A Thousand Words

4.5 out of 5 stars - 2 weekends remaining Tickets available @  https://nltc.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/142225 Billy Elliot was a musical I knew by title only. It’s about a boy that has a love for ballet. Therefore, I went along to NLTC’s production with no idea what I was to experience, and a 3-hour experience it was… tap numbers everywhere; OTT dance numbers featuring clothes; perfect consistent accents throughout; and a very distracting (in a good way) six-year-old… audiences will have to come back a second time to see everything they missed after watching Finn the whole time. Billy Elliot is a coming-of-age musical revolving around Billy Elliot, a motherless British boy who begins taking ballet lessons. The story of his personal struggle and fulfilment is balanced against a counter-story of family and community strife caused by the 1984–1985 miners' strike. Billy St. John, MD, undertook the task in teaching music to dancers and succeeded with great success and much ...

  3.14159... no... 3.5 out of 5 stars Tickets available:  https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1339997 The Theory of Relativity is a musical with music and lyrics by Neil Bartram, and a book by Brian Hill. The show introduces a compelling array of characters experiencing the joys and heartbreaks, the liaisons and losses, the inevitability and the wonder of human connection. The choice of musical for this new, independent group to perform, allowing everyone to showcase their singing and acting talents was a good choice, with all the production elements purposefully simple, maximising the on-stage talent, giving them the space and opportunities to give their all. The minimal movement that there was, was choreographed was received well, although could be tightened to become spectacular in its exact timing. Production Team members Jax Brooks, Darcie Yelland, Oliver Hallett and Alicia Hancock all brought their personalities and specialisations to the floor, drawing inspir...

ONLY PERFORMANCE: Thursday 20th March 2025, 7pm My final 2025 Adelaide Fringe experience was in Salisbury, experiencing Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes at the Twelve25 Youth Centre, performed by the Salisbury Youth Performing Arts Group. This show was selected to be part of my 2025 Adelaide Fringe experience, purely from the title! One strange and dark year, Halloween came early on Oct. 24, three hours after midnight. This was the exact time Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadow show arrived in Green Town. James Nightshade and William Halloway left their beds to watch the train pull in, but no one was manning it or the cars behind. Yet, the calliope's siren song beckoned all with impossible dreams and youth regained. Initially lured by its promises, the boys soon discover the diabolical truth about the carnival. Behind the mirror mazes and spooky characters, including the Illustrated Man and Mr. Dark, the cost of wishes can be nightmares. Only Jim, Will, and Wi...

4 out of 5 stars - THIS WEEKEND ONLY TICKETS:  https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/margret-you-re-a-virgin-af2025 Nearly-graduated high-school student Margret is met with a life-changing discovery; despite never having had heterosexual sex, she finds herself pregnant. This mystery and miracle trials her bonds with family and friends, puts her faith to the test, and forces her onto a profound journey of self-discovery while on the cusp of her adolescence. With every Adelaide Fringe season, we see an influx of independent theatre production companies, which further creates opportunities for high-schoolers, freshly trained, or the stalwarts to showcase their skills and present new works. Gas Leak In The Air Productions is no exceptions, with  Margret, You’re A Virgin .   Written, directed and produced by Mackenzie Ann, this is a crucial example that Independent Theatre by Adelaide Artists can equal the standards of award-winning community theatre groups in our region. Th...

Photo: Jamie Hornsby 4.5 out of 5 stars - 4 shows remaining - SATURDAY ALREADY SOLD OUT! TICKETS:  https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/first-love-is-the-revolution-af2025 This is a play about hunger and desire. It’s Romeo and Juliet pushed to deranged extremes, where the unlikely sweethearts are a 14-year old boy and a young fox with brutal birthrights. Rdeca’s whole family have fleas. Her mum is pushing her into making her first kill, a snivelling mole, before she’s ready. Basti is being bullied at school by kids who call him a shrimp. His dad is too busy flirting with the neighbour to be of any real help. Beneath the light of a full moon, Basti captures Rdeca, and so begins a star-crossed romance between hunter and prey. This is not a story to take in a literal sense but rather enjoy the themes and the fantasy behind it.   After reviewing  Dance Nation  last week, I was surprised to see a familiar face grace the stage once more in this production, but Wirra Ben...

4 out of 5 stars - 6 shows remaining https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/dance-nation-af2025 In Ohio, a dance team of adolescents prepare for the most important moment of their young lives - a national dance final. Under the guidance of a ferocious dance teacher, we see the teens (all played by adults) fight for glory while dealing with their own talents, inadequacies and experiences. Some are naturally skilled, some just want to have fun, some have overbearing stage mothers, while they are all discovering their power in a world that threatens to take it away. A strait-laced, coming-of-age tale this is not.  Dance Nation  is a blur of reality and fantasy, a dream and a nightmare. It flips from the mundane to the surreal in a heartbeat, taking the audience on a turbulent ride through adolescence. Previously performed by the third-year theatre students at Flinders Uni in December 2024, they have returned to take on the nation once more. With a small casting change in ...

