Reviews

Haunted

By Kevin Kopfstein. FringeWorld. The Downstairs Williams Room, The Brass Monkey Hotel, Northbridge, WA. Jan 24- Feb 16, 2025

On the opening night of Haunted, the spirits were not being kind to Scottish magician and storyteller Kevin Kopfstein. Starting 15 minutes late (a mortal sin during FringeWorld - at least to reviewers trying to perform the James St sprint between shows), the room was hot and oppressive, Kevin’s microphone failed to work, and he was forced to perform, despite having a sore throat, un-miked in what must be FringeWorld’s most noise polluted room. 

I Can Have a Dark Side Too

By Glenn Wallis. Fringe World. Directed by Glenn Wallis. The Jonesway Theatre, William St, Northbridge, WA. Jan 23-25, 2025, then Adelaide Fringe

Playing for a very short season, I Can Have a Dark Side Too was a one man, one puppet black comedy that was expertly performed and darkly funny.

From the moment that Glenn Wallis, as Ray, introduced himself as Sergeant Safety, to a Year Two Audience (a less than subtle spin on WA’s Constable Care), he had his audience rapt. How could this vibrant children’s entertainer possibly have a dark side? Until we meet his puppet…….

AWOL: 2 Old Men Escape From a Care Home and Go To A Music Festival

By Rob Gee. Ribbit Re Public Theatre and Weeping Spoon Productions. FringeWorld Directed by Ryan Gladstone. Jan 21- Feb 8, 2025

AWOL: 2 Old Men Escape from a Care Home and Go to A Music Festival is exactly what it says in the title. Presented by Ribbit Re Public Theatre and Weeping Spoon Production as part of State of Play for FringeWorld, this wild action adventure of a play is a hilarious call to growing old disgracefully, superbly acted and a great deal of fun.

The Quadrangle

By Kids in Perth. Whiskey and Boots and Barking Gecko Arts. State of Play for FringeWorld. Rehearsal Room 1, State Theatre Centre of Western Australia. Jan 23-Feb 1, 2025

This unique verbatim theatre piece features the opinions and beliefs of Perth children and teenagers, elicited in interviews with the performers, actors wearing headphones deliver the answers to the interviews exactly as they hear them.

Presented by Whiskey and Boots and Barking Gecko Arts as part of State of Play for FringeWorld, this show feels intimate and cosy. The production features a playground set, where the actors and musicians perform in front of a screen that features the questions being asked.

Elspeth

By Trevor Todd. FringeWorld. Much Productions. Directed by Jane Sherwood. The Jonesway Theatre, William St, Northbridge, WA. Jan 23-Feb 1, 2025

Performing at the Jonesway Theatre, a short walk from the major FringeWorld hubs, Much Productions' Elspeth is a touching play about a mature actress, as she rejects upon her life.

Standing at the end of a pond, contemplating the fact that as she can not swim, walking in with bricks in her pocket, will allow her to end her life, Elspeth looks back at her life, in what might be described as a bitter-sweet, interrupted monologue.

Not A Boring Life

By Yvette Wall. FringeWorld. Directed by Karin Staflund. Cambridge Bowling Club. Floreat WA. Jan 23-Feb 1, 2025

One of the most frequent reasons I hear for people not wanting to attend FringeWorld, is a reluctance to venture into the Fringe hubs of Perth and Northbridge, to battle with crowds and parking. Not A Boring Life is the answer. Playing in the comfort of Cambridge Bowling Club in Floreat, with a bar, and a specially curated drinks menu, this is a classy and relaxed way to Fringe.

Bubble Show in Space

By Bubble Laboratory Plus. FringeWorld. Perth Town Hall, WA. Jan 17- Feb 2, 2025

One of the best things about FringeWorld aligning with WA School Holidays is the great kids shows that are on offer, and Bubble Show in Space is a great example. This wild, energetic bubble adventure had its large audience captivated throughout - a nosy party of a show that entertained tots to preteens seemingly with ease.

Perth Secrets History Tour With Famous Sharron

FringeWorld. Starts at Hackett Hall Steps, James St, Northbridge. Jan 17 - Feb 16, 2025

If you are looking for a FringeWorld show that allows you to lean and laugh at the same time, Perth Secrets History Tour with Famous Sharron is a great combination of history and humour, with the bonus of a little light exercise in the mix. Running Friday and Saturday nights, with Perthonality Famous Sharron, this is different and a delight.

Mojo

By Jez Butterworth. Red Herring Theatre Company. Directed by Lachlan Houen. A.C.T. Hub. 22 January – 1 February 2025.

Lachlan Houen’s first directorial venture is a play billing itself as a tightly wound thriller, and certainly it has the necessary elements of uncertainty and threat as well as scenes of dramatic action.

Apparently the play’s major conflict concerns commercial rights over the performances of a young singer named Silver Johnny.  Its second act begins making sense of the characters’ recent histories and the relationships between them, and the first act sets us up for the second act through some of that dramatic action.

The Bridal Lament 哭嫁歌

By Rainbow Chan. Director Tessa Leong. Contemporary Asian Australian Performance, supported by Sydney Festival. Riverside Theatres Parramatta, NSW. 23-26 Jan, 2025

The Bridal Lament was a public performance of grief, a ritual where Weitou brides expressed their bitterness about arranged marriages and patriarchal rule. As such, its message reaches across cultures and generations. Rainbow Chan learnt of the ritual in her search to find out more about her Weitou heritage … and the result is a moving song cycle that reveals the multi-disciplinary artist’s incredible ability to draw past and present together through music, movement and storytelling.

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