Hot Mess Comedy | Ting Lim & Sandeep Totlani
The second half is competitive improv and this is where the real fun begins, as the comics are thrown in the deep end by a series of absurd topics written by a few unforgiving audience members. During this part, I could really appreciate the craft, as I witnessed some of the comedians thinking up side-splittingly funny gags on the spot, while some completely bombed under the pressure.
High Fi - Jazz Lounge - Feat. Bobby Singh & Na Moja
The intimate venue of The Sideshow in West End played host to High Fi, a Jazz Lounge like setting featuring four talented musicians: Bobby Singh beating away on the tabla, Matt Ottignon’s breathtaking display of the sax and clarinet, Benjamin Walsh adding in the drums and percussion and Shenzo Gregorio dazzling us with the beauty of the viola, guitar, and custom stringed instruments.
The Laramie Project | Ad Astra
For those who aren’t familiar with the script, the Laramie Project is a piece of verbatim theatre which is based on approximately 200 hours of interviews with residents of Laramie, Wyoming, following the kidnapping and murder of gay university student, Matthew Sheppard 1998. It’s quite frankly appalling how relevant the content, characters and messages in the play are in our contemporary society.
Hello, Gaz Rhumbo! | Lightning Bolt Creative & Willem Whitfield
A fascinating play, with a whole lot going on. Hello, Gaz Rhumbo is a bizarre and fun-filled trip into the life, and untimely death, of our title character. The entire affair is reminiscent of a slightly perturbed gameshow, wherein the contestant gets a short recap and then has to fumble his way through a series of zany questions he is woefully unprepared for.
Booff | Clint Bolster
A delightfully imposing clown, when captured in the intimate setting of the tea room, Booff becomes even larger than life. I felt quite giddy, it’s such a space to step into, an otherworldly experience. If you were to enter this beautiful parlour from the chaos of a summer festival, you would be instantly transported to another world entirely. In this Booff has done that most perfect of magic theatre tricks, he has made the outside go away and the inside somewhere else.
The Secret Ingredient | Hoopla Clique
The two cooks scamper in and out of the kitchen, the apprentice in search of a squeaky mouse and the tipsy chef convinced there is no such rodent. A range of improbable ingredients are added into the sauce, and there’s the age-old argument over doing the dishes. It’s not the tidiest kitchen to start with, but by the end of the day, it’s a right royal mess.
Rear Vision | Vulcana
Ever the innovators in live performance, Vulcana offers us the perfect way to consume the arts in the time of COIVID; drive-in circus. Safely ensconced in our cars, we are catapulted into the world of the performers through a gorgeous soundscape playing on our stereos created by Brisbane’s maestro of sound, Anna Whitaker, and the captivating poetry of Angela Pieta. Our headlights are used for lighting at times and the performers try to connect with us through our individual cells.
Rear Vision | Vulcana
The show tread gracefully the emotional arc from the trepidation of this year’s beginning, to the desolation and disquietude of its middle, to the elation at its approaching ending, and touched on themes of the pain of seeking human connection in a physically distanced world, the fragility of ‘normality’, and the power of collective action.
Moon with a View | Calum Johnston
Moon with a View has that classic B-Grade science fiction vibe to it, like something you might see on Mystery Science Theater 3000, however the story of losing a loved one never got lost in the comedic nature of the show. For me this is what made it special. Beyond the fun, silliness and at times absurd, there was still a beautiful heart-warming tale of a relationship between a grandson and his grandma that was inspired by Calum’s personal life.
The Underground Hour | Claire Owen & performers
As they share their story of coming together, they dance and sing their way through a great range of classic show tunes and contemporary commercial hits. The fourth wall be damned, they performed directly to us, sharing their story and all of themselves. They love the audience as much as we love them, and crave our adulation. And we were more than happy to give it to them.
