Adelaide Fringe

Friday, Feb 17, 2017

A few of our favourite Fringe things

Adelaide Fringe

The 2017 Adelaide Fringe features more than 1100 shows and events to discover and savour. Here are some InDaily picks to get you started.

Suzie Keen

Friday February 17, 2017

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Cirque Africa

This roving circus is making its temporary home under a big top in Hindmarsh Square for the duration of the Fringe. Cirque Africa promises to showcase African culture through a mixture of circus routines, theatre and music. In the words of one reviewer, “what it lacks in fanciness it makes up for in heart” with a feel-good performance for all ages featuring vibrant costumes and equally bold artists. – Big Top, Hindmarsh Square, February 16 – March 19

An Evening with Amanda Palmer

The always-provocative queen of punk cabaret (formerly one half of the Dresden Dolls) says this show is part of a super-stripped-down tour – “just me, a suitcase, a piano, a ukulele, and a baby. Just Me. Piano. Songs. Some old songs, some new songs, lots of feelings, lots of ridiculousness. Certainly wine. Babies and piano and wine actually go together phenomenally”. So there. And it comes with an R18+ recommendation for audiences. – Her Majesty’s Theatre, February 24-25 

We Live by the Sea

‘We Live by the Sea’ is a theatre work about ‘autism, friendship and a very big wave’.

A hit at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe, this work uses visual storytelling and a live electronic score to tell the tale of a young girl with autism and the connection she makes with a lonely teenage boy who moves to her sleepy coastal town. Described as “raw and beautiful” by The British Theatre Guide, it was devised with the National Autistic Theatre Company UK. – Royal Croquet Club, February 16 – March 19

360 Allstars

Making its Adelaide premiere among the numerous circus and physical theatre shows on the Fringe program, 360 Allstars promises something a little different, with a cast including a two-times world champion BMX Flatlander, two world champion breakdancers, a basketball freestyler and a roue cyr artist. Dubbed “street circus”, the G-rated show features a live soundtrack (including a vocal loop artist) and AV projections. – Royal Croquet Club, February 16 – March 19

Trainspotting Live

This live adaptation of Scottish author Irvine Welsh’s novel about a group of friends negotiating the highs and lows of Edinburgh’s heroin scene in the 1980s is not for the faint-hearted – it comes with warnings of nudity, coarse language and violent themes. Audience members are also told not to wear white. But for fans of the book and film, and those who like their theatre on the wild side, Trainspotting Live will be the must-see theatre work of the 2017 Fringe after garnering a string of four and five-star reviews in the UK. – Station Underground, 52-54 Hindley Street, from February 17 until March 19

Tom Ballard’s Boundless Plains to Share

Australian comedian Tom Ballard had a great run in 2016, winning the Helpmann Award for best comedy performer and the Pinder Prize at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, as well as being nominated for Best Comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe. But this topical 70-minute show is not just about laughs. Dubbed a “comedy lecture”, it sees him take aim at Australia’s treatment of refugees and our immigration history. – Tandanya Theatre, February 18, 19, 25 and 26. Ballard is performing another show, Problematic, in the Garden of Unearthly Delights, February 17-26

Angel by Henry Naylor

You might remember British playwright Naylor as the creator of Echoes, winner of the Best Theatre award at last year’s Adelaide Fringe. This time he’s presenting the equally intense Angel – about a Kurdish female sniper who helped drive ISIS out of her town during the Siege of Kobane in Syria (read InDaily’s interview with Naylor here). Angel was the Holden Street Theatre Edinburgh Fringe Award Winner, and named one of Britain’s 10 best plays of 2010 by The Times. – Holden Street Theatres, February 16 – March 19

California Crooners Club

Singer and actor Hugh Sheridan has two roles at this year’s Fringe: he’s a festival ambassador and is also performing with his sharp-suited, smooth-singing group the California Crooners Club. The group – whose other members are Gabriel Roland and Emile Welman – scooped the Pick of the Fringe and Critics Circle Prize with their sell-out shows last year, wowing audiences with a combination of jazz standards and chart hits and even a bit of rap (sample their sound here). – William Magarey Room at LIVE on 5, Adelaide Oval, February 24-26, March 4-5

19 Weeks

This new play by Adelaide playwright Emily Steele is inspired by her own experience of a pregnancy termination after her baby was diagnosed with Down syndrome. Described as “sad, funny, familiar and surprising”, it will be performed by Tiffany Lyndall Knight in the swimming pool at the Adina Apartment Hotel, with audiences members (just 20 at a time) invited to sit by the pool, put their feet in the water and listen. Steele talks to CityMag about the show here. – Hotel Adelaide Treasury, March 1-18.

Mother’s Ruin – A Cabaret About Gin

Given Adelaide’s love affair with gin, this dark comic cabaret is the perfect way to get into the Fringe spirits. A hit at last year’s Cabaret Festival (see reviews here and here), Mother’s Ruin sees Maeve Marsden and Libby Wood take audiences on an entertaining journey through the history of gin – from 18^th-century London to the Australian bush – while putting their own twist on music by Amy Winehouse, Nina Simone, Billy Joel, The Popes, The Pretenders and more. – Garden of Unearthly Delights, March 6-12

NoMaD – Sounds of the Planet

This is a South Australian show that will take audiences around the world in a whirlwind of multicultural music and dance, with performers from 16 different countries including Greece, India, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Sri Lanka and China. Presented by Studio Flamenco, each night will showcase different groups (full program here). – Gluttony, February 17 – March 5

Limbo Unhinged

The offspring (naughtier sister?) of previous Fringe hit Limbo, this new show from slick production company Strut and Fret is described as “a brazen, crazed and wildly hypnotic exploration”. It features characters from Limbo (including sword swallower Heather Holliday, pictured above, and contortionist Aurelien Oudot) as well as new cast members performing all manner of sizzling circus feats alongside a live ensemble led by musician Mick Stuart. – Garden of Unearthly Delights, February 28 – March 19.

The 2017 Adelaide Fringe begins today (the annual parade is tomorrow) and continues until March 19. See the full program here, and keep up to date with all InDaily’s latest stories and reviews here.