Well there’s just over a week left in the 2015 Adelaide Fringe and the past three or so weeks feel like a blur. I feel like I’ve lived a whole life time in this short space of time, and slept very little. I haven’t had a chance to update and share too many of my experiences so here I go, trying to cram it into one post.
I’ve managed to see 24 shows now (which is less than some people, I know but a lot more than most), perform 4 times, work full time (YEAH I’VE BEEN WORKING A FULL TIME JOB. SUCK ON THAT ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO SAY ‘I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH TIME’) and go to at least 3 gym classes a week (because being sexy is a priority, duh). I’m not trying to show off or anything but I think I might have super powers? and an incoming bout of chronic fatigue?
So without further ado, here is a bit of a summary of my time this Fringe, with links to some published reviews and quick write ups of shows and experiences (more so that I don’t forget  what I’ve seen and done when I eventually do crash into bed and sleep).

SHOWS:

(in no particular order – except chronological. They are in chronological order of when I saw them…)

1) Rhino Room late show – this was the Tuesday before Fringe officially kicked off, a super fun way to begin the hectic season!

2) Geraldine Quinn – Modern Day Maiden Aunt (MDMA) – WHAT?! Fuck yes. Amazing, funny, entertaining and playing to a room of only six?! I am assured though that as her season progressed, the audiences grew. Geraldine is hilarious, witty and had some great tunes in the show!

3) Tahir – The Complete Guide to Being a Racist – find the review here. This was the first show I saw after the ‘official’ opening and it was good! Rough as it was early days but surprisingly not too bogan! I was also super into it as Rhys got pulled up on stage and picked on because he isn’t white, which is basically what I do to him everyday (pick on him because he’s not white, duh) so I felt like I wasn’t the only shit person in the world, for once.

4) Velvet (so good I saw it twice – it also helped that I didn’t have to pay…) what can I say?! High production value and disco beats – a great show does make! You’re never going to be disappointed by a show of this caliber. It’s got everything going for it and with great acrobatic skills, some smooth voices and a polished performance it’s no wonder I saw it again! Also, there’s Marcia…y’know the judge from that talent TV show?! Duh.

5) Sunglasses at Night – The 80s Apocalypse Sing Along Cabaret – this is another show that I reviewed on the first night of Fringe – review here. It was a shit load of fun – basically karaoke with only 80s tunes and not all the lyrics were as they seemed…another great performance by Geraldine Quinn!

6) Vagabond Late Show – a solid variety hour of acrobatics, comedy and generally making me feel untalented but entertained.

7) Simon Taylor – Personal Best. To be honest, I wasn’t sold. I’ve seen Simon be hilarious before, but not this time. Granted it was like a billion degrees hot outside and my butt was sticking to the seat but sorry Simon, your break-up story was just a little to real to be hilarious. Ouch.

8) Marcus Ryan Love Me Tinder – a fun show on a Sunday night, Marcus was charming and entertaining; review here.

9) Marc Ryan The Beautiful Bogan – Christ I laughed fucking hard during this show. Granted I went with my dad, after we’d had dinner together. My Dad’s a great guy with fantastic taste in wine, a bottle of which we had consumed between us before coming to see Marc’s show. Regardless of how much I’d had to drink, the show was great – read the full review here.

10) The Naked Magicians They do magic, they get naked towards the end…you will be reminded of how ugly penises are. They are gross – and yes, I am into dudes but dicks are a bit strange. The magicians are rather hot though and they do some funky tricks.

11) Double Feature – Rocky Horror Tribute Show Did you know that I am a CRAZY Rocky Horror fan?! Well, I am. So is my auntie. We went to this show together and sang along to EVERY song. We may also have danced and drank a bottle of champagne. Either way, fun was had. Full review here.

12) Two Ruby Knockers and 1 Jaded Dick – I was totally hammered when I saw this, even though it was a Sunday night. I guess that’s just how I roll? No, only on Cellar Door Wine Fest. day, otherwise I never drink on Sundays…anyhow, we got sucked into seeing this and it was great (as far as I remember..) no, it was. A bit of magic, a bit of comedy, very film noir and pretty cool!

13) Tamar Broadbent All By My Selfie – talented, funny and gorgeous she made me feel inadequate yet I still loved her. You should go see her if you are or have ever been a girl in her 20s. Or if you know a girl in her 20s because this show is on point as fuck and the songs just kinda got me – as embarrassing as that is to admit.

14) Lewis Dowell – Panda Jumper Maybe a pretty charming show and a heck of a lot of fun! Lewis was total pro (professional that is..) and his show was thoroughly entertaining- it was a pleasure being apart of the audience!

