Reviews

Lyric Opera continues to challenge the box office by performing little known operas, in this case an Australian premiere. Camille Saint-Saëns’ opera Samson et Dalila is well known, but I had never heard of this delightful one-acter.

More of an operetta than an opera, with quite a bit of dialogue spoken in English, this was a light weight comedy with a flimsy plot. Written some fifteen years before Gilbert & Sullivan’s Mikado, it reflected the fascination at that time with everything Japanese.

Pretty Boys is a new A Capella ‘juke-box’ musical from Adelaide’s Festival Statesmen Chorus.  It concerns the fortunes of a local ‘white’ boy band and their disastrous involvement with the overtly ‘gay’ recording industry and the Russian Mafia.

Whilst some of the singing is good, the acting and movement is not. There is a lot of over-acting, needless shouting, incompetent staging with ridiculous scene changes, and stereotypical characters.

Deconstruction of the cabaret form can potentially result in a clever and daring presentation, but it can also be leaned upon lazily as the ticket to ‘hipster credibility’. Jessamae St James’ show doesn’t quite rise or sink to either of these extremes; what we get with Not Another Indie Cabaret, is, sadly, just another indie cabaret - albeit one with appearances by an Omnichord and a trumpet kazoo, which are not enough to make this show a special experience.

Well I have to say, any show that has my very quiet ‘plus one’ clapping and singing along must be an amazing one. Livvy and Pete is a joyful ride - some of which is even on roller skates! Michael Griffiths and Amelia Ryan demonstrated yet again why they are so loved by Adelaide audiences. Their chemistry and team-work, coupled with buckets of talent, make for a fun night out at the Fringe.