The List Adelaide Summer Festival Guide 2023

PICTURE: FLORENCE MONTMARE

FESTIVAL DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

2023 adelaidefringe.com.au

ADELAIDE FRINGE 17 February–19 March adelaidefringe.com.au

Welcome to our first ever Adelaide Summer Festival Guide which marks The List’s debut foray into international publishing. Having been an integral part of the Edinburgh Festival for over 37 years, it’s been an absolute honour to bring The List to Adelaide and support its festival programme.

I started working on the Edinburgh Festival over 20 years ago, and had only dreamed about visiting Australia, let alone publishing a magazine here. I was fortunate enough to first come to Adelaide in 2019, and from the second I stepped off the plane, I realised I’d found my new spiritual home. The place is buzzing with so much creativity and is a shining example of what a city can do when everyone pulls together. Adelaide is such a magical festival city with the most inspiring and incredible people running events both large and small all-year round. To play a small part in that has been such a privilege.

So, what’s coming up on the following pages? We chat to our cover stars Bourgeois & Maurice about all things pleasure-shaped, explore an exhibition of Andy Warhol’s photography, speak to rising stand-up star Scout Boxall, take a peek into some amazing venue spaces, hear from inspiring singer-songwriter Beckah Amani, and get a little freaked out at the spooky goings-on in Mansion. Plus, we get the lowdown on where to eat, drink and shop when you’re not taking in a show (or two).

ADELAIDE FESTIVAL

3–19 March adelaidefestival.com.au

We hope you enjoy our preview coverage of the Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide Festival, Writers’ Week and WOMADelaide. Producing this magazine has been nothing short of a labour of love; we really hope you find it useful and that it helps you experience all that Adelaide’s summer festivals have to offer.

Sheri Friers

CEO

ADELAIDE WRITERS’ WEEK

4–9 March adelaidefestival.com.au/writers-week

CONTRIBUTORS

CEO

Sheri Friers

Editor

Brian Donaldson

Art Director and Design

Seonaid Rafferty

Sub Editor

WOMADELAIDE 10–13 March womadelaide.com.au

Paul McLean

Writers

Becca Inglis, Brian Donaldson, Claire Sawers, Eddie Harrison, Jay Richardson, Kelly Apter, Kevin Fullerton, Lucy Ribchester, Marissa Burgess, Mark Fisher, Megan Merino, Paul Wood, Peter Ross, Rachel Ashenden, Rachel Cronin, Sean Greenhorn, Sheri Friers

Social Media and Content Editor

Megan Merino

Senior Business Development Manager

Jayne Atkinson

Online News Editor

Kevin Fullerton

Media Sales Executive

Ewan Wood

Digital Operations Executive

Leah Bauer

/ Canada

By Robert Louis Stevenson Sydney Theatre Company

From a bold new ‘skyscraper’ to a repurposed sheep-shearing hut, Adelaide’s festivals are crammed with original and innovative venues. Lucy Ribchester speaks to the visionaries behind some enticing buildings

You can always tell when a festival is about to hit town. It’s not just the posters springing up, or the sighting of a person in an exotic bird costume standing next to you while you’re queuing for a flat white. There’s also the slow, steady shift in the cityscape that occurs as fantasy gardens bloom into life, glittering Spiegeltents are erected, and everyday buildings transform, all ready to host extraordinary shows.

There’s no denying that unusual and pop-up venues make festivals feel special, and Adelaide’s 2023 season is set to be full of them, with brand new spaces sitting alongside creatively repurposed old ones. One of the most striking additions to the city skyline will be the new Pyramid venue, created for the Fool’s Paradise Fringe village, due to lie at the heart of Victoria Square/ Tarntanyangga. Standing 15m tall (the equivalent of six storeys), it’s going to be hard to miss and will be accompanied by sister venue The Vault, as well as hosting rows of long tables for food and drinks outside.

SPACE

For Pyramid director Max Mason, designing this new venue was his chance to realise an architectural dream. ‘It’s one of the most iconic building shapes ever created,’ he says. ‘My degree was in archaeology and I was obsessed with the genius behind ancient Egyptian architecture.’ The venue took two years to design but erecting it takes only around ten hours, making it potentially transferrable to other festivals in the future: ‘it’s quite a wonder of the world just to watch the process.’

