
Where: The Kingfisher at Gluttony
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
