South Australia is known as the Festival State because of art festivals like the month-long Adelaide Fringe, which brings in over two million attendees annually. The peak festival season happens in March, when Adelaide hosts Adelaide Fringe, WOMADelaide, and Adelaide Festival. WOMADelaide is a music, arts, and dance festival focused on multiculturalism. Adelaide Festival is an arts festival with a focus on film. I was not able to go to events from either of these festivals, but I did go to four Adelaide Fringe events this week and last week.
Since the University of Adelaide is a host for some Fringe shows this year, there are usually ticket giveaways around campus.
The first show I saw was Edgar Allen Poe’s Haunted Palace; it was a musical about the life of Poe told through his poetry and short stories. The show itself was slightly dark and macabre, involving a paper mache severed head, but definitely interesting to watch. The show took place in Elder Hall, an old and gothic-looking building, lending the musical a creepy feeling.
The second show was Bourgeois and Maurice, a musical comedy performed by a sibling duo in sequined outfits. It was witty, entertaining, and incorporated singing, dancing, and comedy into one show. This was in a smaller venue than the first show, which increased audience participation in the show.
Immediately after Bourgeois and Maurice, I saw another show: a drag performance by a group called the Lipsinkers. It was funny at times and definitely relied on shock value a few times, which made the show fun. Costume changes were used constantly and the group kept the audience entertained the whole time.
My absolute favorite Fringe show was incidentally the only show I bought a ticket for: Sh*tfaced Shakespeare. The name of the show was a bit profane, but the show was highly recommended. Essentially, a Shakespeare troupe performs "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with one of the actors completely inebriated. It involved a lot of improv from the sober actors as well as some audience participation. The plot was completely thrown out the window before the halfway point, but resulting play still ended up being hilarious.
After watching these shows, I would definitely like to see more shows while Adelaide Fringe is going on, maybe a stand up comedy show or another theater performance.