4.5 out of 5 stars - DON'T MISS OUT https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1253244 Orignally produced by StarKid Productions, Book by Matt & Nick Lang, and Music by Jeff Blim, this is the first musical in the Hatchetfield trilogy. Everything in Hatchetfield is seemingly normal until people begin singing... Then, they begin dancing... And now, a musical pandemic is sweeping the entire city. It’s up to Paul (an average guy who doesn’t like musicals) and his eccentric group of friends to stop this musical apocalypse and fight for humanity’s future. It’s a story filled with dark humour, drama and a little bit of romance and a little bit of gore. Parental guidance required. For a musical that hates on musicals, The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals (TGWDLM) opens on a strong note, but then carries on consistently at the high bar set for itself. Every performer involved in this production should be proud of their Opening night performance. The usual nerves and technical issues ass...

4 out of 5 stars - 4 SHOWS REMAINING https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1334418 Book by Hunter Foster & Ryan Scott Oliver, and Music & Lyrics by Ryan Scott Oliver, Jasper in Deadland is a thrilling pop rock adventure based in the Greek Tragedy of Orpheus and Euridice, that you don’t want to miss. Keladry Rozitisolds, Kiara Irvine, Jarrod Matulick and Charlotte Miller have collectively put together a piece of theatre that isn’t regularly portrayed on stage – female teenage queer romance – highlighting many of the same struggles, highs and lows depicted in heterosexual relationships, and it paid off in spades with a tight ensemble that worked really well together, doing what they could to overcome the few tech issues throughout the night. The direction afforded to the cast to make their characters their own and do what feels right created many small moments (most are spoiler-worthy) that were both impressionable on the rest of the story but helped make their character “p...

  4 out of 5 stars SAYArts 4 SHOWS REMAINING. TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE Play written by Alby T. Grace As SA Youth Arts Theatre Co (or SAYArts for short) celebrates their 10 th year of performing in the Adelaide Fringe. Bunker becomes another example of the discipline a group of 13–18-year-olds can apply to develop a story that is attention-grabbing and engaging to an audience, ably led by an industry professional artists and creatives. Lilly and Tim wake up in their thirteenth bunker, eight years into the apocalypse. They're stuck with the movie obsessed Johnny, who can't get through a speech without mixing up his film quotes. Throughout, they are joined by wild man Osbourne and eventually, a 3D printed AI android personification of the bunker. Why? Because this isn’t just any bunker, it's a Bunker, (insert umlaut on the U) one of the largest structures ever built by man. But who kidnapped who? What do Lilly and Tim really want? And should we be worried about the advanc...

4.0 out of 5 stars LOC’ALLY THEATR 6 SHOWS ACROSS 3 WEEKS – YOU CAN’T USE THE “I WAS AT ANOTHER FRINGE SHOW” EXCUSE CLICK ME FOR TICKETS! Opening Night is Saturday 2nd March with performances at the Parks Theatre, Angle Vale. Story by Andrew Bovell Loc’ally Theatr was conceived in late 2023 by Lochie Daniel and Ally Gum, and with a talented cast, they are about to debut their first production, Things I Know to be True, penned by local playwright, Andrew Bovell. It needs to be noted that this preview lacked the presence of Lizzie Zeuner and understudy Kayla Cranfield for Pip Price, and as such, Production Manager Ally Gum stepped into the role for the first time for the Preview run and did a great job! If you’re looking for a fun, happy, hilarious piece of theatre – this is not for you! It pulls on the heartstrings at least 4 times, and twice on Sundays, with a powerful climax ending Act 1… only to be outdone by the climax and tears at the end of Act 2. I’ll say no more… While t...

4.5 out of 5 stars EMMA KNIGHTS PRODUCTION 3 SHOWS ONLY! 16 th Feb, 17 th Feb 7:30 @ Star Theatre; 23 rd Feb 7:30 @ Parks Theatre “A parody musical based on reality TV dating shows” – well they got that right! Beginning over a glass of red, Emma Knights and Samara Gill penned a couple of songs… some time later it moulded its way into this witty, hilarious One Act musical. With Music & Lyrics by Samara Gill and Emma Knights, and Book by Emma Knights, this original work of satirical theatre is a must see for anyone that loves a good Bachelor season… but also those that have never seen an episode (guilty as charged). Except for a couple of episodes from First Dates , the closest I’ve come to watching a dating reality show was an American TV series, “ UnReal ”, focussing on the manipulative producers and crew behind the scenes of the scandals and dramas you would otherwise see in a final cut. Along with the comedic timing and presentation in Eden Trebilco’s role as Producer, U...

4 out of 5 stars Playing until Saturday 10 th February. The Australian Premiere of ' Spies Are Forever' , presented by FUPAS, is a new musical originally staged at the NoHo Arts Center, NY in 2016. As such, it’s primarily known by those that are regular supporters of StarKid, and other works these students at the time had also been involved in. Outside of that, it’s unknown. Nonetheless, a tight backstage crew ( Kudos Kiara Irvine and Diego Tovar Gallo ) and a ridiculously funny onstage team took out opening night as if it was a James Bond villain – with a bang! Four years after the death of his partner Owen, super spy Curt Mega struggles to return to his former glory, masking his grief & guilt with charisma & booze ( and a terrible beard ). But when the American Secret Service (A.S.S) uncovers a plot to rebuild the Nazi empire, Curt is thrust into the field to save the world once again. Equipped with a license to kill and the voice of an angel, Agent Mega must t...