Given its height, The Pyramid is particularly suited to circuses with aerial artists, however there are also deeper resonances to be drawn between the physicality of the space and the performances happening inside. One show Mason is particularly excited about is the aerial-centred Vertiges by Farid Ayelem Rahmouni from Paris. ‘The narrative revolves around the difficulties experienced by people living in the margins of society. While it’s an erudite story of a man of North African descent living in Paris, its application to the First Nations living around their own land is striking.’

Another venue making its debut this year at Adelaide Fringe is The Yurt, a sister venue to sit alongside The Chapel at the Migration Museum. Yurts have been a mainstay for some time at festivals, including the Edinburgh International Book Festival where The Yurt’s creator Nick Phillips first came across the idea of using one as a venue. ‘It was the simple, yet very functional design and natural materials that interested me in a yurt,’ he says. ‘Yurts are constructed using all-natural materials, including various wood types (western red cedar, ash and larch), steam-bent to form the correct shapes for the walls and ceiling.’

Phillips was keen that The Yurt would have no central poles, making sightlines clear for the audience. It’s an intimate venue, seating only 60, but as he points out, not all shows benefit from being lost in a large auditorium. His own production, Werewolves, for example, will use not only the small size, but the ‘deep red backcloth’ and round shape of the yurt to create ‘a perfect eerie atmosphere’. Pop-up spaces, Phillips believes, are central to

PICTURE: HELEN PAGE

PICTURE: ELLIOT THOMPSON

the feel of a festival, taking as their cue the Spiegeltents of the 1930s (along the lines of Wonderland’s evocative space). ‘People love the Spiegeltent because it is lovingly hand-crafted, and you can feel it as soon as you enter. That is the vibe The Yurt offers.’

Away from hand-crafted bespoke venues, there will also be plenty of existing locations in the city transformed and commandeered for the festivals. The annual Writers’ Week will take place in the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden, while WOMADelaide takes over Botanic Park/ Tainmuntilla. The Garden Of Unearthly Delights is a festival playground with market stalls, carnival rides, bars and performance spaces. And in Festival Plaza, the huge installation Unvanished brings art into the open air, a mix of sculpture and soundscape referencing the elements as well as First Peoples’ cultural continuity. And at the Fringe, it seems that everything

from cemeteries to hotels, libraries, wineries, a boat, and even a belly dance academy will open their doors to events.

But for the chance to sample one of the most unusual historic venues, you have to step outside the city limits and head to Kangaroo Island. There on the Eleanor Downs farm settlement, a 1950s sheep-shearing hut is preparing for the fourth year of its one-day festival programme, Kangaroo Island Fringe. The hut was originally part of a land allocation given to returning soldier Dick Trethewey as part of the World War II Soldier Settlement scheme, and it still serves as a working shearing hut every November. Audiences are encouraged to bring a picnic blanket and prepare to spread out among gum trees and hay bales, where kangaroos and kookaburras provide the support acts to a line-up of circus, magic, theatre and music. Sometimes it’s the venues themselves that steal the show.

Scene stealers: (previous page, clockwise from left), Festival Plaza, Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, The Yurt; (clockwise from top) Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden, Wonderland Spiegeltent, Kangaroo Island shearing hut

PLEASURE CENTRE

Having created cabaret delights such as Shedding Skin, Style Over Substance and Sugartits, Bourgeois & Maurice are set to rip Australia apart with a show that aims to put the ‘fun back into our fundamentally pointless existence’. Here, they tackle the thorny and horny issue of pleasure from every possible angle

What would be your ultimate definition of pleasure? Escaping the British winter. Hi Australia! Great to be here.

What’s your earliest memory of feeling pleasure?

When we first got Botox. In our hearts.

And when did you last experience pleasure?

This morning! We gave ourselves champagne enemas while listening to ‘Orinoco Flow’. Perfect way to start the day.

What kind of job or vocation is the one most likely to bring the person doing it some pleasure? And which one looks like it is non-pleasurable in the extreme?

The job of being new British Prime Minister Liz Truss in September 2022. The job of being ex-British Prime Minister Liz Truss in October 2022.

Which is the best album out of these three: Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Welcome To The Pleasuredome, Roxy Music’s For Your Pleasure or Gary Numan’s The Pleasure Principle? Can we have all three? True pleasure is about excess, after all.

What is your ultimate guilty pleasure? Arson.

What gave you pleasure during the lockdown times? Performing on Zoom with the self-view camera switched on. Turns out we are absolutely gorgeous and hilarious: our audiences were right all along!

