FRINGEWORLD 2021 | Absolute Weirdo | 4.5 Stars

Review | Laura Money

Let’s face it, Robbie T is an Absolute Weirdo. A self-confessed magic tragic, Robbie is here to open up and perform tricks that will make you laugh and blow your mind – not a bad way to spend your evening, hey? Robbie’s charm is in his awkwardness – he deftly performs magic while still waiting for the scars of previous social anxiety to heal. His philosophy is that nothing is as it seems, and this is the perfect analogy for mental health. Robbie opens up and weaves a poignant story of growth and change under uncertainty – all the while displaying his magic right in front of you. It’s just that you’re not able to see things Robbie’s way yet. Seeing Absolute Weirdo can help with that!

It’s difficult to review a magic show as, much like a magician I don’t want to reveal all, but suffice it to say that Robbie’s tricks are absolutely jaw-dropping. Of course, anyone can do tricks, but not everyone can craft a beautiful show with a theme that reveals every part of oneself and Robbie boldly and unflinchingly bares all using the magic to emphasise his point. All of the music is curated with Robbie’s signature twisted sense of humour – from Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ to Aretha Franklin belting out ‘Think’ while Robbie does a comedy bit, it all knits together to reveal who Robbie really is. He candidly shows pictures from his childhood, including highly embarrassing fashions and unfortunate wardrobe malfunctions and also projects up excerpts from his school diaries. This is all while building up our trust. Robbie’s comedy bit about how he revealed to his father he wanted to be a magician is hilarious as are certain innocuous seeming comedy bits involving drawing and mind reading. It is only at the end that these funny bits contribute to the whole and you realise Robbie T is a certified genius.

Trust is an important factor in magic and mind reading. It’s also important in relationships and mental health. Robbie seamlessly weaves this feeling of absolute trust and safety throughout the entire show – from the beginning when he asks for an audience member’s mobile phone to a heart thumping trick with nails and paper bags he endears himself to us with his vulnerability and charm. The finale of the show is where Robbie cuts himself open and bares his beating heart to the audience – not literally, I mean he’s good but that’s just morbid – and it’s a stunning squence of mesmerising sleight of hand accompanied by a heartfelt and raw monologue. Robbie gets you thinking deeply, and even though there are a few blockbuster moments of sheer WOW, it is his capacity for sharing and sheer openness where the true magic lies.

Absolute Weirdo is still going on in FRINGEWORLD 2021 Encore! You can get tickets HERE

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FRINGEWORLD 2021 | Nadia Collins: Chrysalis (a work in progress) | 4.5 Stars

Review | Laura Money

Nadia Collins is an absolute favourite of The Fourth Wall – we love her in everything she does, so when given the opportunity to review a work in progress we leaped at it headlong into the fray. And it does not disappoint! Chrysalis (a work in progress) sees Collins tackling mother nature as she reenacts a nature documentary live on stage, with hilarious results! As it is only a work in progress, I’m sure some of the details will change by the time you see the show again but it’s worth pointing out that in my opinion, there’s not a lot to do. Through classic clowning techniques and improvisation, Collins creates a hilarious and silly show that savagely calls out the natural world and our hopeless misunderstanding of it. And it’s genius.

Donning a robe and attempting to maintain an angry demeanor, Collins is hilarious as the formidable Mother Nature – lecturing us through suppressed giggles. The premise is refreshingly shambolic – a state Collins is perfectly suited in – things are chaotic from the audience reaction to the clearly uncertain dialogue. This is Collins’ strength – she excels at awkward comedy and doesn’t take herself too seriously. Homemade costumes continue this genius-level haphazardness from plastic bag jellyfish to velcro flower petals, Collins’ face says it all as she embraces the slipshod appearance of the show. Chrysalis has a chaotic energy that keeps you on your toes throughout – there is anticipation as each miracle of nature manifests out of what appear to be mounds of detritus on the stage but transform into actually quite clever designs.

Collins nails every minute of this show. Her audience interaction game is strong as she communicates well and makes everyone feel comfortable, like being involved in a shared joke. From the time lapse of flower growth to the crepe paper spider web, Collins gives her all and the result is a clever and funny show that capitalises on shared knowledge and makes kick arse pop culture references. I appreciate the subtle use of the American Beauty when the plastic bag jellyfish is floating in the ocean, and the Armageddon sountrack gets a pretty good go, too. Overall while this may be a work in progress, it’s a damn good one. All the puns are on point, the savagery of nature is hilarious – although there are some things you probably shouldn’t laugh at but Collins makes them so funny – and of course, the silliness of the show caps everything off. You know the old saying truth is stranger than fiction? In this case, truth is funnier than fiction – this pisstake is on point!

Chrysalis ran during the FRINGEWORLD 2021 Encore season but we’re confident it will be back.

