Adelaide Fringe
This confessional theatre performance by ‘serial nudist’ Frankie van Kan is a poetic and exhilarating exploration of sexuality and womanhood. ★★★★½
Adelaide Fringe
Isabella Perversi combines physical theatre, comedy and autobiographical writing to draw connections between crying and the arduous process of art-making. ★★★
Adelaide Fringe
In a politically-charged new show, audiences follow the life of Reuben Kaye’s one-of-a-kind uncle and learn how to live lavishly at the end of the world. ★★★★½
Adelaide Fringe
This sharp new play from a team of young Adelaide theatre-makers is a guide to the grease, grime, and glory of making a living in restaurant work. ★★★★
Singer-songwriter Jamie MacDowell and beatboxer Tom Thum return to the Adelaide Fringe with new songs and the same masterful talent. ★★★★
This is comedic duo Mel & Sam’s third year at Adelaide Fringe. It is also their most chaotic, absurd and utterly hilarious show so far. ★★★★★
Unsuitable bachelors, mysterious illnesses, longing for love – Swoon is an effervescent hour of comedy cabaret for modern women with Austen-era problems. ★★★½
Feminist history lecture slash stand-up comedy, Whore’s Eye View gives an in-depth history of sex work from an insider’s perspective. ★★★
Adelaide Fringe
It’s Macbeth like you’ve never seen it before – intoxicated. Sh!t-faced Shakespeare has found a winning formula to make the Bard’s most famous works much more… entertaining. No offence, William. ★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
When a high-flying chef swoops in to buy their restaurant, the staff have to work hard to prove that they should stay part of the team in Deus Ex Femina’s Adelaide Fringe play Dirty Energy.
Adelaide Fringe
With more than the usual sleight of hand, this storytelling magician brings you on a journey you didn’t expect to undertake at a magic show. ★★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
Don’t let the title fool you: Anna Piper Scott delivers all queer stuff, with some neurodiverse bits thrown into her concoction of joy. ★★★★
When head of department Nicky enters her boss Jo’s office for her yearly work review, she’s resigned to yet another meaningless form-filling exercise. What follows is anything but. ★★★★★
Witness an ensemble of very lonely young people struggle to find love while submerged in a sea of dating apps and matching algorithms. ★★★½
Storyteller Narie Foster’s 1 in a Chameleon is a comedic and moving journey to self-acceptance. ★★★★
Hooking its audience from the opening scene, Plenty of Fish in the Sea reels us in with inventive staging and hilariously physical performances. You can almost smell the ocean. ★★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
Fast-paced improv translates poetry’s slow-burn in Haiku for You, and a theatre full of laughter ensues. Who would’ve ever guessed haiku was for everyone? ★★★½
Adelaide Fringe
Celebrated UK theatre-makers Wright & Grainger bring the old gods down to earth with their powerful weave of music and spoken word exploring where the divine reveals itself in our modern world. ★★★★
Mary Coustas will be channeling her inner Effie again when she embarks on a national tour of her beloved and sassy big-haired Greek girl
The Grilling Season with Annabel Crabb provided some insight into the culinary arc of her political reporting career in this Fringe exclusive but ultimately played it too safe. ★★½
From Beyoncé to Balenciaga, Zan Rowe and Myf Warhurst serve up an entertaining hour of pop culture chat and ‘faarshun’ in this live version of their popular podcast. ★★★★
In a young performer’s debut solo circus show, physical theatre proves a fitting medium for exploring the absurd and frightening reality of living with psychosis. ★★★★
In a set both approachable and engaging for diehard fans, Cal Williams Jr revisits Dylan classics with richly textured vocals and mesmerising guitar work. ★★★★½
Britt Plummer’s highly relatable tale of long-distance love is buoyed by moments of clowning brilliance but ultimately suffers from a lack of true intimacy. ★★½
The Botanic Garden has been turned into an outdoor gallery under the stars this Fringe as it hosts a trail of colourful projected and immersive installations, including works by local artists sharing stories of culture and country.
Joanne Hartstone has been involved in the Adelaide Fringe for almost 20 years as a performer, producer and presenter. Now she is part of the global Fringe ecosystem – helping bring shows here from overseas and even giving up her spare room to international artists.
Adelaide Fringe
Adam Page returns to the Adelaide Fringe with a show that pushes the boundaries of what audiences have seen him do before in a dynamic sound experience. ★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
Exceptionally written, directed and performed, Blood of the Lamb presents anti-abortion policies we hadn’t dreamed could be real, and as theatre coming out of the US, it doesn’t even feel dystopian. ★★★★½
Prepare to party like its 500 BCE as you journey into the hedonistic lives of the gods of Ancient Greece in the sinfully spectacular GODZ. ★★★★★
Adelaide Fringe’s former director Greg Clarke is back in his home town for the 2024 festival season – this time as a visual artist showing his paintings in an exhibition on the Fleurieu Peninsula with long-time friend Louise Vadasz.
Limbo – The Return is a high-energy show displaying the power of beat-heavy music in a fire and acrobatics performance. ★★★½
UK company Mythological Theatre throws the battles of the Norse gods into the wrestling ring in this surprising form of (very) physical storytelling. ★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
Sharp writing and dynamic performances stand out in this lively political satire about truth, revolt and the pitfalls of a society built on competition. ★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
A night with comedian Mel Buttle is one full of uncontrollable bouts of laughter, warm nostalgia and painfully relatable recollections. ★★★★½
Adelaide Fringe
A hit in last year’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival, this show returns as a must-see in the Fringe. Sarah-Louise Young’s singing and repartee will delight die-hard fans and general audiences alike. ★★★★½
Adelaide Fringe
Once again, the UK’s Wright&Grainger prove the eternal relevance of Greek mythology with this entertaining and affecting adaptation of the Helios story. ★★★★
This Shakespearean Soiree is a performance of “only the fun bits” from three of Shakespeare’s best-known works, with a modern delivery of the original lines giving the Bard a facelift. ★★★½
As the 2024 summer festival season kicks off, we asked eight of our writers and reviewers to share tips for must-see shows and events across the Adelaide Fringe and Festival programs. Their recommendations offer something for every taste.
