Category: Festivals

Cabaret, Festivals, Performances

Melbourne Fringe 2016: TERROR AUSTRALIS

Be fabulously afraid

By Myron My

Admittedly, I did walk in to Terror Australis not knowing what to expect at all, and I am so glad I did, because the delights it unearthed are so much richer if you have no idea what’s to come (so go see it now, or read on at your peril). Through a clever mix of cabaret, burlesque, live art, dance and comedy, the show looks at the dark culture of Australia with gobsmacking flair.

terror-australis-photographer-stillsbyhill

The set design is true Australiana with a hills-hoist used for makeshift pole-dancing, resulting in some pretty slick and sexy routines. Added set pieces such as goon bags, knives and dingo masks further enhance the strong feelings of ambiguous national pride, and while these items are enough to infer what performer Leah Shelton may be referencing, watching as these allusions come to life take them to a magnificent other level.

Shelton pays homage to various Australian songs, films – including classics such as Picnic At Hanging Rock and Mad Max – and significant moments of history, such as that incident with the dingo… Projections are played out on the various sheets that hang from the hills-hoist while it spins around, creating jarring and distorted images of the selected movie scenes and visuals, adding to the macabre and twisted atmosphere being created.

Shelton is sensational as she brings her various characters to life and plays up to the archetypes of these films and cultural references brilliantly. The costuming is literally the perfect example of when less is more and her comic timing is impeccable and has the entire room in stitches.

No Aussie icon is sacred as Shelton tears through Australia with some unforgettable acts in Terror Australis. It is a brave production that relies on the audience to let themselves be taken on a incredible journey through the deep dark psyche of this country, and this is what you must now go and do to fully appreciate how truly clever and outstanding this show is.

Venue: Fringe Hub – Arts House, 521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne, 3051
Season: until 1 October | 9:15pm
Length: 45 minutes
Tickets: $25 Full | $20 Conc
Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Image by Stillsby Hill

Festivals, Performances, Whats On

Melbourne Fringe 2016: 2.0 / CONTACT

A touch – of artistry

By Myron My

Presented as part of this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival, The Human Project’s 2.0 | Contact, is an exploration on what touch can be and mean to humans, and how life could be without it. A highly physical experimental piece, it incorporates martial arts, dancing and some wrestling moments as an “outsider” dissects and analyses the state of physical touching.

2.0 Contact.jpg

With injury befalling one of the performers, the show has had to be restructured to work around the three remaining cast (Rosie Osmond, Ashton Sly and Joseph Lai), but had you not known,  you wouldn’t be able to tell, as the performance is seamless and feels like it has been just the three of them rehearsing all this time. This is a highly demanding show – both physically and mentally – but the training and effort the three have put in in getting this piece together is profoundly evident. With its minimalist set, staging, and costumes there is nothing for the performers to hide behind, and their every move or word is what has all of our attention.

Throughout the show, there are “outsider” descriptions of various forms of human contact that the incomers have witnessed, which are then being played out for us on the stage. While these appear exaggerated and feel unnatural to watch, we are later informed that what we have witnessed is a common act such as kissing or shaking hands, adroitly illustrating the idea that a simple act of contact can generate multiple interpretations.

An interesting theme that runs throughout 2.0 | Contact regarding touch and physicality is that love and violence – affection and aggression – are closely related, and can transform from one into the other quite suddenly. There are powerful scenes of gentle caresses or kissing that are contrasted with the aggressive punching choreography, or bodies running into each other and being flipped onto gym mats.

2.0 | Contact is a strong production by The Human Project, a young promising company only formed in 2015. This is very much a reflective and evocative piece that has you questioning how we use touch in our own lives and how these meanings can differ from each person – and being – we come into contact with.

Venue: Sokol Melbourne, 497 Queensberry St, North Melbourne 

Season: Until 30 September | 8.30pm 

Length: 60 minutes 

Tickets: $25 Full | $16 Conc 

Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Festivals, Performances, Whats On

Melbourne Fringe 2016: NOTHING SPECIAL

Absurdist satire on our yearning for individuality

By Myron My

We all want to be something special. As children we are often led to believe we can be by our parents and teachers, and while it can be a positive thing, it can also be quite detrimental. Presented as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, Hotel Now’s Nothing Special looks at what happens when people live their lives based on the belief that they are extraordinary, and more talented and important than the average man.

