The dancers were an engrossing delight; their performance fluid, one movement cascading into the next. If there were any slip-ups, the audience certainly didn’t notice them. Tobiah Booth-Remmer’s played Vincent with a dedication to character that I never expected could be portrayed in dance. His personified Psyche (Chloe Lanham) was an apt choice and did well to convey the torment of his mind as he tried to keep on track with his work. Their dance was a struggle to find balance, his Psyche a constant distraction from his painting – only when she was under control could he work in peace. Vincent wasn’t alone with his mind in this performance, he and his younger brother Theo (Michael Smith) were corresponding, their letters read aloud for the audience. Theo was a constant encouragement, he even, at times, helped Vincent wrestle with his Psyche.

One of the major goals of Vincent was to showcase the many effects of light, utilising it on stage, on objects, and on the dancers. This was undoubtedly the highlight of the performance. Artists had to paint quickly in order to capture the scenes, so short and swift brush strokes became another characteristic. While the stage contained just a limited number of props (frames, trees, a writing desk and the incomplete Starry Starry Night), they differed and changed before the audience’s eyes. In particular, the painting was ever changing as the light brought different colours into focus.

The music of Perth composer, Sean Tinnion, complimented and drove the performance to new heights. Beginning with something soft, the composition grew increasingly frenzied over time. When he painted, the music was not only frantic, but verged on unsettling.

This is certainly something for fans of the visual arts. Almost giving the impression of being in an art gallery, this show will have you spellbound from start to finish as you wonder how anybody could have orchestrated such a multi-dimensional piece. Not only did this show bring together arresting music, the pleasure of paintings, and awe-inspiring dance to tell the story of Vincent Van Gogh, it brought together these things in a celebration of the wider spectrum of art.

Jarrad, whose enthusiasm is contagious, hosts the show. He introduces the other cast members on stage and explains how the show will work. While he speaks, the Goblet of Fire is brought out and three audience members are asked to draw a name from the goblet, and from those names, the audience indicated by cheering which story they wanted to hear. The show that I saw was about Phineas Nigellus Black, and gave some real insight into the most disliked headmaster that Hogwarts ever had.

Nigellus’ story was quite a simple one. Pressured by his parents who wanted to maintain their pureblood Slytherin line and high social standing, Black was an ardent rule-follower and aimed to please. He even made an unbreakable vow with his mother that he would become the next Hogwarts Headmaster and thereby live up to their high expectations of gaining a position of influence in the wizarding world.

Instead of risking death by angry fans screaming about the cannon, the players appointed a crowd member to be ‘guardian’ and honk a horn if they said anything out of line (e.g. discussing mobile phones or light bulbs). This was a great way to avoid the inevitable criticism of mishaps in the performance.

Each performer acted in a variety of roles including teachers, students, and family members. Despite their lack of costuming each character was readily distinguished from the actor’s other characters by their stances, voices, and mannerisms. These actors worked well to characterise themselves, and the entire performance ran smoothly despite being improvised.

You cannot love the wizarding world of Harry Potter without being able to enjoy a show like this. Scriptease are hilarious on stage and will certainly satisfy your needs when it comes to Harry Potter related puns.

Overthinking It, funnily enough, is a show about those kind of situations that get you thinking; the little every day things that just end up on your mind. They mention the need to escape using social media as an excuse not to think. A lot of the act is semi-autobiographical and, like most successful performances, it offers a view into both the comedians’ leapfrogging mindsets.

On the night of the show, there was only a small crowd present. Instead of deterring the performers however, this acted as a stimulant, encouraging them to get to know their audience so that their performance could be tailored just for them. As a result, the audience appeared more engaged and felt free to contribute to the show, regularly bickering with the pair.

The stand-up duo from Sydney were very polite onstage. Both Matt Lane and Danny Giles were very friendly and open with the crowd, explaining a bit about themselves and their lives outside of their comedy shows before beginning. Each comedian had their own set consisting of a number of stories and situations where they had been guilty of overthinking it, as we all do.

If you’re familiar with overthinking anything, this is probably an act that you will enjoy, or at the very least, relate to. Come along and hear about how Danny’s parents convinced him to move out of home, and about Matt’s willingness to help out a nerdy schoolboy. Even if you’re a recluse looking for someone to congratulate you for leaving the house, these guys will certainly cater to you!