A series of immersive experiences in a pop-up dome at the historic Freemasons Hall this Fringe is transporting Adelaide audiences from the depths of the ocean to The Dark Side of the Moon – with a psychedelic side trip in between.
Refreshing Adelaide Fringe debutant Afrique en Cirque presents high-energy circus, joyful rhythms and mind-boggling acrobatics through the lens of West African culture. ★★★★½
Adelaide Fringe
A hidden piece of South Australia’s history is opening to the public for the first time in 145 years this Fringe.
Adelaide Fringe
You don’t have to know about rugby to enjoy Grav. But if you do, this one-hander, performed memorably by Gareth J Bale, really kicks it out of the park. ★★★★★
With her acid wit and memorably wicked aphorisms, Dorothy Parker is a rich subject for the stage, and playwright Annie Lux has seized the chance. ★★★
Although Tandanya’s future is uncertain, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and cultural leaders will make the most of the Adelaide Fringe season with events including gigs, stand-up shows, cultural tours, and a camping festival.
Adelaide Fringe’s Honey Pot marketplace has proven a valuable springboard for artists seeking opportunities for future touring, and it is hoped a new event with a specific focus on circus and physical theatre will bring even greater rewards.
A group of young Asian Australian creatives are rediscovering their roots as they prepare to pay tribute to two late Hong Kong idols during this year’s Adelaide Fringe.
Adelaide Fringe
Adelaide Fringe audiences will be lured to the West End this year by attractions ranging from dance, theatre, music and circus shows across multiple venues, to a late-night underground party and an inflatable church hosting theatrical weddings.
Adelaide Fringe
Like the female singers she honours in her Adelaide Fringe show Woman Sings the Blues Volume 2, powerhouse performer Prinnie Stevens admits she has also battled at times to find her own voice in the music industry she loves.
Adelaide Fringe has launched its 2024 program with more than 1300 shows in 500-plus venues, ranging from an ‘art gallery under the stars’ in the Botanic Garden, to an immersive and cinematic Pink Floyd Experience, special DJ sets of Beatles and Fleetwood Mac remixes, cabaret treats, and the return of circus hit Limbo.
SA arts & culture news in brief: Australian Dance Theatre’s Daniel Riley to perform in a special return season of Tracker, Adelaide Fringe announces the first recipients of its 2024 grants, and a picnic to celebrate 35 years of Young Adelaide Voices.
With just a couple of days left to make the most of the summer festivals frenzy, here are some InReview recommendations from both the Adelaide Festival and Fringe programs – including dance, comedy, music and theatre shows.
The Fringe has already sold a record 930,000 tickets and Adelaide Festival has well exceeded its 2023 box office target ahead of the final weekend of South Australia’s ‘Mad March’ festival season.
Adelaide Fringe
Jennifer Wong transmutes her diagnoses of depression and degenerative eye disease into a quick-flowing hour of self-deprecating, hilariously absurd situational stand-up. ★★★★½
Adelaide Fringe
Feisty and feminist, Helen of Troy lobs some truth bombs about unattainable beauty standards and the problems of being female in both the ancient world and this one. ★★★★
Comedian Mel Buttle’s social media followers know her largely as her suburban mum character Lynn, and in her hour-long Adelaide Fringe show she gives us that and more. ★★★★½
In an elegantly decorated room at The Jade on Flinders Street, Lauren Edwards steps up to the microphone to share her gripes with the modern world and today’s broken capitalism, and sing a song or two. ★★★ ½
Lano’s recounting of Melville’s classic novel Moby Dick is disjointed as Woodley, in his typical role as earnest but annoying sidekick, constantly threatens to derail proceedings by helping out. This show is a joy. ★★★★★
From a small solo show at Fringe to joining The Illusionists, performing in more than 80 countries and now presenting a new star-studded world premiere, Paul Dabek knows how to work magic with an audience.
Adelaide Fringe
A comedian recounts the experience of trading a live audience for the blank walls of a warehouse studio in this compelling exploration of art, creativity, and mental health in the age of COVID. ★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
Blisteringly anarchic and devilishly clever, Creepy Boys would like you to attend a birthday party for some very horny twin teenage brothers in a yurt. ★★★★★
Adelaide Fringe
Comedians Greg Fleet and Krutika Harale have merged their skill sets of writing, acting, and stand-up comedy to create this original reworking of A Star is Born. ★★★
Adelaide Fringe
Cruise ships are the vessel for this hour-long satirical musical comedy that has audiences chuckling from start to finish. ★★★★★
Sweet-faced and sharp-tongued, The Coconuts make their Fringe debut with Brown on the Outside, White on the Inside – a lively blend of storytelling, stand-up, songs, and slideshows. ★★★★
Female-led venture Powersuit Productions takes a swing at a raft of weighty issues in this fast-paced and feisty story about the power of friendship when love turns toxic. ★★★★ ½
The art of storytelling depends on two things that Tracy Crisp has nailed: entertainment and believability. ★★★★
In his previous long-running theatrical show, John Waters mastered the role of John Lennon. His new homage to Lennon is more of a band performance, but it is still compelling. ★★★★★