What gives you more pleasure: song, dance or multiple costume changes? We do love all those things but our greatest pleasure comes from gluing down our eyelashes perfectly. It’s only ever happened once in our lives but we’ll never forget that high.

From people who are into piercing to those who love crazy hot curries, there seems to be a link between pleasure and pain: is this something you recognise?

Absolutely. Pain can be pleasure, pleasure can be pain, positivity can be negative, negativity can be positive, and reality is all an illusion. It’s amazing what you can learn from a vindaloo.

What does a ‘high-energy homage to hedonism’ look, feel and sound like? Looks like: two deranged children’s TV presenters let loose in the arts and crafts section of Woolworths.

Feels like: that part of the night when you’re dancing on the tables, just before you fall and black out.

Sounds like: if the Village People had met BTS at a gay club in San Francisco in the 1970s and they’d all taken too much acid and gotten very existential.

Bourgeois & Maurice: Pleasure Seekers, Wonderland Festival Hub, Hindmarsh Square, 3–5, 7–10 March, 8.15pm, 11 & 12 March, 10pm.

CROWD CONTROL

Shrinking violets might not be up for a bit of audience participation during their night out at the theatre, but others cannot get enough of it. With Adelaide’s Fringe hosting a series of immersive productions, Brian Donaldson takes a deep breath and prepares to get involved

In a classic early episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry finds himself reluctantly attending an immersive theatre performance of Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding. Trapped in a room before the show with a cast member he knows personally but who is method-acting his tiny white socks off, Larry fails miserably to break through the meta construct of their conversation.

You have to wonder what he would make, then, of Confetti And Chaos (Adelaide Royal Coach, 10–19 March), a surprise wedding party that turns into a fully blown calamity. Audience members become unwitting guests caught in a crossfire between warring family members that make the Montagues and the Capulets seem like best buddies.

That show is brought to you by the same people behind Faulty Towers The Dining Experience (The Terrace Hotel, 17 February–12 March), as restaurant diners (that’s you lot) try not to get on the wrong side of Basil or end up in seemingly endless chit-chat with Sybil. Let’s hope no one ends up like some of the guests in the TV series (eg dead from kipper poisoning or apoplectic at not being able to order a proper Waldorf salad).

TattleTales:ImmersiveTarotStorytelling (Arthur Artbar, 17 February–5 March) comes with the classic promise that no two shows will ever be the same. Intimacy and innovation are on the menu here as the mysterious Storyteller acts as your guide, helping you to discover an ill-fated (or really exciting) destiny.

Some might argue that few performers love a spot of audience participation more than a drag act. And so DragShowTheGameShow (The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 6–13 March) introduces us to The Beastie Girls who assure you of a ‘non-cringey type of audience interaction’ as they harangue (sorry, encourage) crowd members to help them win a series of challenges. Ignore your inner Larry and throw yourself in.

For full listings details, go to list.co.uk/ adelaide-festival

Public engagement: Confetti And Chaos; (above) Drag Show The Game Show

HANCOCK

For up-to-date listings, previews and coverage of Adelaide’s Summer Festivals, check out:

LIST.CO.UK/ADELAIDE-FESTIVAL

Andy Warhol is rightly recognised as a pop art genius, but his work behind a lens is less well known. As the first Australian exhibition of his photographs opens, Peter Ross explores the role cameras played in his creative process

BIG SHOT

ART & LITERATURE

September 1980. New York. In a studio on Broadway, a photo shoot is taking place. ‘Oh,’ says the photographer, ‘your hair’s so beautiful. It’s really great.’ The photographer is Andy Warhol. His sitter is Farrah Fawcett. Warhol, in shirt and tie, stands three feet away from the actress, taking pictures with a weird-looking camera, the Polaroid Big Shot, and dropping the prints for an assistant to gather. Afterwards, he and Fawcett lean over a table to examine the images. ‘I mean,’ he says, ‘there’s no bad ones.’

Andy Warhol & Photography: A Social Media is the first Australian exhibition of his photographic work. ‘Photography was fundamental to everything he did in his art,’ says Julie Robinson, curator of the show at the

Art Gallery Of South Australia. ‘These works provide a new perspective on Warhol, and the photographs themselves are interesting not only because of the people they depict but for what they tell us about the artist. The whole exhibition is a self-portrait, in a way.’