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We follow a young girl, Chlorine (Simone French), literally from from the moment she is born. Her mother informs us that she was not supposed to live beyond the age of five, but that’s a defeatist attitude so she was forbidden to die. Chlorine’s dreams to be different and unique and to leave her mark on the world as an innovator in the arts are explored through various periods of her life, but when this seems unlikely, it is the harsh realities that Chlorine must then contend with.

Chlorine’s vulnerability and fragile ego is captured well by French and she plays well with the tragedy that feels certain to befall her. Likewise, Tom Halls‘ character work is a definite highlight of this show. From Chlorine’s “dance mum” persona to Othella, the Dean of the academy for gifted children that Chlorine attends, his movements, facial expressions and speech are dedicated and consistent.

The show explores the lengths to which people will go in order to feel successful and be revered. It is an all-consuming goal where even – as the two characters are having a (melodramatic) breakdown – they position themselves to still be under the right frame and lighting.

Nothing Special is an eccentric and absurd look at our obsession to be special and to matter. It’s a great concept that is executed well by Halls and French. With so many “talent”-focused reality TV shows screening at the moment, Nothing Special is a great reality check for those with mistakenly big dreams.

Venue: Sokol Melbourne, 497 Queensberry St, North Melbourne 

Season: Until 30 September | 7pm 

Length: 60 minutes

Tickets: $25 Full | $16 Conc

Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Festivals, Review, Whats On

Melbourne Fringe 2016: ONSTAGE DATING

A show to fall in love with

By Myron My

The dating game is a hard one to keep up with, let alone win. With online dating apps more or less becoming the most common way in meeting someone, going on a first date and getting to know someone from scratch face to face is but a distant memory. In her Melbourne Fringe Festival show, Onstage Dating, Bron Batten is determined to change this by having a first date with a member of the audience on stage – and the results are priceless.

Onstage Dating.jpg

The show opens in a colourful and attention-grabbing way, and from then on we are all putty in Batten’s hands as she recalls memories of bad dates and describes the science behind dating and human interactions. Eventually she pulls out the pre-filled questionnaires from all the participants willing to be her date, and I am surprised by how many there are.

In a show that requires heavily on having the right audience volunteer: one that will go along for the ride and have a “yes” attitude, Batten could not have picked anyone more perfect – and in more ways than one – than Alex. Alex: who works for the Greens and cries for joy as he is riding an electric motorcycle. There was not one person in the venue that was not swooning over Alex, but I digress…

The date begins over wine and dinner and then progresses as first dates can often lead to, the lounge room. Throughout the date, Batten asks Alex (and vice versa) some getting-to-know-you questions: some are comical and some are a bit deeper. The openness and willingness they both share on stage is quite touching and despite it being an overt performance and Fringe show, you almost feel like there is a genuine connection.

While Onstage Dating can be taken as a fun show in which to have some great laughs (which it is), it is also a reminder that nothing can ever replace human face-to-face interaction. While we may all be leading very busy lives that make dating apps ideal, we should be making time for these encounters, as the outcomes might be a welcome surprise. So if you’re feeling brave go ahead and volunteer to be one of Batten’s dates, if not, then just go ahead and enjoy a highly entertaining hour of laughs.

Venue: Fringe Hub – Arts House, 521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne, 3051
Season: until 1 October | Tues – Sat 8pm, Sun 7pm
Length: 60 minutes
Tickets: $24 Full | $20 Conc | $18 Cheap Tuesday
Bookings: MelbourneFringe Festival

Circus, Festivals

Melbourne Fringe 2016: MORTAL SINS

In search of seven sins

By Myron My

Contemporary circus company Vertical Insanity Circus are performing their first inter-state season as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. Their show Mortal Sins used circus and contemporary dance to explore the seven deadly sins. Unfortunately, the performance, while sound in skill, needs more work in developing these themes and the show.