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FRINGEWORLD 2021 | The Great Debate: Girlz rule, boys drool – a 90s musical comedy! | 4 Stars

Review | Laura Money

Who here remembers the 90s? Tighten your butterfly hairclips, adjust your bandana and get ready to Spice Up Your Life because Backstreet’s Back, Alright in The Great Debate: Girlz rule, boys drool – a 90s musical comedy! Tone Deft Choir are here to settle the question of the ages once and for all – were girl bands or boy bands better in the 90s? I’m going to be honest, as someone whose formative years were shaped by this music, I would rather forget it than celebrate it, but the kids from Tone Deft are big believers in leaning into the cringe! I heard songs that lay dormant in my little soul for 20+ years that happily leapt out in a series of clicks, claps, and affirmative head shakes – oh and a lot of white girl dancing. The show is a light-hearted look at the music most of us want to forget but still have a soft spot for – it’s a fun night out with passionate people and ok music – with a few bangers chucked in for good measure.

The majority of Tone Deft Choir look like they were born in the 90s so you can be forgiven for not taking much stock in their opinions of the music. After all, they weren’t spending their lunchtimes and sleepovers painstakingly recreating the entire Spice Girls Concert live in Istanbul that their Dad taped for them off the telly with their besties and sister in the 90s *cough* and neither was I. Ok, so that example was a little too specific to be anything but real – my point is, like many of us Tone Deft Choir are nostalgic for an era they didn’t necessarily experience, though why they chose 90s girl and boy bands is beyond me! As much as I sound like I’m blasting these kids, I actually had a great time – the debate is sophisticated and the right amount of silly. Both sides talk to the culture of growing up in the 90s rather than just the music – I mean they’d be on a pretty thin argument if it came down to musicality alone – and both teams hit the nostalgia hard. As in, they understand the struggle it was to have to pick one boy band member to stan whilst actively shunning the rest but not really because N*Sync is lyfe. The debate is a bit weak, in that it’s too scripted and should be more improvised but I suspect this will happen with time and I can’t wait to watch the show evolve.

Of course, being a choir Tone Deft not only debate the music, they also perform it. With energetic arrangements by accompanist Gavin Nicklette each song strikes the balance between homage and pisstake as the choir lean in to the kitsch and blast out the tunes. There are some absolute bangers from Wannabe to Chasing Waterfalls this act skips from musical genius to tacky af and perform them with the same gusto. The energy off these guys is crackling – donning their finest 90s attire, what looks like a rag tag bunch of kids were involved in an explosion at the Op Shop, the choir even bust out the dance moves of the era – sadly no breakdancing but I’m willing to let that slide. Of course, there are some points that are a little unfair – can Savage Garden really be considered a boy band? Tenuous. And a little bit of poor feminism that could have been explained better – seriously, the reason more male artists appear in the top charts and sales is because no matter if the work is absolute tripe, male artists are deemed more legitimate than their female counterparts. Just look at any Top 20 lists and there are a disproportionate amount of men on it.

Overall, The Great Debate is a wicked night out. The concept rocks, the songs are cringy yet hit you right in your choker clad throat. Will it ever be resolved? Perhaps not but going to the show you are guaranteed clever mashups and medleys, fun digs at a culture you experienced and probably miss like tazos and basketball cards, and incredible voices raised in jubilant, if tacky, music. Awesome.

Unfortunately the Great Debate is over but you can check out Tone Deft Choir HERE

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FRINGEWORLD 2021 | Disney in Drag UP LATE: A Perverted Parody | 3.5 Stars

Review | Laura Money

It’s absolutely no secret that I adored Disney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody – a tight, intelligent show that takes Disney classics and scrutinises them in a hilarious way. Disney in Drag UP LATE: A Perverted Parody takes the essence of the earlier show and twists it into a cabaret style evening of filthy songs, bawdy entertainment, and more jokes about genitalia you can shake your booty at. It’s more of a traditional cabaret than a fully immersive story with a through line, however this works well – maybe just advertise it like that to avoid disappointment. Each act takes beloved Disney material, be they songs or characters, and sends a scathing message about gender norms, healthy sexual activity, hell even the environment gets representation! It’s a raunchy and hilarious night out, up late with all of your favourite characters that ends on a massive buzz!

Keeping us all swashbuckling along is our amazing host, Captain Cooked (Mita Hill) who has enough ‘plank’ jokes to keep the boat afloat all night long, if you know what I mean! Hill’s crowd work is exceptional and she stays in character the whole time – throwing out innuendo after innuendo and laughing raucously at her own puns. And rightly so – the puns will give you the jolly rogering you need to laugh all night! Hill is great – check out the running gag of different things in place of her hook – she has an excellent rapport with the audience and each of the acts throughout. Except Ursulabia (Emma MacMillan) which is a gut wrenching shame because MacMillan is indisputably talented – her parody of Poor Unfortunate Souls is 100% a highlight – she is just misplaced here as a joint MC. Hill loses momentum and the pair lean towards in-jokes and appear to put each other off. The other poor unfortunate thing is the character of Ursula is a long-term mainstay in the drag community – the original design was based off of a drag queen and I find it baffling that a man did not take on this role (or at least a woman of size). I’m not saying that drags have sovereignty over the character – to do so would be to miss the point of this show entirely – anyone can dress up and express themselves in their own way, but it does fall a little flat here. Casting choices aside, the costume is phenomenal and MacMillan’s turn at ‘Gender Normative Roles’ is hands down the best song in the whole damn show. The lyrics are scathing and clever and the message is on point for 2021.