There are two strands to his photographic work: the candid black and whites of famous friends in 1970s New York (Bianca Jagger shaving her armpits, Jackie O hanging out in Liza Minnelli’s dressing room), and Polaroids taken as source material for larger portraits. The Farrah Fawcett session was arranged for that latter purpose. Likewise, a shoot with Debbie Harry. The Blondie singer writes in her memoir that she and Chris Stein would trawl New York junk shops for Polaroid Big

Shots (production of the camera having ceased after two years) and buy them for Warhol ‘at around 25 cents a pop’. He was drawn to fast, cheap image-making. His nightclub photographs were inspired by the paparazzo Ron Galella, and many famous silkscreens were based on pictures found in magazines. For his first commissioned portrait, a 1963 silkscreen of Ethel Scull, he took the socialite collector to a photo booth and fed $100 into the slot until he had the shots he needed.

The exhibition’s subtitle, A Social Media, refers to the way in which Warhol’s work seems to foreshadow our Instagram age, being both aspirational and everyday. It also nods towards the collaborative aspects of his practice. He worked with a number of photographers, both professional and amateur, among them his close friend Brigid Berlin. She was an early adopter of Polaroid, and it was through her that he became an obsessive user of that technology. ‘No picture ever mattered,’ she once said, though it could just as well have been Warhol speaking. ‘There was never any subject that I was after. It was clicking it and pulling it out that I loved.’

It is ironic that one of the pleasures of this AGSA show will be nostalgic, enjoying the beautiful people of the past. That quality was not there when Warhol clicked and pulled. He was a relentless chronicler of the present. Nostalgia has settled on his pictures like dust. If we can, we must try to see through it to the true quality that his photographic works embody: a sublime banality that somehow delights as it numbs.

Andy Warhol & Photography: A Social Media, Art Gallery Of South Australia, North Terrace, 3 March–14 May, 10am–5pm.

FRINGE

MANDA-NGURNI WARNA-GU

Manda-Ngurni Warna-gu encompasses an interdisciplinary feast for the eyes, the ears and the stomach: an Indigenous art exhibition, plus live music and local food. Presented by Red Poles, an award-winning restaurant, art gallery and B&B, Manda-Ngurni Warna-gu brings together a mixed-media showcase of Indigenous art. The participating artists are part of a programme at Arts Ceduna, a culture hub in the far west of South Australia which develops the skills of Aboriginal artists and supports them to sell their work.

Emerging from the Arts Ceduna programme are several artists who have created paintings and artefacts with a shared focus of the land and sea. Among the exhibiting artists is Kathryn Queama, a Pitjantjatjara punu (wood) artist who has exhibited her work across Australia as well as internationally. The traditional skills of her art have been handed down through the Tjukurpa.

The opening of Manda-Ngurni Warna-gu will be celebrated with live Indigenous music from Glenn Skuthorpe and a chance to enjoy fusion food by Red Poles’ head chef. There will also be family-friendly basket weaving workshops throughout the opening weekend, along with an Acknowledgement Of Country and a smoking ceremony. (Rachel Ashenden) n Red Poles, McMurtrie Road, 17–19, 22–26 February, 1–5, 8–12, 15–19 March, 9am–5pm.

FESTIVAL WRITERS’ WEEK

Engrossing literary conversations are set to take over the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden as Australia’s largest free literary festival kicks off in March. Part of Adelaide Festival, Writers’ Week is an opportunity for readers to pause and reflect on books and big ideas with an international roster of bestselling authors.

Guest speakers include multi-award winning novelist Dervla McTiernan (The Ruin), South African Nobel Prize-winner JM Coetzee (Disgrace), and journalist and commentator Marina Hyde. Political dramatist David Hare will perform a live rendition of his autobiographical monologue, Beat The Devil, while eminent playwright Tom Stoppard (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead) joins for a virtual conversation with his biographer, Hermione Lee.

The notion of truth is up for debate throughout this year’s programme. Writers will discuss topics such as whether truthfulness belongs in non-fiction alone, what truth looks like in biography, if there is such a thing as a universal truth (and how that comes through in fiction), and whether truth even matters in our misinformation-driven world. Audiences will be able to join these free panel events, and each talk will also be made available after the festival as a podcast.

This is the first Writers’ Week curated by new director Louise Adler, who joined the festival last December. ‘In curating the 2023 programme, I was provoked by Fran Lebowitz’s aperçu “a book is not a mirror; it is a door through which the reader is invited to walk”,’ says Adler. ‘Good books take us to places, ideas and emotions we do not fully understand. The best writing shows us that our inner lives are made richer by context, by encounters real or imagined.’ (Becca Inglis)

n Pioneer Women’s Memorial Garden, King William Road, 4–9 March.