Dream a Little Dream | For the Record #17
Hosts Maja and Siobhan are fresh and natural fronting the night and bring what they like to call ‘chaotic MCing’ to keep us entertained between acts. Their effortless banter and truly random segues alone would have me coming back month after month. Even if Siobhan’s penis hands will haunt until my dying days.
Flat Out Like A Lizard | Robert the Cat presents the play by Norman Price
Flat Out Like a Lizard is a play that will have you feeling, though you have to spend some time untangling what it is that you are feeling and why. Presented by Metro Arts and Robert the Cat, it is a confronting piece of theatre that is minimalist in its execution and leaves nothing in the way of performer connecting straight to audience.
Tales from the Colony | Voices of Colour & Skin Deep Collective
It’s hard to believe that it took only ten days for ‘Tales from the Colony’ to be created and then performed on stage. For a work that was complexed, multifaceted and spoke on deep themes and issues, it was suspiring to hear how quick it took for it all to come together, but that’s also a testament to the rawness that was on full display. And when the ending came, the audience on their feet standing, clapping and cheering on in praise: the emotional toll on six incredible performers was evident, and with that the realisation of what we had experienced was more than a show, but a journey of exposing truths, finding identity and baring trauma.
Tales from the Colony | Voices of Colour & Skindeep Collective
Escalating emotions aside, one of the many highlights of the night was sharing the same space with such a rich mix of people of colour from so many different ethnic backgrounds. This truly felt like being back home again. Besides the delivery of the original material, what impressed was the message of hope and reconciliation this conveyed. The youth of the performers belied the intensity and ferocity with which they boldly embraced their storytelling by speaking out about taboo subjects.
Can I Help? | Aaron Dora & Renee Dobbyn
It’s strange to think about how when the lockdowns initially began, I was filled with anxiety and fear around what would happen to me both physical and mentally; to now watching a reading of a play that delves into those fears and anxieties, but finding myself laughing at certain scenes and then being taken back to sadness when the emotional scenes hit. ‘Can I Help?’ does a really good job at weaving in the drama and the serious nature of its topic, while also providing laughs and a fun quality to it.
Smiley | Liam Burke, Sergio Ulloa Torres & Matt Young
Any intimate production lives and dies in its casting and luckily, Smiley is in good hands. Sergio Ulloa Torres and Matt Young effortlessly bring both the comedic chops and depth needed to charm the audience and make Smiley work.
Apocalipstick | Polytoxic
Apocalipstick used drag and gender-fuckery to engage the audience through laughter, the absurd, and the excess. There is nothing better to make someone think about serious issues than to make them laugh! Laughter sits with you in a light vein and it makes you come back to the funny sketch again and again looking for one more laugh. Drag invites laughter by highlighting the contradictions of gender through the excess: hoping for a fuck, office tape and markers become the perfect beauty tools for a face-lift and make-up, and thin-glass toxic masculinity is the weapon of the man looking for acceptance in the wolf pack.
The G.O.A.T. Show | Shock Therapy Productions
We sit on fold-out chairs on the front lawn of an abandoned house on Chevron Island. A table piled with iceberg lettuces sits beside a temporary stage. Our hosts, two men in neon coloured suits, are offering pickled onions from the jar, sardines from the can and melons ripped apart with their bare hands. They take it upon themselves to gently whack some audience members with fly swatters, despite the lack of flies. Ah, yes, hospitality.
Grand Slam & Seventh Birthday | Ruckus Slam
It was all the best trivia-night vibes, coupled with some kick-ass artists. No poetry clicking here. The poets were judged by audience members selected at random who got to don funny hats. The scoring system was in dinosaur puns. You can’t be simultaneously pretentious and score in dinosaur puns.
yana marumba (Walk Good) | Wynnum Fringe Opening Ceremony
The act of walking as one group evoked a sense of togetherness in a year marked by separation. It was a participatory aspect that many opening ceremonies lack and which made us feel like part of the festival from the very beginning.