15) Everything is Under Control – This show was really interesting; quirky and different to many of the highly polished and finely tuned shows getting all the attention at Fringe these days. I thoroughly loved Angela Yeoh’s performance – it was brilliant contemporary clowning from the recent Gaulier graduate. Based on the reviews some people missed the point or just didn’t get it. Their loss I guess.

16) Chris Knights Fun, sweet, endearing. I was tired, sun burnt and hungry after having to go to Clipsal for work that day yet I still enjoyed the show, that should be testament enough!

17) It’s Rabbit Night – Jon Bennett Uhm has anyone else noticed that Jon has beautiful eyelashes? Y’know, for a dude? He also has mad wicked story telling skills. My buddy Josh invited me along to this show which was in a rad venue (so many hidden cool places in the ‘Laid). There were only 6 people in the audience, Bennett had considered cancelling and I’m so thankful that he didn’t because I fucking loved this show. Can’t stop thinking about how great it was. That is all.

18)  A Greek, An Aussie and A Jewish Comedian walk into a bar – I was in this show the following night, but I also saw a performance that didn’t feature me, which was fun, but less fun than being in it mostly.

19) Sarah Bennetto’s Story Tellers Club a bit of story tellin variety and a damned bit of fun indeed! Four comedians and an MC and some brilliantly wicked story telling – two vomit stories from the talented Cal Wilson couldn’t even put a dampener on the evening – what a champ!

20) Lunatics Beer Garden – Presented by Ro Campbell, this was a heck of alotta fun. I think it helped that most of the audience were comedians and had fun messing with each other. The quality was generally pretty kick ass though (with a few exceptions)…

21) Hans in Das Haus Brilliant. I wrote a review of it and Matt Gilbertson got in touch to say thanks. What a sweet heart and a really great performer. Review here!

22) Wil Anderson – a seasoned performer whose done the hard yards, been around the block and is now reaping the rewards; he’s doing what we all want to be doing. TV, Radio, the LA lifestyle, getting outted for doing drugs in national papers, it’s a dream come true and of course he’s still hilar. Erratic, but great, I really enjoyed this show.

23) Food Booze Sex Dance – as a lady who loves burlesque, I’m surprised that it took me so long to get along to a burlesque show this year! I reviewed it, the dancing was sexy but I found the food to be more delicious! review here…!

24) Death of a Disco Dancer Marcel Blanch-de Wilt – I’m biased because we’ve been friends for a while. I love Marcel, he’s one of my favourite people in the world – though I do rather like a few people (so don’t feel special, ANY OF YOU)! His show was great though, go see it! Such fun, such laughter, happiness and all round yay-ness!

PHEW!!! So those are the shows i’ve seen so far, below I’m going to recount some of my silly, ridiculous and insane experiences, the kind of which can only be experienced at a festival like this…

EXPERIENCES:

So much to say, so little time to say it! Fringe is the most magical time of year in Adelaide (big call? Maybe. Whatever). I love it, I’ve loved making new friends and chatting to people whose names I’ll never learn and whose faces I’ll never see again – which can sometimes be a blessing.

I have thus far been lucky to perform in two different improv shows – the semi final of SA Maestro and two performances of Sink or Swim. In the final of Maestro I performed one of the coolest and most fun scenes that I have ever done – a solo scene which I acted out with a sock puppet. So it may not sound cool, but it was. It was a really awesome thing to do as a performer and really inspired some great ideas for me. In Sink or Swim I played two totally different characters (in full costume) – one was a film noir dame, the other a fierce Jane Austen lady. Both were great to bring to life – and my fellow cast members made the experience unforgettable however I must say that I adored playing the film noir dame – as it was a great excuse to dress a bit like a hussy and have everyone be okay with it! I have included a photo below as it features one of the rare times in which I am wearing the fancy paint (I hear that normal people call it ‘make up’ but they are probably idiots).

I did my first 15 minute long spot of stand up comedy – I had an absolute blast and I kinda get the vibe that the audience did too? I did make them laugh at a joke about domestic violence, which makes them the bad people in the situation, not me.

I dressed up in a drag-esque outfit (mirror ball bra, silver wig, plenty of bling) and competed against professional (male) drag queens and some other crazy folk to win $500 – neither I nor my friend Brittany won but we looked fucking hot. The competition was held at Surrender, an experience all unto its own. We completed that night by drinking a decent amount, dancing like fuckwits in the artists bar and arriving home at sunrise.

I’ve seen more ridiculousness and brilliance in the past few weeks than most people see or experience in their lives. I’ve surely missed bits out here but this post is also stupidly long (sorry, I should post more often).

Whatever. There just over  a week to go and I am going to see more shows and probably dress in something totally inappropriate and get drunk in public again so hopefully I can share that soon and the post will be a little shorter!

P.S Read part two here!