PICTURE: FRANKIE THE CREATIVE

A RIVER THAT FLOWS BOTH WAYS

A series of selected works from the 23rd Sydney Biennale in which architects, designers, scientists and artists consider our relationship with various ecosystems.

n Adelaide Contemporary Experimental, 4 February–18 March.

SANAA

This group show by artists from Africa and South Australia takes in digital art, photography, fashion, installation and painting, while tackling a number of hot issues.

n The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, 17 February–17 March.

BIOTIC COMMUNE

Textile artist Kasia Tons looks at our relationship with plants, particularly those which have contributed to our understanding of nutrition, spirituality and medicine.

n Santos Museum Of Economic Botany, 11 February–30 July.

ART & LITERATURE HIGHLIGHTS

KALEIDOSCOPE

Not the Netflix heist drama which you can watch in any order you like, but instead it’s Keith Courtney’s symphony of light and sound set in a mirror maze.

n The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 16 February–19 March.

HAVEN

Born in Tasmania and based in Portugal, James Newitt’s new piece incorporates the moving image, installation, sound and text as he considers climate and entrepreneurship.

n Samstag Museum Of Art, 3–19 March.

BRUCE NUSKE

A simple cup of tea poured and taken during the pandemic is the trigger for this ceramics exhibition, which features a response from furniture designer Khai Liew.

n Samstag Museum Of Art, 3–19 March.

TOM STOPPARD

On a livestream from London, the creator of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead and Leopoldstadt talks words and writing in an event which also features a pre-recorded chat with his biographer, Hermione Lee.

n Adelaide Town Hall, 2 March.

TENT thinking outside the

CABARET & CIRCUS

Time and again, Adelaide Fringe has been the place to go for something a little out of the ordinary, and its circus offering is no exception. So roll up as Eddie Harrison takes a closer look at some of the alternative shows coming your way

Let’s all go to the circus. Or rather, let’s go beyond the circus. At the Adelaide Fringe, there’s no need to settle for the old-school clown cars and yawning lions of yesteryear, as the alternative circus concept returns with a bang.

Let’s start with YUCK Circus who present their newest creation DEADSET, billed as ‘an all-Aussie powerhouse show’ which promises to take a comic look at all aspects of Australian life as we currently know it. That means, in their own words, a celebration of ‘tradies, Vegemite and tinnies’, zeroing

in on issues of national identity and TV shows like Kath & Kim to the recently cancelled Bondi Rescue. Sure to appeal to the larrikin in us all, YUCK features female and femme-identifying voices alike, and the company boasts a healthy roster of awards to demonstrate that they’re anything but niche. Ribbons, hoops, roller-skating and choreographed group routines all feature, plus an 80s rock soundtrack including AC/DC that’s sure to shake you all night long.

Also pushing the envelope, albeit in a rather different direction, are the Laser Kiwi trio, offering a blend of high-level circus feats and sketch comedy in their Rise Of The Olive show. As the title suggests, it focuses on no less an attraction than the humble yet reliable little snack. For too long, it has been a bit-part player in live theatre, but this show aims to break taboos and expand our understanding of the olive itself. Imogen Stone and brothers Degge and Zane Jarvie will also attempt a handstand on two tumbling towers of custom-made Jenga blocks, which sounds both remarkable and foolhardy at the same time.

Fear that the world is going to pot? An Artist & An Acrobat is a fresh performance piece that merges ceramic sculptures of queer artist and crochet fiend Sam Matthewman with the juggling and circus skills of Emily Loe. The emphasis here is firmly on ceramics, as Matthewman and Loe aim to trace back performance tradition to 500 BC and beyond. And any show that combines ceramic sculpture with juggling can only be described as a potentially smashing time.

What else should you be rolling up for? The Fool’s Paradise precinct will showcase a selection of 25 of the Fringe’s best circus and burlesque acts. Or for something more athletic, The Defiant is back in town, fresh from winning the coveted Best Circus award in 2022. So if you’ve got the necessary bread, the circuses will be provided.

YUCK Circus: DEADSET, Fool’s Paradise, Victoria Square/ Tarntanyangga, 21–26 February, 28 February–5 March, 6.30pm; Laser Kiwi: Rise Of The Olive, The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, Rundle Park/Kadlitpina, 17 February–19 March, 9.30pm; An Artist & An Acrobat, Gluttony, Rymill Park/Murlawirrapurka, 11–13, 18 & 19 March, 3.45pm; The Defiant, Gluttony, Rymill Park/ Murlawirrapurka, 17 February–19 March, 6.40pm.

