Beautiful Lies - 9 out of 10
Matt Hawke
TICKETS: Beautiful Lies | Adelaide Fringe
After featuring in last year’s award-winning Love is a
Game: An Adele Song Cycle, Matt Hawke now makes his independent performance
debut in the 2026 Fringe season with Beautiful Lies: A one-man Cabaret
exploring the deep philosophy and overt insanity of lies. When you look at Hawke’s
short bio, he mentions his stage credits at ECMT with lead and prominent roles throughout
his studies, and it becomes clear how he can connect with his audience so well.
Other artists keep the stage bare of the talent while the
Acknowledgement of Country plays, along with any additional voice-overs, but Beautiful
Lies begins with Matt standing there, chill, acknowledging the voice overs.
The audience is watching him like a hawk, waiting for the jump in the moment at
the end of the final message, and he does not disappoint.
The show begins with the telling of how lies are inherently
awful and they usually start within the household: the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus,
Easter Bunny; and then throughout the hilarious, witty hour, Hawke takes us on
a journey – school bully Jeremiah, John Cena faking it as a wrestler, a
therapist he shared with his brother, coming out as gay in High School,
realising he’s bisexual/ pansexual, or just… (nope, see the show to hear the
punchline!), his first boyfriend (not real), first girlfriend (also not
real), a study with Coco the Gorilla who has a nipple fetish… (WHAT?) many of
these topics don’t appear to connect, and yet in Matt Hawke’s story, they do!
Hawke, with his Bachelor’s degree in Musical Theatre, has an
abundance of talent that he is eloquently sharing through comedy, singing/
songwriting, and his melodies on both the guitar and keyboard. In between his
original hits, Hawke blends his story together with charm and electricity. Having
his girlfriend on tech (this one is real) gives the show a further intimate
vibe, suiting the audience who have come out to support Hawke as a new artist.
2027, Matt Hawke deserves a bigger stage.
- Andrew Broadbent
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