Mortal Sins.png

Alex Charman and Persia Janzen possess a solid level of skill and technique with their show, completing some impressive acrobatics and a nice turn on the trapeze. However, there does not appear to be a story evident and any potential meaning that can be inferred is subsequently lost. Mortal Sins feels like we are simply watching people perform without purpose or intention. Similarly, the dance routine by a male performer, again talented in his own right, seems quite repetitive and lacks the passion that this dance requires.

The opening moments with the performers’ shadows being lit from behind a curtain goes for too long and requires larger pieces of fabric ,as there are numerous times where you can see their limbs and bodies coming out from the sides. I feel there needs to be more exploration with this work so that the themes that arise from the seven deadly sins are distinctively explored and conveyed on stage as it is quite difficult to determine where one sin ends and another one begins, if at all.

Falling 15 minutes short of its advertised 45 minutes, Mortal Sins is a good example of emerging circus artists but not a performance that felt ready to be put on stage.

Mortal Sins was performed as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival between 22 – 25 September.

Circus, Festivals, Whats On

Melbourne Fringe 2016: SIRKUS CIRCUS

Variety is the spice of circus life

By Leeor Adar

Circus Oz is delivering some real treats as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival this year. The Melba Circus Hub in Collingwood is featuring some excellent local and international circus and cabaret artists.

Sirkus Circus.jpg

Dale Hutton’s Sirkus Circus was a delight for all ages, featuring impressive independent circus, cabaret and contemporary vaudeville. The Melba Circus Hub filled with thrill-seekers of varying ages as we spent over an hour with our mouths gaping at the death-defying and often funny performances.

New Zealand’s Blingling Bros hosted our night with a series of laugh-out-loud mishaps interspersed throughout the astonishing performances.

Jess Love was a fantastic opener, as she flung and strung, and energetically twisted her body through her hoop act. Love was a perfect way to start this line-up with her professionalism and charm. The audience was fired up and whooping with claps and gasps.

As a Dale Hutton show, Sirkus Circus was a big tribute to the jugglers. Karl Laczko gave us a LED light show with his clubs that respond to movement, and Hazel Bock was an astonishing and unique wonder with her foot-juggling act. If you’ve never seen a flapper juggling a table, you’d have been in for a treat!

The international star of the night and DOCH alumni, Tony Pezzo, delivered his famous five-ring-juggling act. With colourful clothing and a striking, energetic presence, Pezzo commanded our attention and closed the night on a buzzing high.

Do yourself a favour and head on down to the Melba Circus Hub and catch yourself one of these Circus Oz treats by October 2. Tickets are available from the Fringe website: https://melbournefringe.com.au

Cabaret, Festivals, Performances

Melbourne Fringe 2016: AWESOME OCEAN PARTY

Quaint, quirky and awash with gentle charm

By Myron My

We’ve all been invited to a party – an ocean party for our half-human half-octopus friend. Created and performed by Giema Contini, Awesome Ocean Party is a 60-minute cabaret-comedy-performance piece that explores loneliness and acceptance through the eyes (and three hearts) of this hybrid creature.

Awesome Ocean Party.jpg

Contini has great physicality on stage and fully conveys the awkwardness of her character that later reveals to us that it is her birthday whereupon the human side to her begins to surface. Her interactions with the audience are sweet and genuine and convey her longing to belong and be accepted.

While the original performance of the show was staged in an empty swimming pool, for this remount Contini has chosen to perform in The Butterfly Club. With its own quirky feel and some specific set pieces, you willingly believe that you are in some underwater/beach environment. The fish tank in the centre of the stage is a constant reminder of where she has come from and the seashell sandpit is utilised well as a place for her to feel safe and happy.

The highlight of Awesome Ocean Party is the biographical picture-story book Contini reads to the audience, from her birth to the death of her parents and then finding hope and strength. It’s a touching story and the illustrations in the book and the descriptive passages create some stunning visuals for us. The music composed by Nathan Stoneham and played by Ned Dixon support the story – and the performance as a whole – in creating a feeling of belonging and being connected.

Contini has a great voice and the timing and pacing of her songs is well structured to keep the momentum (and a bit of awkwardness) going. Songs like “Under The Sea” from The Little Mermaid and Andrew Gold’s “Thank You For Being A Friend” (which most people would recognise as The Golden Girls theme) express her sea-dwelling and land-dwelling aspirations and desires while also exploring the differences of her life.