PICTURE: BEN PRESTON PHOTOGRAPHY

PICTURE: MICHAEL JAMES

FRINGE YUMMY

Multi award-winning cabaret company YUMMY are no stranger to a Fringe, whether in Australia or around the world. With seven years’ experience under their belts (and wigs), ICONIC is a brand new show fusing drag, circus and burlesque, but with a special focus on cultural icons, legends and superstars. Expect jawdropping dance routines, dazzling costumes, and plenty of laughs as the Melbourne-based ensemble whisk audiences away for one hour of salacious and subversive fun.

But if that all sounds a bit too hot and heavy, no need to fret. For the first time in the troupe’s history, YUMMY bring a kids show to the Fringe. The Kids Extravaganza! has been specially created for children aged 6–12 and packs in all of the wow-factor while respectfully saving the sauce for the evening show. This one leans into the world of circus, with contortion, trapezes, hula hooping, juggling and a space unicorn (?!) featuring in the 55-minute spectacle. Brightly coloured costumes and creative staging will stun the senses as young audiences are taken on a journey of self-discovery, where dreams turn into reality if you only have the strength to believe in yourself.

Originally started as an underground club night in Melbourne, YUMMY have won over the hearts and minds of international festival audiences with stellar productions and camp sensibilities. This act is definitely for those Fringe-goers looking for a fun slice of cabaret.

(Megan Merino)

n YUMMY ICONIC, 7–12, 14–19 March, 8.10pm; YUMMY: The Kids Extravaganza!, 11–13, 18 & 19 March, 1.30pm; both shows at Gluttony, Rymill Park/ Murlawirrapurka.

FESTIVAL AIR PLAY

Blending clowning, prop comedy and kinetic sculpture with the science and fantasy of flight, Air Play is a unique spectacle from New York-based circus duo Acrobuffos. Former ballerina Christina Gelsone and erstwhile juggler Seth Bloom are a married couple who’ve performed their wondrous show all over the world, with flying umbrellas, swirling snow, and fabrics soaring high over the crowd.

‘When we started, we knew we wanted to make ordinary objects do extraordinary things and capitalise on all of our experience in silent comedy, juggling, dance and street performing,’ Gelsone explains. Working with ‘air sculptor’ artist Daniel Wurtzel, they spent five years making it ‘look so simple, but we are accomplishing difficult feats of manipulation . . . there are sculptures in Air Play that can be seen nowhere else, and they take the audience’s breath away.’

Acrobuffos spend weeks on a single prop, experimenting endlessly with possibilities. They went through ‘two dozen kinds of umbrellas to find the best flyers and made four different acts with umbrellas until we found one we liked,’ says Gelsone. Only after assembling all their set-pieces together, did they ‘weave through an emotional storyline and skilful comedy’, as they sought to evoke ‘an incredibly rich poem of childhood . . . giant fabrics swirl into whale shapes and the entire stage becomes a snow globe. And I get stuck inside a balloon.’

Despite the dialogue-free show’s international appeal and the rigours of their creative process, Bloom reckons each show is different. ‘We often compare making audiences laugh to surfing,’ he reflects. ‘Difficult, always with the potential for failure, but what a thrill when you catch the wave just right. So we’re travelling the world, searching for the perfect wave, gliding on the power of laughter crescendoing all around us. Australia is one of our favourite places to work, because both the cheeky humour and the beautiful moments are appreciated.’ (Jay Richardson) n Adelaide Festival Centre, Festival Drive, 15–19 March, times vary.

PICTURE: FLORENCE MONTMARE

CABARET & CIRCUS HIGHLIGHTS

SHITWRECKED!

Join musically comedic duo Mel & Sam, as they head off on the party cruise of a lifetime. Chances are that amid the hilarity, things will swiftly go awry.

n Gluttony, 7–12 March.

LEATHER LUNGS

In Higher Love, this award-winning falsetto queen celebrates everyone from Elvis to Abba via a life-affirming display of liberation and exploration.

n Gluttony, 21 February–5 March.

CHAMPAGNE SHOWGIRLS

A carousel is a hypnotic place at the best of times, but when you throw in burlesque, circus and cabaret, you’ll be transported to an otherworldly if playful arena.

n Wonderland Festival Hub, 17–26 February.

