Presented by Lahara
@ Adelaide Town Hall – Meeting Hall
FRIDAY 9 March (until March 18)

For many people, “the Fringe” means Rundle Street and the East Terrace parklands, and the chance to catch big-name national and international acts, often comedians. Sadly, this means many smaller venues and acts miss out, which is a great shame – digging a little deeper reveals nooks and crannies all over Adelaide filled with surprising and delightful performances, many of which defy easy categorisation. One such show is Lahara.

Part art installation, part electronica gig and part movie, Lahara takes place in the “liquid universe” and tells the story of “a Trilobite Space Gypsy who, due to his gambling debts with the Gods, has to undergo a quest to liberate a flock of Windfarm Battery Chickens from the slavery of an Evil Dude: ‘Ed’, a manipulative genius who is using the energy created from the Windfarm Chickens to help build an army of malevolent animal/machine hybrids in order to take over the Universe.”

This tale requires a singular blend of music, film, shadow puppets and the spoken word, and each element is woven together into an intricate whole. The digitalised shadow puppets are projected directly onto a large screen, giving them a sort of hyper-realistic appearance, with very defined, sharp edges. This also helps them stand out against the intricate patterns and scenes appearing on the screen behind them.

The puppeteer is visible throughout the whole performance, and cleverly incorporates real world props into the performance – a barrel sitting on the stage is an integral part of several scenes, with characters hiding and popping out at will. Another highlight is a literal fist-fight, the puppeteer using her hands to simulate the climactic battle between Yatlove the trilobite and his nemesis, Ed. Throughout the action, the ever-present music conveys a real sense of a journey taking place, laced with moments of danger and humour.

It would be a mistake, however, to focus on a single element – Lahara is above all an immersive experience, meant to wash over you all at once. The beating hearts, waves, fractals and colours projected onto the walls surrounding the audience are a constant presence in the corner of your eye, but never pose a distraction. It is very easy to become engrossed – I hardly noticed time passing.

The Lahara performers, talking with me after the show, explained that the performance is meant to be open-ended, allowing for people to read different things into it. They are very aware of not spoon-feeding their audience, even though some people would prefer a more concrete narrative. Then again, they informed me, another common response from audience members is that the performance isn’t abstract enough!

This is the true beauty of the performance – everyone who attends will walk away with a different impression. I picked up references to the dangers of corporate control, factory farming, global warming, and overpopulation, as well as several amusing sci-fi references. Other audience members may respond more to the spiritual elements of the show, or the superb musicianship on display, or the outstanding shadow puppetry. The artists themselves are also keen to encourage discussion after each show, which gives audiences a chance to explore the concepts raised in more detail, or ask specific questions.

I can certainly see how the performance would not be to everyone’s taste, but I was captivated. I highly recommend taking the time to wander off the beaten Fringe path and spend an hour taking in this little slice of another world.