There is a whimsical aspect to Awesome Ocean Party that makes you warm to Contini and the show almost immediately. It is uplifting and entertaining while encouraging you to remain true to yourself and your convictions, and believe that everything will turn out the way it should.

Awesome Ocean Party was performed as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival from 20 – 25 September, 2016.

Festivals, Review, Whats On

Malthouse and St Martin’s Theatre Present GONZO

Porn, perspective and personal opinions as teens talk

By Margaret Wieringa

Teenagers and porn. Everyone is worried. Back in the day, porn was hard to find and rarely discussed. Now there is the Internet, and it’s free and, especially with smartphones and the like, very easily accessible. One big worry is that it is going to cause teenage boys to develop addictions and skewed ideas of what is expected in real relationships. Experts, politicians, teachers and parents all weigh in whenever the subject is raised, but, as director Clare Watson points out in her program note, there is a voice missing, and that is of the voice of teenage boys.

GONZO Jack Palit, Sol Rumble, Sam Salem &Ari Maza Long - photo credit Sarah Walker.jpg

Watson took the results of a survey of teenage males across Melbourne and worked with a group of boys from St Martin’s Theatre Company to develop this piece. What has resulted is an experience that is almost like eavesdropping for the audience. The four main performers – Ari Long, Jack Palit, Sam Salem and Sol Rumble – sit on stage and have what comes across as a relatively casual chat. The only real indication that is isn’t a normal conversation (apart from the odd stumbled line) is the visual design work by Michael Carmody appearing on the screen behind them. Initially, there is footage of bouncing breasts – an image seemingly unrelated to the chatter onstage, but adding to the wider commentary. Later, there are short sections breaking up the dialogue where the actors name porn clips, or tell brief anecdotes, and these are accompanied by a variety of significant animations of words or images.

The performers aren’t obviously playing characters – they use their own names, wear casual street clothes and spend as much time on their phones as they are talking. But it is important for the audience to remember that this is scripted, and that the opinions being expressed are not necessarily those of the actors, but an amalgam of the responses to the survey.

Toward the end of the performance, the boys are joined by Gala Vanting who is listed in the program as being a sex worker, educator and activist. I felt like the actors had, by this stage, established a nice rapport and Vanting’s entrance felt a bit forced – like the teenagers now had someone else that they had to relate to. It was interesting to hear what she had to say and the way the others responded to her, but this section felt less successful to me

Overall, I think that this is a very timely piece that is a glimpse into the world of teenagers. I hope that there is a way that the production is able to be given life beyond this season so that it can inspire conversations in schools and homes – but in the meantime, it’s playing at the Malthouse Theatre until October 1.

Gonzo plays at the Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt St, Southbank

September 22 to October 1. The shows are Tuesday to Saturday at 7pm with a 3:30 matinee on Saturday October 1.

Book tickets at www.malthousetheatre.com.au or call 9685 5111

Tickets are $35 – $65

Image by Sarah Walker

Festivals, Theatre, Whats On

Melbourne Fringe 2016: BOMBSHELLS

Impressive performances of women on the verge

By Margaret Wieringa

Down a few side streets in Brunswick in an art space called Wick Studios, ROARE Productions are staging the classic Australian play Bombshells by Joanna Murray-Smith for this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival. The work is a series of six monologues from women pushed to the edge, and Kaarin Fairfax has directed this group of six young performers to find interesting and different interpretations of the collection of characters

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The show starts strongly with Ruby Swann playing Meryl Louise Davenport, the young mum struggling through the constant, frenetic monologue, judging herself and comparing herself to everyone around her. It’s such a bittersweet, tragic and yet very hilarious piece and Swann balanced the humour and pathos beautifully – in a magnificent white jumpsuit, and literally at the end of her rope.

Next, Ruby Duncan was Tiggy Entwhistle, a recently separated woman who is discussing how succulents changed her life. Duncan’s performance was extremely still and monotonic throughout, which was both a strength and a weakness- it gave the writing a far deeper sense of pain, but at times, missed the humour. Certainly, it was a strong performance from Duncan in an unexpected interpretation of the piece.

