Reviews

Circa's What Will Have Been transcends the realm of traditional circus performances, offering a profound and emotionally resonant experience that leaves audiences spellbound. Set against the backdrop of the Playhouse Theatre at QPAC, this special hometown premiere marks the culmination of Circa's 20th anniversary celebrations, showcasing their evolution as one of the world's leading performance companies.

LIKE MANY people of the 1960s and 1970s I grew up with the macabre and madcap craziness of the now-cult TV series The Addams Family. In the days before Netflix and the ability to source and re-run any TV show of your choosing, we had to earnestly await each weekly program to watch the next kooky exploits of Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday and Pugsley Addams – not to mention Uncle Fester, Grandma, Cousin Ittt, Lurch and not forgetting Thing!

Writer David West Read came up with the idea for & Juliet whilst recovering from a concussion. He was not able to look at screens, so instead he lay in a dark room where he focused on listening to the 250 songs written by Max Martin – the pop composer no-one had heard of, but everyone knew though his hits.

A common thread of the songs Martin wrote for everyone from Britney Spears to Taylor Swift to Kate Perry, and many more, is heartache.  So, Read’s mind wandered to Shakepeare’s tragedy which has bucket loads of love and despair.

One of the delights of Adelaide Fringe, if you dare venture from the big names that pepper The Guide with full page ads, is seeing very fine theatre, dance, or other artforms from artists on small budgets, with (sadly) often smaller audiences.  For a number of years there has been ongoing discussion among the artistic rank and file about how to address problems of commercial shows and corporate interests making Fringe a difficult gig for independently-produced shows.  Case in point: Mark Penzak (Victoria) has brought a tight, professional show to town for its SA premiere