Presented by the Graduate Dramatic Society of WA

Hellenic Club of WA

Review by Julianne de Souza

Relevant and engaging, A Flat Circle sees the two-year reunion of a dysfunctional family, only to be followed by its disastrous unravelling – all over the span of one forty-five minute dinner party. If you think that this may sound like a lot to achieve, then you would be correct. While it is well written and showcases some impressive performances, A Flat Circle was at times overdramatic and heavy-handed.

A production by the Graduate Dramatic Society of WA, A Flat Circle stages a troubled family’s reunion to reveal its dark secrets. After two years of backpacking in Africa following his father’s death, Charlie waltzes back into his estranged family’s life only to swiftly dig up old grievances, wasting no time in steering the stilted dinnertime conversation towards his parents’ difficult marriage. This begins an exploration of the various characters’ attitudes towards domestic violence as we learn of their father’s abusive treatment of his wife, Victoria.

Youngest son and failed playwright George attempts to defend his father’s violent behaviour. His excuses come across almost as platitudes given the frequency with which domestic violence victims are blamed in today’s society. Yet in this performance, remarks such as “He only did it once” and “He was a good man” are not merely misogynistic drivel; they also portray the disbelief of a son who cannot come to terms with his father’s true character.

Mel Kay’s performance as the ambitious and taunting younger sister Di, who up until this point was in the dark about her father’s abusive tendencies, was the standout. She was closely followed by Jennifer van den Hoek as the mother trying to keep her family together while struggling to admit the truth about her husband.

Despite these several strong performances, A Flat Circe’s tense climax and final ‘twist’ came across as both out-of-the-blue and unconvincing. As various family members turn on one another, it felt more like the play was aiming to shock its audience than give the play the mature resolution it deserved. Unexpectedly, the show ends on a haunting, a cappella number sung by Di to her mother, which while technically impressive, was too long.

These plot and staging caveats aside, A Flat Circle is a thought-provoking dramatization of family relationships and domestic violence, carried through by the actors by witty dialogue and complex characterisation. If it generates more conversation about topics marked ‘taboo’, it can only be marked a success.

A Flat Circle ran until late February at the Hellenic Club of WA. 

Presented by Jake Dennis

The Laneway Lounge

Review by James Burnside

Combining elements of night club style jazz and theatre, Perth local Jake Dennis’s performance Gatsby’s Cabaret is a feast for the ears – even if it is sometimes bogged down by slow pacing and the occasional bit of wooden dialogue. In essence this show is a combination of jazz numbers held together by a connecting storyline. Moments between musical numbers are about five minutes long at most and tend to feel like an excuse for the lead singer to clear his throat.

The story, such as it is, is an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby with a few minor alterations; most notably a racial component that was not present previously in the predominantly class-based tale. This ‘Jay Gatsby’ is a black man (Jake Dennis); which gives his pursuit of Daisy (Sjaan Lucas), a white woman, an extra level of tension when he’s competing with her not only rich but also racist husband Tom (Samuel Barbas). Meanwhile, Gatsby’s female confidant, fellow African American, Hattie (Fleur Pereira) constantly advises him to just stick with ‘our own kind’.

It certainly does mix up the formula of The Great Gatsby a bit. Yet, apart from some very harsh and slightly awkwardly delivered racial slurs from Tom and Hattie, who constantly try to get Gatsby to “just forget about the damned white girl”, not much is done with the subject matter. While the actors put some charm into it, with Sjaan Lucus playing a very entertaining version of Daisy and Fleur Pereira doing a good job being the sympathetic shoulder to cry on, ultimately the performances occasionally feel a bit rushed and stiff. Jake Dennis himself does a fair job at playing a poor soldier turned rich man trying to compete with men of ‘old money’ and being brought down each time he tries. His breakdowns, while occasionally melodramatic, flow very nicely with the tone of some of the more sombre songs in the piece and he captures Gatsby’s charm and the nobility and tragedy of a man determined to ‘win’ a woman who is so clearly not right for him rather well.