The first act finished on Anjelica Angwin’s school talent performance as Mary O’Donnell. We’ve all known these young, extremely self-confident teens who are ready to take on the world of the stage. Perhaps we may have even been her… Angwin captured the arrogance and outrage of the teen performer beautifully. And her dance number was delightful.

Returning from interval we meet Theresa McTerry, portrayed by Emily Riley. Starting on stage dancing in her underwear and drinking champagne, we watch Riley go through a wide variety of emotions as she ends up in a magnificently large wedding dress marrying Ted. As the character became more and more overwhelmed by the day, Riley’s performance became bigger and louder and funnier and more tragic, as needed.

Angie Glavas played Winsome Webster, the button-down widow who has seemingly settled into a pattern that will last the rest of her life. It’s always difficult to have actors play characters so distant in age from themselves, and while it was impossible to ignore that I was watching a young performer, she had a weight to her voice, a pacing and a pitch that conveyed an older character. Glavas was able to do real credit to the humour of the writing with her performance – giving a sense of upright respectability with the occasional naughty wink.

The show ends with a showstopper – travelling Vegas-style singer Zoe Struthers played by Olivia Ramsay. I found this monologue felt somewhat out of place, as all previous five are relatively normal, everyday characters but Struthers is extreme – and Ramsay played it to absolute extreme, with smeared make-up and cartoon-like facial expressions. Possibly some of the potential tragedy of this character may have been lost through the melodrama of the performance, but it also was hindered by some technical issues. Unfortunately during the performance there were several technical cues missed which did slow the flow somewhat, but I am sure that they will be sorted as the season progresses.

There are a lot of choices at Fringe time, but if you are interested in checking out the work of some raw young talent, get yourself to Wick Studios for Bombshells.

Bombshells is playing in Studio A at Wick Studios, 23-25 Leslie St, Brunswick

Monday-Sunday at 7:30 and Sat-Sun Matinees 1:30 September 22-27

Tickets are available through melbournefringe.com.au

Preview $20, Full $25, Conc. $25 Cheap Tuesday $15

Cabaret, Comedy, Festivals

Melbourne Fringe 2016: ANDRE TONIGHT!

Spectacularly funny surprise hit

By Myron My

It’s unfortunate when you attend a show only to be told that the show has to be cancelled because the band has called in sick, but that is what happens with Melbourne Fringe Festival’s Andre Tonight! – or so we are led to believe. However, an audience member drunkenly volunteers her services and once she plays some music for our host, Andre DiVenuto, he decides the show must go on – and so it does.

Andre Tonight.jpg

Created by Chris Ryan and Mark Winter and performed by music theatre star Ryan, Andre Tonight! is an hour of laughs that just don’t seem to end. Ryan encapsulates the late-night variety show, and the European 20-something from Epping (my hometown) perfectly. I’m not sure where Ryan grew up, but he has certainly done his homework as the language, mannerism and style – including the hideous comb-over – scream Epping.

But Ryan is not simply mocking this northern suburbs boy (or the suburbs in general), as he brings much depth to the wannabe celebrity, at one point having the character almost breaking down for disobeying his parents and choosing to follow his own dreams instead. Similarly, audience member/band member Meg has her own issues to deal with popping anxiety pills like they were tic-tacs and getting incessant phone calls from her ex-partner. Despite the antagonistic behaviour towards each other, there is an immediate bond between the two characters, and it is highly entertaining to see it play out over the course of the show.

There is also an added bonus for this show, with the creators managing to get a surprise guest to appear. While it’s best to not know in advance who this person is, it is a pretty remarkable coup that Ryan has orchestrated, resulting in many pleasantly surprised faces in the audience.

It would be fair to say that Andre Tonight! has become the sleeper hit of this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival – and deservedly so. Ryan has created something quite special with Andre DiVenuto, and if the feedback from this show is anything to go by, there is a good chance Andre will actually achieve his dream of hosting his own chat show on Foxtel very soon.

Venue: Fringe Hub – Arts House, 521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne, 3051

Season: until 1 October | Tues – Sat 10.15pm, Sun 9.15pm

Length: 60 minutes

Tickets: $20 Full | $18 Conc

Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival