Reviews

House Party for the Apocalypse

By Macy Sharp. girlcatboycat productions for Fringe World. Directed by Adrijan Levis. Hayman Theatre, Curtin University, Bentley WA. Feb 4-9, 2024

House Party for the Apocalypse presented by girlcatboycat productions for Fringe World is a post apocalyptic play with a nice blend of comedy and the concerning, as a group of friends are holed up in a house avoiding a rapidly spreading zombie virus.

As Will’s house-warming stretches into many days, the food runs out, tempers get short and conspiracy theories abound. In the meantime television broadcasts from the local news anchor become more and more strange.

A friend of Dorothy: Anthems of Pride

Written and performed by Lindsay Prodea. Presented by Matthew Liersch. Adelaide Fringe: World Premiere. Plant 4 Bowden. Sat, 22 Feb - Sun, 16 Mar, 2025

Local performer, Lindsay Prodea has had a huge last 12 months. This show is Lindsay’s solo cabaret debut, but he is a seasoned and sought after performer as both a singer and actor. In 2024, he won the prestigious Adelaide Critics Circle Individual Award for his ‘Body of Work’, having mesmerised Adelaide audiences as Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz, and as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys, as well as Simply Brill during Adelaide Fringe 2024.

Comedy Carousel

By Werner Trieschman, Sean Guy and Shirley Toohey. Garrick Theatre Club. Directed by Ali Louise, Carly Ranger and Lynne Devenish. Garrick Theatre, Guildford, WA. Feb 6-15, 2025

Garrick Theatre Club’s Comedy Carousel was an evening of three comic one act plays, combining to make an evening of very varied entertainment. 

Railway Bob

Adelaide Fringe. The Lark at Gluttony. 22 February - 16 March, 2025

Railway Bob was a celebrity dog that rode the railways of Australia in the late nineteenth century. Keith Preston and Deborah Baldassi bring to life the sometimes true, sometimes rumoured tales of a dog initially sent to catch rabbits but ended up being a VIP passenger across colonial South Australia.

Returning to the Fringe after its debut last year, the story of ‘Bob the driver’s dog’ has toured Australia with its collection of stories, songs – and of course, Bob, brought to life in a puppet expertly guided by bunraku puppeteer Uma Preston.

Late to the Party: The ADHD Hour

Adelaide Fringe - World Premiere. Mezzanine at Plant 4, Bowden. Sat, 22 February - Sat, 15 March, 2025

Jessica Big and Eliza Dickson are best friends who are outrageously talented. They sing wonderfully, they write very funny stories, they frolic, and by the way, they discovered late in life that they are neurodiverse. (the most recent nomenclature for ADHD). They describe themselves as having a ‘Ferrari engine inside a 1970’s car body’ and given the pace and speed of the show, it is a perfect analogy.

Elixir Revived

Adelaide Fringe Festival 2025. Head First Acrobats. The Vault at Fools Paradise, Victoria Square, Adelaide. Feb 20 – March 23, 2025.

What happens when you leave boys alone with scientific toys? You get chaos, excitement and most of all, you get fun!

The boys from Head First Acrobats are back with their latest show, Elixir Revived. This is a revamped version of their original, but with ramped up comedy and entertainment.

Mahabharata

By Miriam Finances and Ravi Jain. Perth Festival / Why Not Theatre. Directed by Ravi Jain. His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth, WA. Feb 8-16, 2025

One of the headliner International performances of this year’s Perth Festival, this epic Indian story is presented by Canadian company Why Not Theatre. A shorter version of this story than we have seen in Perth before, this ancient story plays in two parts (each with an interval) and runs just under 5 hours.

Chicken

Adelaide Fringe. The Yurt at The Courtyard of Curiosities at the Migration Museum. 20 February - 9 March 2025

Don Murphy is a proud Irish man, a drug addict, and an Oscar-winning actor. He’s also a chicken. This is a one-bird show, their story from egg to a live action Chicken Run sequel, and it’s an exciting if bizarre ride from Kerry to Hollywood.

Grease

By Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Tall & Short Theatre Co. Sutherland Arts Theatre. February 14 – 23, 2025

It’s a Tall order to put your own stamp on such a well known and loved musical but Benjamin May has certainly managed it. 

Grease by Tall & Short Theatre was a rollicking rollercoaster that sent the audience on a dazzling trip back to the fabulous '50s. With its explosive energy and infectious spirit, the production captured the heart and soul of rock 'n' roll. 

Ningaloo: Australia's Other Great Reef: Full Dome Experience

Adelaide Fringe. Grand Hall at Dom Polski Centre. 21 February - 23 March, 2025

Fringe shows can have such variety in performance, but most involve taking a seat and looking at a performing space in front of you. Not so with this experience at Adelaide Fringe, which returns after last year’s sell-out shows with new stories. This venue is a large tent-like structure, entered through a gap in the wall, to sit (or rather lie) on one of tens of bean bags, looking up to the dome above them. Projected to this dome are immersive stories, from undersea life in a reef to a video experience accompanying the music of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

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