Sex positivity is the theme here, and the Disney in Drag crew are clearly in their element. Mixing bawdy outrageousness with dazzling voices and clever lyrics, they turn every song and act into a lesson in debauchery. Jae West kills it as the Queen of Hearts (no pun for her, let’s try to think of one, hey?) in a brilliant number about female pleasure sung to the tune of ‘Be Prepared’ complete with some secrets under her skirt. Joseph Andrin gets us hot and steamy as Tartzan, playfully leading the audience in a gentle bit of interaction. His ability to communicate meaning without speaking is inspired and he gives a sexy twist to a classic bit – every bit the vaudeville star. New to me is Ben Kay as Cruella – who doesn’t need a drag name as, let’s face it she already had one! Kay’s number is pure cabaret and so funny – his facial expressions could cause the spots to jump right off of your puppy as he saunters around the stage in a classic drag number. If it seems like I’m just listing the acts at this point, you’d be right but that’s only because there is a lack of cohesion in this show. With separate acts all linked by the MC and no major plot line UP LATE would do well to format itself in a more classic cabaret fashion.

At first, I was inclined to encourage this show to focus on the villains as the other one is mostly heroes and while I do still think this idea has merit – especially as villains are more fun and highly sexualised, I am inclined to believe that Stefan Testi revealing Belle’s sexual encounters with the Beast are so tittilating they won me over! Testi brings the heat and, while a little soft in his volume, makes himself heard as we all lean in to be given the salacious details. It’s not subtle. It’s not overly clever. It’s steamy af. And I’m ok with that! Speaking of steamy, at one point this show descends into a strip show beginning with the 5 dwarves (all the women mentioned plus Alex and Ashley Nissen) all donning their flanno and shorts to give us the Magic Mike treatment. Then we have the sexy Andrin as Jazzman and Testi as Miss White joined onstage by the original Hairy Godmother himself – Owen Merriman as Maleficent perform an NSFW strip tease that will pop the genie out of the bottle! Ok, we’ve had sex, songs – what’s next? Ah yes, snow. I mean blow, oh hell DRUGS! The final number sees Alex and Ashley Nissen taking on Disney’s newest Queens to finally ‘Let it Go’ – I mean ‘Let it Snow’ – it’s the moment we adult Disnerds have all been waiting for, a Frozen parody so we can all justify belting out the song at karaoke. And it doesn’t disappoint. Not only are the Nissen’s great singers, they throw everything they have at the roles to create a clever and just downright hilarious finale. Look, if you’re not going to get a happy ending through love, you might as well turn to drugs!

Disney in Drag UP LATE: A Perverted Parody is a good solid cabaret. It may not have the subtlety or sophistication of its sister show, but it’s still a great night out. There is an entire generation of kids who grew up with Disney that are now fully sexual adults. They desire sex positivity, kink behaviour, and even environmental reform (the show covers a lot of issues) but they also like to have a good time and every now and then blast out their favourite Disney songs. So, get filthy with the UP LATE crew – be prepared for a lifetime of memories, strap in (on) for your magic carpet ride because if this show doesn’t scar you, no filthy thing will.

This show has run its course in Perth playing as part of FRINGEWORLD 2021 but check out The Hairy Godmothers on Facebook to see what the crew are up to.

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FRINGEWORLD 2021 | (Not) The Bachelor Live Hosted by Luke Bolland | 4 Stars

Review | Laura Money

Ah, love – the one thing that connects us all. We see you all on the dating apps, trying desperately to find someone. You know who can help with that? Luke Bolland – unlike the cold, unfeeling television producers who only want to see a scandal, Bolland really does want to see a love match. (Not) The Bachelor Live – I can’t believe you’re getting away with this, to be honest – takes the format of the popular television show, combines it with Let’s Make a Match and the twisted yet hilarious mind of Bolland and provides all the drama, scandal, and yes LOVE that goes with it. All in front of a live audience, which is way better than watching it on tv.

Even though this show is a full pisstake the contestants are real, and Bolland pays them the utmost respect. People sign up for the show and are chosen in advance after answering surveys on compatibility. What follows is our lucky bachelor speaks to three women and Bolland gets them to play a series of games before picking a winner. Bolland is the perfect host – keeping us all laughing with his quick quips and witty asides. He is a natural comedian who keeps things ticking along and endeavours to place his contestants firmly in their comfort zones. Of course, double entendres abound in a hilarious parody of love (read: sex) as things get hot and steamy. Honestly, you’ll laugh your head off at the games – there’s compatibility in question as we find out whether they’re dog or cat lovers, trust and honesty is on the line as they ask the bachelor anything, and of course there are some physical games too.

(Not) The Bachelor Live is everything you expect it to be and so much more. It’s a real life, real time courting with pheremones flying and sexual tension at an all time high. If you were skeptical about this show, don’t be – Bolland joyfully leans into the tackiness of the situation while still providing an entertaining and romantic evening and if that isn’t talent, then tell me what is. Come and fall in love – whatever love is with (Not) The Bachelor Live and enjoy a raucus night out.

You can grab your tickets to find love HERE

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