Beginning at the Aperitif Bar, ibis, participants are greeted by code name ‘Magpie’ and given information about their final assessment as spies-in-training. They are then sent to rendezvous with their contact. From there, participants receive a number of documents including envelopes containing covert information, a cipher, and a map. The map is limited to the city centre, mainly focusing on the mall where there are plenty of places to hide things, and plenty of people to hide among.

While each person has a unique experience within the game, they work with partners or alone to complete a number of missions, competing for the top score and a prize. There are five types of missions: rendezvous missions, drop-off missions, pickup missions, intercept missions, and special missions. Each of these assignments are designed to test the participants’ skills at remaining cool undercover – even in the face of a time limit. Code name ‘Magpie’ has people on the lookout for participants. If caught, participants must give their code name or, in the case of a car pulling up, must ride around the city while solving a cipher puzzle. In short, the key is to be discreet and to complete as many missions as possible.

This is a highly exciting experience that makes use of both the city of Adelaide and local knowledge. This is the kind of game you’ve always wanted to play, but never had the organisational skills to make work. Highly recommended for anybody with a few hours free who can move quickly and inconspicuously through a crowd. Take advantage of this Fringe season opportunity; become an undercover operative, you know you’ve always wanted to!

While focusing on their unique talents, the magicians take turns in performing tricks, choosing assistants from the audience by throwing their Catbus. Tarrant was all charm, chatting away to the audience while playing mind-games with his assistants. Brandwood however, was a numbers man, using maths and sleight of hand to captivate. Their more intimate tricks had to be filmed and projected onto two stage-side screens for a clearer view.

Making things more modern, Brandwood acknowledged during a memory trick that keeping with the recitation of Shakespeare would have been a mistake; instead he chose to recite a more familiar poem – Green Eggs and Ham. While confounding the audience again and again, the pair use their final reveal to display the predictions they’d made before the show had began. Each prediction was correct, the paper even containing a birthday message for a crowd member. How could they have known?

‘The Matts’ catered to everyone, presenting a PG show with only a few swear word slip-ups (but don’t let that deter you). With a range of tricks varying from artistic works to memory games, these two magicians demonstrated excellent showmanship throughout the performance, engaging and befuddling the audience. Together they present an awesome show of deceit, leaving the audience wanting more and wondering just how did they pull it off? This is definitely a must-see show at the Adelaide Fringe this year.

A graduate of drama school, April finds that she is being discriminated against because of her ethnicity, singing a wonderful rendition of Kasey Chambers’ ‘Not Pretty Enough’ adapted to ‘Not Ethnic Enough’. After being rejected for being too white, she has another audition – this time, they ask about her sob-story. Not having a sob story, the producers say they aren’t interested. April loses her temper and tells them about her gay brother marrying a woman. Now having the sob story they need, the producers give April one chance to either walk away or use the story and become a star.

This non-linear approach to story-telling works well, flicking between past and present, introducing elements and pressures to this media star who must tweet every ten minutes or risk losing fans. She tweets everything from selfies to boob shots throughout the show, even asking the audience for their best ‘Japanese schoolgirl’ pose. Although the show was somewhat confusing and bordered on offensive, Isabella is undoubtedly talented in her adaptation of song lyrics – even singing a rendition of a Meatloaf song as ‘Paradise By The Stage Light’.

If you can name five Kardashians then this show is for you. If you’re a fan of reality TV, again, this show is for you. If you have an intense relationship with Twitter, aim to be a STAR, or just want some advice on whom in the industry you need to screw, then this show is definitely for you.

Andrew was late, wearing a stained shirt and laden with a big bag of McDonald’s. He was quite happy to talk about the new ‘Create Your Taste’ range and, with the help of the audience, put together a request for a burger. This, miraculously, was the burger inside the bag.

Before the show, audience members were approached to be a part of a later ‘Guess Who’ game. The staff organising the photographs were friendly, assisting with the photography and providing detailed instructions for audience participation. The later game used painting and a mobile phone, with the audience members as game pieces. Andrew was able to not only guess who, but paint a reasonably accurate portrait as well.

At times, it was clear that the audience didn’t know how to react. Were we supposed to notice that wire suspending the lightbulb midair? Were we supposed to see behind some of their tricks or was that all just by chance? Admittedly, not all their tricks were easy to decipher. The eye tests were downright confusing and the lightbulb remains a mystery. But what about the bullet catch? Well, that was certainly impressive – who wouldn’t want to see a live bullet catch? However, the event seemed almost anti-climactic and could have be improved with a little more showmanship.

Overall the magic and mind reading was excellent. Unfortunately, despite the exciting and original content, the show was a let down as the hosts appeared much too casual for their role as magicians.