At the end of the day however, ‘Gatsby’s Cabaret’ is about the music – and fortunately the music is amazing. Jake Dennis is a charismatic figure on stage when he starts to sing. He has a smooth voice that balances itself perfectly with every musical style he chooses, conveying cool smooth jazz numbers with grace and quickly picking up the pace into energetic and exciting old time numbers before settling back into a darker and more sombre tone. His voice is exceptional and his song selection, which is a mixture of old music and jazz adaptions of more recent ‘pop songs,’ is inspired. Each song hits its mark and right from the beginning Jake Dennis and the Mint Jazz Band that backs him have the audience completely hooked and don’t let go until the show ends. Despite having only one singer the whole time it is remarkable how varied the production feels as we go from tone to tone and style to style. It makes the flaws of the production feel so minor as to be barely worth noting, and if you are a fan of jazz you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Gatsby’s Cabaret has its final Fringe World 2016 performance tonight at The Laneway Lounge in Northbridge. Tickets available here. 

Presented by Chaos Ensemble

The Parrott House

Review by Jessica Clausen

Through the mess of undeserved social stigmas and the turning of blind eyes on issues of mental illness and suicide, Perth actor and writer Daley King raises the curtain and turns on the lights in i’m not alright, managing to avoid isolating audiences while still addressing the topics head on.

Entering the Parrott House theatre, you are confronted with a man sitting at the front of the seats, wearing a t-shirt with a drearily painted smiling face and a blood-smeared bandage over his mouth with the word ‘smile’. The scene is highly unnerving, and as the lights dim and everyone settles, he stands up and walks slowly through the crowd, flashing a bright torch in the faces of his audiences, who now recognize the man to be their protagonist.

Daley starts off with a monologue, explaining his intention to commit suicide. Lyrically describing his fatal drink of choice (combining bleach and cough medicine as a few examples), he is then interrupted by another voice, calling him out on his ‘poetic bullshit’. The voice, an alter ego to Daley, is portrayed by a puppet. The felt doppelganger hides Daley’s self-criticism behind an American accent, a sarcastic tone and a light-hearted attitude, reflecting the hidden self-criticism of those suffering mental illness.

It is this snarky puppet and Daley’s self-deprecating humour that makes i’m not alright so affecting. Steering clear of stereotyping bipolar disorder by portraying it as messy, complicated and at times a little funny, Daley presents a genuine look of an issue ignored too often.

On paper, a soundtrack made up of upbeat jazz music sounds like it could be discomforting. Yet the startling juxtaposition between, for example, a proud confident voice speaking over soulful jazz and the reading of a suicide rather instead gave emphasis to the show’s confronting themes.

And then there is the storytelling. Daley goes from monologue, to conversing with his puppet, to re-enacting past memories, to speaking, to voice over. All this he does so with ease. There is not a dull moment through the 50-minute show, made all the more impressive by virtue of the fact King is facing the audience alone. Combining passionate vocals and descriptive monologue, the show is raw, charged and powered by an immense and underlying empathy.

I’m not alright is dark humour at its finest. The self-deprecating, self-aware humour layered over such an honest and serious topic creates an accessibility that is uncommon in the discussion of mental illness. King’s performance comes from an ultimately bleak place and that is what makes it so unique and admirable. This isn’t the type of show you will find yourself laughing about after with friends; but it is a show that will leave you with a more open mind and greater sense of understanding.

i’m not alright runs to February 21 at The Parrott House in Northbridge. Tickets available here. 

Presented by The Spooky Men of the West

Teatro 1

Review by Annie Teh

What do you get when you mix Georgian music with power tools and facial hair? Why, Spooky Men of the West, of course. Making their first appearance at the Fringe World Festival Perth, their first Fringe on home territory, the WA-bred group and are ready to sing to you about the world of men. The men’s chorale (but not a men’s group, as they heartily sang) was conceived by director and “spookmeister” Stephen Taberner of Spooky Men’s Chorale fame, and are an obvious choice for anyone who appreciates acapella groups and musical comedy.

While their name is indeed ‘Spooky Men of the West’, don’t be fooled — the 15 men that took the stage appeared less spooky and more like a rendition of The Village People, except dressed completely in black with a great deal more beard action.

The group has an established repertoire under their wing, and were ready to show it off. Original songs like “Magnificent” and “Don’t Stand Between a Man and His Tool” expressed the plights of modern man, while the heartfelt rendition of Kasey Chambers “Pretty Enough”, accompanied by some real man-feelings, brought chuckles to connoisseurs of musical comedy. “Ba’hari Ghibb”, the highlight of the show, is probably the most cultured interpretation of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” you will ever see.

