An Unexpected Variety Show – Jenny Wynter

Written By Jane Durbridge
What’s the advantage of a Fringe show in a High Rollers room?  Leather tub chair comfort!  So thanks Jenny for picking a venue that …cares… about the audience experience. ;)
From the moment Jenny takes the stage, we feel the intimacy of her show as she lets us into her life story – unexpected pregnancy and all.  Perhaps it’s that pregnancy that dictates the title for the show? We sympathise through her early childhood tragedy and share her infectious enthusiasm during the highs of her life [or is that the nitrous oxide ;) ] We laugh from the first gag, and continue to chortle through any onstage hiccups or audience faux pas, and finish strongly with her glorious flash dance moment!
“I can’t have it all, now I’m dancin’ for my life!”

Actually those lyrics sum up Jenny’s show perfectly….“Take your passion, and make it happen”

Through persistent, dedicated work, Jenny has taken a schoolgirl ability to make people laugh and honed her skills to provide a clever arrangement of witty songs and banter. Her partnership with Matthew Carey (just one man who does not sleep during March) works effortlessly. His musicianship is flawless and plays the perfect straight man for her lines. His simple head tilt or eye roll has us in stitches.

Here’s to a top show… “What A Feeling!”

Jenny has returned to the Adelaide Fringe, as fun as ever, and is on until 17 March 2012 at the Light Hotel, in the High Rollers Room. Tickets here.

Love Child

I’m not one for local theatre, I really have no idea what it’s all about; but when you read that “...one of Adelaide’s ‘grand-dames’ Chrissie Page, and one of our brightest ‘bright-young-things’ Anna Cheeney…” performing in a play about femininity and love, you can’t help but be a little excited about what you’re about to see.

Love Child is the story of a mother and daughter: the daughter she gave up for adoption who wants to reconnect & the disconnected mother who wants to distance herself from what occurred. The stage works extremely well in the story telling too, the simple set up and lighting works well to show the distant and vacant lives that both characters seem to have lived up till this first meeting. You almost forget these two women are acting. Its like watching something in your own lounge room unfold.

The are moments of humour too, and little digs at disposable celebrity and the trash shown on television (Taxidrivettes; the series about female taxi drivers who are undercover sex therapists). [Pete Thought: "Cliche ridden morally bankrupt sedation" is a phrase I plan to use more in life.] The journey becomes turbulent about half way through, when each character realises that the other is no idea what they were expecting, and begin to battle each other with their words through the dark places in their minds. But they grow stronger against each other, matching each other every time until the final twist is revealed. It is a stunning conclusion to the show. I took the opportunity to observe the audience, and everyone was focused waiting to see how it would continue to unfold. Love Child is brilliant.

The performances are spectacular, the writing superb & the opening and closing monologues are perfection. Definitely one for your to-do list.

Stories By Starlight – Candy Royalle & Sloppy Joe

Candy Royalle a funky rapping beat poet (who, coincidentally has an amazing head of dreadlocks) is a funky rapping crooning beat poet. Stories by Starlight sees Candy teeming up with Sloppy Joe, a jazz funk band consisting of keyboard, drums and bass. The sound that these guys make cruises through the musical genres of funk, blues and acid jazz with the occasional foray into chaos and disharmony, which will stir you up and challenge your ears, reminding us that not everything in life is about smooth tunes and comfortable armchairs.

Is Candy a singer, a poet, a beat poet or a rapper? She’s all three. Reminiscent of Jamiroqui and Skunkhour, Candy’s lyrics and poetry hit home with me. Favourite songs would have to be “Sexual Revolution” – “Sexual revolution will not be lead by Beyonce…Our sexual revolution begins with a book……And seduction, an art form that appears to be dead. We need intimacy….” and “She is free”

Stories by Starlight has one more show, tonight at the Queens Theatre

Review: launch of The Big Slapple

Reblogged from The Diane Lee Show:

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This is the second Adelaide Fringe where I’ve been lucky enough to be a reviewer. Last year I saw some amazing drama through #TweetsforSeats, which was a PR initiative of CIT. This year, I’m doing the same sort of thing, but for Adelaide Art Beat.

Tonight, I went to the launch of The Big Slapple, a cabaret slash comedy venue set up in Regattas Bistro in the…

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[Ed's Note: Cheers to the wonderful dilesshus - thanks for representing us at The Big Slapple opening!]