OAT MILK & HONEY

Rising stars in the contemporary circus game, Mo-Ko Piano & Circus interweave music and acrobatics to produce a show that is empathic towards those who suffer from anxiety.

n Gluttony, 8–19 March.

LE GATEAU CHOCOLAT & JOHNNY WOO

The ‘French & Saunders of drag’ are back with A Night At The Musicals 3 which promises a raucous trawl through ballads, duets and singalong fun. They’re dubbing it ‘Little Mermaid meets Jaws’.

n The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 17 February–19 March.

LOVE LIFE LAUNDRY

Circus Sorbet introduce us to a physical-theatre extravaganza of dance, gymnastics and acrobatics as we take a sneak peek behind the scenes of a regular couple’s surprisingly agile domestic set-up.

n Fool’s Paradise, 17–24 February.

BARBAROI

Previous winners of Adelaide Fringe’s prime circus award, AfterDark Theatre present a dystopian cyber-circus with an acrobatic showdown on the horizon.

n Gluttony, 17 February–5 March; Fool’s Paradise, 7–19 March.

PICTURE: JACK FENBY

PICTURE: MAXIM NORTHOVER

With so many Fringe comedy and magic shows to take in over the coming couple of months, we all need a little help navigating this entertainment maze. So, how about an A–Z of acts and shows? OK, here it is then

ALICE FRASER

A comic who challenges the brain and bashes away at the funnybone, Fraser’s Twist considers the moments when life chucks an unexpected turn at you.

 The Howling Owl, 28 February–4 March.

BEN STEVENSON

The Australian Radio Awards winner offers a spin on the ‘dead dad’ show with a ‘deceased mum’ tale. In Ratbag, Stevenson discusses the nickname his late mother gave him (ouch) and the journey he took with his own grief.

 Laugh Lounge, 22–25 February.

CLAIRE HOOPER

The very talented stand-up aka ‘Australia’s sweetheart’ puts on a single show of Sweet Charity, as she recalls all the terribly kind things she’s done of late.

 Rhino Room, 11 March.

DOM CHAMBERS

Co-creator of beloved ensemble magic show The Purple Rabbit, Chambers claims here to be a Fake Wizard, while proving that he is anything but with his latest set of confounding tricks.

 The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 17 February–19 March (not 20, 27 February, 6, 13 March).

EVERYTHING IS A LIE

‘Rage-filled angel’ Lauren Edwards offers up a charming line in existential dread as she ponders exactly what people mean when they insist that they have it all.

 The Jade, 12, 14–17 March.

FIRE BRAND

Nick Schuller is clearly one to watch, having provided support for the likes of Cal Wilson and Phil Wang. For his Adelaide show, he’s reflecting on that time the family home was burned down in the 2019 bushfires. Look forward to seeing how he makes that funny.

 Gluttony, 18 & 19, 25 & 26 February.

GROWING PAINS

Not many stand-up shows at the Fringe will feature storytelling, rap and acrobatics, so get on board with gymnast/circus artist Daniel Tohill.

 Laugh Lounge, 8–12 March.

HYPNOTIST MATT HALE

Looking to unlock the talents of his ‘victims’ rather than embarrass, humiliate, shame, debase and destroy them, this comedy hypnotist launches a show that takes us all back to 1985. Even the ones who weren’t born at that point.

 Gluttony, 21 February–19 March (not 27 February, 2, 6 March).

LETTERS FROM AUSTRALIA

COMEDY & MAGIC

IMPROMPTUNES

Who doesn’t love a wholly improvised musical just made up on the spot right in front you? A meanie, that’s who. Marking a decade of adlibbing, this quintet is as safe a pair of hands as you can get in this game.

 Gluttony, 17–26 February (not 20).

JOANNE MCNALLY

All aboard The Prosecco Express as Irish comic McNally considers ageing, dating, drinking and dying. All of it is funny, though, fret not.

 The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 17–19 March.

KARAN SINGH MAGIC

Apparently, Singh has had the likes of Derren Brown and Dynamo scratching their heads, wondering how on earth he just did that. Will he bamboozle you, too? Unless you have more insight into conjuring than that pair, then yes, almost certainly.

 Gluttony, 28 February–5 March.

LANO & WOODLEY

The double-act veterans return, wielding their inventive brand of storytelling comedy upon the epic tale of Moby Dick. What can go wrong?

