Something Wicked This Way Comes Spoiler Free Review

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 Will's father can save the town from the sinister carnival. Ray Bradbury weaves a classic tale of good and evil, capturing the wonder of youth and twilight skies.

While the script wasn’t the best, contributing much of the issues to the short scenes and many, many scene changes, the ensemble working together with the stagehands to manoeuvre and complete the scene changes efficiently made it that little bit better.

Samantha Perryman, as Jim Nightshade was a pocket-rocket! While playing one of the two main characters, Perryman also knew every scene change and ensured each aspect was in place with no fuss and thorough scrutiny. As Jim, she played the character very well, being the troublemaker of the duo, the member in the pair that is the risk taker. It was great to see a young person playing a role with much depth within their character.

The other half of the pair of misfits was Mikayla Cogzell, playing William Halloway. Cogzell kept up with Perryman’s motivations and eagerness to get the job done, whatever it may be, while being the sensible human within the duo, pointing out the risks and being the friend that sees common sense. As we ventured into Act 2, the relationship between William and his father was nice to see played so well.

Sam Maslin played Mr. Halloway – the librarian and William’s father. Despite the voluptuous hair that often hid his face, Maslin was great in this role. Being a dialogue heavy character with many slabs of monologue, particularly in an Act two scene, he carried his own and made it through a couple of tricky spots, even with a sneaky support on stage.

Charlise Bettenelli was another actor that had some luscious locks that got in the way of the audience seeing the face behind the voice of the characters she played: Miss Foley, Dust Witch, and Jim’s Mum. Aside from the hairstyle, it seemed that Bettenelli enjoyed being part of the group and appeared comfortable within her roles. While the storyline was difficult to keep track of at time, again because of the quick succession in scene changes, the distinct differences between the three characters portrayed by Bettenelli were distinct and purposeful.

Lancy Seidel (Mr. Dark), Kyann Todd-Williams (Mr. Cooger, Mrs. Halloway), John Comhaig (Mr. Tetley, Young Coogar), and Stage Manager Flynn Hutchinson (Lightning Rod Salesman, Hot Dog Man) round out the ensemble with their multitude of smaller roles that equally complemented the production. The practical effects with the tattoos on the hand, and the blood from Mr. Coogar were a particular wow-factor for this production.

Director Sarah Valle is very clearly an important part of these children's lives, their creative growth, and their personal belief in their selves, and it was evident the way the couple of actors spoke of her and thanked her at the end of the production. Having a youth theatre program in the northern suburbs that is accessible to everyone, regardless of income levels is very important in the social growth of our young people, and the Twelve25 Youth Centre has done an excellent job in providing a safe, inclusive space for young people to explore their creative streams. The performance space is simple, but uniquely beautiful, reminding me of an institute hall that doesn’t include AV equipment or any other flashbang whistles. Sounds were provided via a boombox situated on the floor in front of the stage (sounds were really effective) and the lighting consisted of 8 LED flood lights on 2 lighting trees… that was all that was needed, and it was sufficient.

As a final note, it was really refreshing to see a production performed by young people without the years of experience that were still able to consistently project throughout the entirety of the play. Quite often I find that good intentions start strong but wean off by the end of the show. With some really strong performances, I wish nothing but the best for the Salisbury Youth Performing Arts Group. Unfortunately, it was a one show only and it’s over situation