There is no easy way to describe the energy of this show; Anya Anastasia puts on an outstanding performance, crafting the character of Marie Antoinette not just until her death, but also after her execution. Dead, she becomes a singing, dancing skeleton with the unique use of glowing body paint. It isn’t long before we discover where her promiscuity and the negligence of the people took her. She becomes a devil singing about how good it is to take what you want. With a collective gasp from the audience, Marie is seen pulling out a fake gun, shooting herself before transforming back to the dead Marie, waiting to be dressed for the funeral.

From start to finish the audience is transfixed by the hedonistic promiscuity of Marie Antoinette. Her vocal talents and range compliment her stage presence, while the use of keyboard and electric ukulele adds variety. Bec Matthews only makes the show more robust with contributions of percussion and backup.

This performance was filled with the most satire and puns I’ve seen in a Fringe show thus far. So many puns! From the devil’s hot, sizzling body to Marie’s head singing that she “hasn’t got nobody”, the entire production was well-written, well-executed and, overall, an excellent performance. I would highly recommend this show to anybody and everybody, whether you’re a fan of cabaret or not.

Warning: This show uses fog machines, fire and strobe lights to bring you a show with absolutely no Japanese cast members, plenty of nudity, cultural inaccuracy, and Astro’s minute long synopsis’ of lame shonen anime.

From the moment they enter, the audience is inundated with Japanese pop-culture references – for those who understand, good on them, but for those who don’t, you’re not missing all that much. Energetic MC, Astro sports Dragon Ball Z hair and a love for shonen anime. Astro is the audience’s guide to Japanese culture, even teaching a few handy words including ‘kawaii’, meaning cute, and ‘sugoi’, meaning awesome. His Pokémon and fellow performers in onsies greet guests and dance wildly to J-pop as they wait for the show to formally begin. At first glance they’re your generic otaku (Japanese pop-culture lover), but looks are deceiving.

There is a strong mix of the unfamiliar and familiar in this show. Even the playlist is a mix of familiar and unfamiliar songs and at Hotel Tokyo there is no escape from ‘Uptown Funk’. While slow starting, the audience was soon captivated by the skill and, at times, the absurdity of performers. Whether it was the two girls dancing to J-pop on the ariel silks or the fire-twirling samurai, the mix of skill and pop-culture was entrancing. Used in conjunction with traditional and non-traditional culturally inaccurate activities, the performers captivated their audience and offered something for everyone – there was even an interactive component!

The show contained an impressive number of costume changes, both on stage and off, as characters appeared and reappeared in different roles. One of the big surprises was the degree of nudity onstage, beginning with a deceptively innocent gothic Lolita showing her love of leather. Also presented were three ninjas who strip to become tap-dancing sumos and a semi-nude geisha fan dance. The costuming was excellent throughout the show, fitting perfectly to each performance.

This is not just a single performance but rather a collection of circus tricks, acrobatics, and cabaret with the additional theme of Japanese culture designed to captivate. While some audience members were clearly lost along the way, the circus tricks unified them in their awe. Certainly a show to see for people who enjoy Japanese pop-culture, circus, and stereotypes.

Being an impro show, each performance is unique, demonstrating the artists ability to engage the audience without a script. Before the show starts, audience members undergo an interrogation spree by the actors. They are asked anything from “what’s in your backyard” to “where was your first kiss?” The answers were placed in hats to be drawn out throughout the show, each answer giving the actors the next clue to where their performance was heading. This process works well and involves the audience.

Based loosely off of Law and Order, the show takes us down the well-trodden path of a whodunit mystery. Using flashbacks the murder is quickly solved and the audience sees the perp get taken to court where everyone is subjected to a lie detector test—even the detectives.

Saturday’s show followed the discovery of a murder in a gym alongside three murder weapons: a bloody chicken, an egg slicer, and a bowl of custard. Spellcheck (Josh Rice), Kooper (Amy Sincock) and Vicky (Jack Jennings) certainly deserve praise for combining the weapons into a murder scenario.

Spellcheck was certainly a favourite, his easy going attitude and enthusiasm for riding velociraptors was very engaging. His acting was great, always seeming to throw in a twist when things were getting a little too smooth.

While there were some mistakes throughout the show, they were embraced and because of that, glossed over. At one stage, Spellcheck and Vicky were discussing openly whether the bloody chicken, one of the murder weapons, was alive or dead. The combination of excellent improvisation, audience participation and too-many puns made the show very enjoyable and kept the audience engaged throughout.