Despite their long-running track record, the show’s performance suffered at times thanks to some weaknesses in musical technicalities. While they had a solid and strong bass, their timing for more complex pieces was less than watertight and the tenors wavered in pitch towards the end of the show. The monotony of their musical arrangements – thanks to the Georgian arrangements – is easily saved by a comedic punchline or story, but suffered with their sincere performance of “The Sweetest Kick”, which became dreary and tedious.

Nonetheless, the Spooky Men of the West have proved once again why they are beloved by their fans in Western Australia. Delivering unique and gut-splitting lyrics with a straight face and brilliant acting, the group are a great example of home-grown talent with an indisputable track record of making you laugh. Man-laugh while riding a horse and chasing a mastodon, that is – if we’re going to go all Spooky Men on you.

The Spooky Men of the West: Secrets of Mansinging runs until 21 February at Teatro 1, Pleasure Gardens, Northbridge. Tickets available here. 

Adam Peter Scott: Straight To Video

Pho Barn @ Noodle Palace

Review: Jasmine Seabrook-Benson

The lights dim, and within moments of his entrance from the side of stage, Adam Peter Scott is amusing us with his eloquent, dry, and relaxed observational wit.

Straight To Video, a stand-up show about movies, is also about the self-proclaimed nerd performing it. He admits that the concept wasn’t always concrete, but he had no trouble identifying what he didn’t want this show to be: a straight white man, with a middle class suburban upbringing, reflecting on things that don’t affect him.

With trademark self-deprecating humour, Scott explains that his privileged place in society leaves him with very little to reflect meaningfully upon. He talks us through his soul-searching struggle to identify a topic that he could discuss genuinely. A Netflix binge holds the key. Growing up as what he terms an ‘inside kid’, the best topic for him is movies.

It’s immediately clear that Scott has a love/hate relationship with this medium of entertainment. Identifying the logical inconsistencies in genres such as romantic comedy, crime and spy movies, he illustrates his point with impassioned rants that show us where real-life and movies disconnect.

Throwing some political comedy into the mix, Scott digresses. He provides entertaining personal anecdotes along with his analysis of Australian society. Going on to discuss Reclaim Australia, he makes a salient point: people can’t be converted to any religion if they don’t want to be. His conclusion that “Muslims aren’t vampires” set a wave of appreciative laughter rippling through the room. And, bringing us back to the topic of movies, he thrilled us with the absurdly amusing concept of a Reclaim Australia-themed Twilight.

Thursday night’s performance provided us with a small glimpse of Scott’s ability to negotiate challenging circumstances. His admirably gracious negotiation of difficulties created by two audience members who didn’t appear to be there to listen to (nor watch) the show was impressive. Pleasingly, his genuine desire for everyone to have a good time held things together.

As the show neared its conclusion, Scott revealed to us a concept for a movie that he could have a love/love relationship with. Evidently, he was quite a fan of Captain Planet as a child, and his pitch for a gritty reboot is so intriguing that you’ll leave the venue desperately wishing that it had been given the green light.

Adam Peter Scott: Straight To Video runs 17-20 February at the Pho Barn at Noodle Palace, Francis Street, Perth. Tickets available here.

Presented by Danger Cabaret

Big Top @ The Pleasure Garden

Review by David Erceg

Roll up, roll up, for a night of entertainment that you’ll never forget! El Bizarro has earned quite the reputation, proving a smash hit on its Fringe World debut in 2015, which it follows this year with a no-holds-barred circus spectacular. Expect to laugh, cheer and have your jaw plummet at the antics on display throughout this late night offering.

Any good circus prides itself on audience engagement, and the El Bizarro troupe thrive under the lights. As their performances ramp up in daring and spectacle, so to does the audience’s enjoyment of the show. Ringmaster Magnus ‘Danger’ Magnus bounces around the stage at frenetic pace, radiating enthusiasm — his antics themselves make for an entertaining hour in and of itself.

Of the acts themselves: such variety! We’re treated to extreme body contortionists who climb into high heels while laying on their stomach, legs splayed back up over their head (picture a scorpion and you get the idea); sword swallowing beauties; and a ping pong ball-spitting Swedish juggler who asks if anyone in the audience has an IKEA wine glass he could borrow, when his own prop shatters mid-performance.

