It’s the final week of Fringe World and I am having more fun than a hipster at Bogan Bingo. We had a great season of Not Much To Tell You at The Blue Room Theatre, and although I very much enjoyed the show run, it was a relief to wake up on the final morning and not have to wonder about ticket sales.
After bumping out my final show, I needed to find a way to unwind after a week of shows. I left The Blue Room Theatre thinking, food? Eat everything in Northbridge? Or maybe collapse onto one of my friends? Then, we walked past robot busker guy, and I had my answer.
In my downtime after Not Much To Tell You finished, I have been soaking up everything Fringe has to offer. Most particularly, many shows by many very fine and talented artists. I’ve just come from Brian Finkelstein’s First Day Off In A Long Time, which was a masterful example of honest, vulnerable storytelling, and pretty damn brutal. I guess any story that takes place on a suicide hotline is going to be brutal. But Brian’s a master at keeping the tension just bearable – and he’s bloody funny.
Last night I caught the Lords of Luxury and had my biggest laughs so far this Fringe. These four suited-up gentlemen had me gripping my sides like an idiot. It turns out what I really like in my sketch comedy is absurdist pop culture references, deadpanning, and wigs (see: Slumber Party Time Travel).
Adam Peter Scott’s Book Fight was an education in Stephen King’s back catalogue. Ostensibly a game show where panel guests answer questions about books, it was really a competition to see who could bring the most snark. To my mind, the night’s winner was burlesque performer Sugar du Joure for her handling of Adam Peter Scott, who kept groping (word choice intentional) for jokes about her ample neckline. (Scott, staring: “My mind’s gone blank.” Sugar: “It’s always like that.”)
A sweetly absurd adventure through dystopia was She Was Probably Not A Robot. Delightful, silly, and shot through with an unexpected vein of poetry. Stuart Bowden had the audience on side from the start, and pulled us into his cartoonish, faintly threatening world with ease. I’m a heart-fan of dystopian storytelling anyway, but Bowden’s spandex antics won me over the rest of the way. Also, great beard.
Fringe World, you are the bomb.
Kaitlyn Blythe 
Sounds like such a great festival! Did you make it to Briefs? (It might have clashed with when your show was running.)
No I didn’t make it to Briefs – I heard it sold out in the first week! That has been happening a lot this Fringe – people are mad for some Fringe shows. 😀
I’ll get you and Tahnee to it one day! 😀
Meanwhile, my fave show JiHa Underground is nearly sold out in Brissie too.
Does this mean that people are loving theatre sick, or that we need to build bigger venues … ?
Well! It definitely means a HELL YES for independent Brissie/Aust theatre. Some of these shows necessitate intimate venues — so maybe bigger runs/more venues/more flexible spaces?
Yes actually, bigger venues just made me think of places like Challenge Stadium in Perth … Not conducive to intimate theatre. Bigger runs would be good, but I suppose it looks better to have a short, sold-out run than a long, 50% capacity one. Looks better on posters.
That is true!