Importantly, this is a show with a Fringe UV rating of 4 out of 4, so it’s not for all tastes. One act in particular, in which a costumed male-and-female duo subject each other to graphic ‘pleasurable pain’ with clamps and chains, proves confronting, and the routine is called to a halt to allow some light-headed audience members to dash for open air. Kudos are owed to the El Bizarro team for going no further into the realm of the macabre than this.

As you’d hope, the finale is stunning and breathtaking, involving flame dancing and fire breathing, leaving the audience cheering. It’s a slick production; the music is spot-on, and the performers give it absolutely everything. If you’re looking for an alternative show to really spice up your Fringe experience, maybe El Bizarro is for you.

El Bizarro runs nightly until Saturday February 20 (except Thursday 18). Tickets available here.

Presented by  Tomás Ford, Captain of Industry

Bok Choy Ballroom

Review by Jasmine Seabrook-Benson

Tomás Ford is surely the only man that can simultaneously embody the maniacal scientist while keeping his audience on side. The room is full of love as Ford – in patchwork Hi Vis jacket – gets the music pumping, does some high kicks, and chats with us.

Tomás Ford’s Craptacular! delivers the madness of the award-winning cabaret artist’s Electric Cabaret with the guilty pleasure of Crap Music Rave Party. As Ford sings, shrieks, breaks down and bounces back, the audience laughs, sings along, engages in intense eye contact, and generally embraces the weirdness.

Songs such as “Hello”, “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head”, “I Gotta Feelin’”, and “True Blue” are performed with the vigor of someone who truly loves them. But, as he tells us, and words on screen remind us, Ford really does hate them. To him, they’re the “worst songs of all time”.

Ford is not the kind of performer that stays on stage, rigid and remote. This guy is all over the room. He’s on chairs, on laps and charging down the aisle. Costume changes are rapid. The roadhouse tea towel jacket is truly special, but the makeshift apron – created with the assistance of a keen audience member – is the winner.

You may be wondering why he needs an apron. Well, Ford gets spectacularly wet during one song. It’s hilarious, and the orange rubbish bag taped to his front is only barely effective. Yes, he also shares the dampness, but only in the form of a hair flick here and there.

This is a juggernaut of a performance. Set against the ramshackle backdrop of packing boxes and askew projector screen, it is relentlessly energising. You get the sense that nothing could impede it.

Ford’s trademark move of leading – and singing – the audience out of the venue at the end of the show has us gathered together in the courtyard. We’re happy, he is happy, and with a little encouragement from the crowd, he treats us to a serenade that connects everyone in joyous rapture.

This is a thrilling performance that only Tomás Ford could deliver. Guaranteed to enthrall, horrify, and delight, it is not to be missed.

Tomás Ford’s Craptacular! runs February 10-13 and 17-20 in the Bok Choy Ballroom at Noodle Palace, Francis Street, Perth. Tickets available via www.fringeworld.com.au

Presented by Matt Penny

Teatro 2

Review by Annie Teh

In the intimate setting of Teatro 2 at the Pleasure Gardens, ‘mentalist’ Matt Penny wouldn’t have stood out in his Bermuda shorts with a cup of beer balancing on his cluttered table. Though he didn’t look like much, he will make you question the skeptic within.

After touring Frank, The Mind Reading Hotdog in Auckland and Adelaide, Penny changes things up a bit by losing the hotdog costume and slowing things down — perhaps too much. The beginning of the show was slow-paced, and a mixture of card tricks and painfully bad jokes left much to be desired, with some audience members walking out early in the show. But as the tricks became more complex, the real ‘mind-reading’ bit of the show became much more interesting.

Its saving grace was the small crowd, most of whom had a chance to be a part of each act – from picking cards and writing notes to actually standing on stage as an assistant. I myself was pulled onto the stage to volunteer my iPhone, on which he visited the city of New York on Google Maps 30 seconds before I was even prompted to think of it. It was my next dream holiday destination – but how would he have known that?

The almost amateurish presentation of Penny’s ‘gift’ added a strangely sincere quality. Through struggling to ‘remember how this trick goes’ and misplaced awkward moments of silence, Penny appeared like any other man off the street, nervous to be in front of an audience at times when his ‘mind tricks’ took a little while to work. It made the story behind his act believable — maybe he really is some guy who suddenly realized that he had a gift of clairvoyance. The question then is why he would try to cloud them behind an awkward stage presence and convoluted tricks.

Although the act was poorly timed and orchestrated, the quality of the ‘mind-reading’ tricks were enough to make you question. Matt Penny is a great primer for anyone who has ever doubted a magic trick seen on TV and wants to take a closer look. He won’t make a believer out of you, but you will be amazed all the same.

Experiments in Mind Reading 2.0 from 12-14 February at Teatro 2, Pleasure Gardens, Northbridge. Tickets available here. 

Presented by Jessie Gordon

The Ellington Jazz Club

Review by Jen Perry

Jessie Gordon saunters on stage and promises, pink cocktail in hand, that at some point during the show we were going to feel gross. She wasn’t lying.

Ronan Chapple revved on the piano as the showbegan with a Fats Waller classic “Honeysuckle Rose”. Gordon’s smooth delivery and emphasis had us in stitches as we began to open our mind to all the filthy innuendo that lay in wait. The next tune depicted a woman’s newfound love of spinach – or does it? In case you’re wondering, there are enough dirty jazz songs about food to write a book (or show) on.

Gordon explains that the golden era of swing, or the ’30s to ’50s, is evocative to some as a simpler, purer time. When men were men and women were women, and a cup of sugar was nothing more than a cup of sugar. It quickly becomes apparent that this nostalgic resonance is nothing more than a lie we tell ourselves; and if our grandparents were listening to this dirty jazz, they have some explaining to do.

Chapple wows on piano, keeping perfect time with Jessie’s interludes of dialogue. The show’s crowning glory involved a particularly satisfying bout of audience interaction, wherein we all fill in the blanks of a song for Gordon to perform. The end product culminates in a number that is so dirty, I daren’t write the title. Suffice to say, Gordon delivers in spades.

Another highlight is Gordon’s on-the-nose rendition of Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”. Slowing down the verses and accentuating the lyrics proves that filthiness comes in many forms.

If dirtiness is indeed a state of mind, Dirty Jazz proves that this is a psychological plane we should all visit a bit more often.

Dirty Jazz runs at The Ellington Jazz Club until February 12^th. 

Presented by Retro Rocket Events

Casa Mondo

Review by Annie Teh

The Pleasure Gardens get a little more pleasurable with the classy act of Naked Girls Reading. With a title like ‘Naked Girls Reading’, the show requires very little explanation — naked girls sit on a couch to read various excerpts from a curated list of books for a live audience.

The concept of having girls reading stark naked may seem weird, and to be fair it is. The pull factor is there, with the cramp space in Casa Mondo fully packed with both men and women eager for a good show. The stars of this show are Melbourne-based burlesque stars Petra Dish and Carletta the Great, and Perth-based musician Tara John. The theme of the night was ‘Fairy Tales’, which provided an odd contrast to the very adult bareness of the ladies sat before the audience. With books propped on their carefully-angled knees and glitter covering their uncovered bodies, they read a selection of children’s stories, including the classic Little Red Riding Hood, The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base, and Squeakers by Stephen Cosgrove.

Tara John and Petra Dish proved to be strong readers, bringing their personality into their narration, which covered for Carletta the Great’s unfortunate slurring and fumbling of her passages. MC Feisty (Nikki Mauri), dressed (yes, dressed) as a very sexy librarian, helped set the tone in the classiest way possible, ensuring the audience stayed well-behaved yet entertained through the show.

Stories have a great power in captivating audiences, and by reading them naked, fairytales and children’s books took on a new life. On one hand, they assumed a lewder tone, with audience members giggling when a storybook character swung a fishing rod. On the other hand, it gave the stories more depth; bringing up pertinent themes of stranger danger, gender roles, and empowerment.

In a way both elements are equally important — you can’t have the reading without the naked or the naked without the reading. Yet, it is easy to forget that the women are fully unclothed, and get immersed in the words coming out of their mouths instead, even if the protagonist in the book was a fluffy little squirrel.

Naked Girls Reading is essentially a cabaret for bookworms — a literary feast for the ears and mind, and a wonderful feast for the eyes. Watching naked women sit on a couch for an hour is an easy choice, but you’ll be surprised how much you’d enjoy the reading part too.

Naked Girls Reading runs till 17^th Feb at 9.45pm, at Casa Mondo, The Pleasure Gardens, Northbridge. Each night comes with its own unique theme. Tickets available here.