 The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 9–19 March (not 13–15).

MATT TARRANT

What lies in Fate, the all-new magic show from this Adelaide Fringe Award winner (seven times over)? Topnotch mentalism, that’s what.

 Gluttony, 21, 24–26, 28 February, 3–5 March.

NATH VALVO

If you’ve followed Valvo down the years, then this is the ultimate treat as he crams in some of his own favourite bits into a mere 60 minutes. Rhino Room, 28 February–4 March.

OLLIE HORN

This UK stand-up has two shows at the Fringe, but for our purposes we’ll go for the one with the longest title: Ollie Horn Arrogantly Believes An Hour Of His New Material Is Worth $25. It’s catchy, for sure.

 Ayers House Events, 10 & 11, 17 & 18 March.

PICKLED SINK

Dubbing himself a ‘professional idiot,’ Will Tredinnick throws himself into a physical comedy melee, in a show that promises to be both charming and nonsensical.

 The Mill, 8–19 March (not 13 & 14).

QUEEN FEE

Fiona ‘Queen Fee’ O’Loughlin joins forces with Nickyboy for two full-length sets. Strap yourselves in for a pair of different comics at the top of their respective games.

 Various venues, 18, 24, 26 February, 2 March.

ROSS NOBLE

The English adlibbing comic who has long since settled in Australia produces yet another bamboozling and freewheeling hour with the very Noble-like title of Jibber Jabber Jamboree Gluttony, 17 February–19 March (not 20, 27 February, 6, 13 March).

SAM CAMPBELL

He went to the Edinburgh Fringe last summer and came back with the biggest prize in comedy. All hail the lad Campbell as he proves that daftness can still trump relatability in the stand-up stakes.

 The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 13–19 March.

TOM BALLARD

Another regular darling of the Edinburgh comedy set is this more politically focused stand-up who brings us It Is I, a show about family, art and the pandemic.

 Rhino Room, 14–18 March.

UMBILICAL BROTHERS

The bendiest siblings in comedy return with a show that should make you forget those little screens that seem to dominate our lives . . . as they put a massive one slapbang in the middle of their stage.

 The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 17 February–19 March (not 20, 27 February, 6, 15 March).

VIDA SLAYMAN

Comedy Of Terrors is all about parenthood and the trials and tribulations thereof. It’s also about war and traversing the continents.

 Rhino Room, 28 February–4 March.

WOMEN LIKE US

A name that is open to varying interpretations with Mandy Nolan and Ellen Briggs proving that you don’t need to be a skinny-jeaned, weird-haired twentysomething chap to do this comedy game. Giving a funny spin to the mundane is their schtick.

 The Howling Owl, 7–11 March.

XCAREY MARX

OK, we struggled to find a comedy or magic show beginning with ‘x’, so we just had to namecheck someone who happened to have one in their name. But we shouldn’t need to shoehorn in a reason to talk up one of the most reliably funny comics working the UK circuit over the past three decades.

 The Griffins, 17 February–18 March.

YOZI: NO BABIES IN THE SAUNA

That title simply sounds like common-sense advice, and Yozi has other slices of wisdom to offload on people who just don’t want to play by life’s rules, both the written ones and the other kind.

 My Lover Cindi, 13–16 March.

ZOODLE IN THE PUB

Homegrown science-comedy show which all started with an ambition to spread the word on conservation issues to the general public. But with jokes, of course.

 The Rob Roy Hotel, 8, 15 March.

For full listings details, go to list.co.uk/adelaide-festival

Launching a mixed-media comedy show, Scout Boxall tackles everything from manic episodes to dolphin sex. Jay Richardson hears from an act who is unafraid of putting it all out there

‘I’m the original nepotism baby!’, Scout Boxall reflects drily, on inheriting her bipolar disorder from a grandmother and celebrating her 18th birthday in a psychiatric hospital. Despite growing up with a theatre background, the Melbourne comic has absorbed her training into the directness of stand-up (‘this sounds so wanky, but it’s the least mediated artform’) to open up about a hugely formative moment in her life with an ambitious, multimedia show entitled Buck Wild. Blending the lyrically anecdotal, PowerPoint and music, the show has ‘some really dark points, including suicide survival’, she acknowledges. But there are also thoughts on Formula One and dolphin sex. ‘I’m here, I’m OK, I’m actually thriving,’ she stresses. ‘Being present with a crowd makes them way more comfortable. And you can adjust to the room, which is why this isn’t a full-blown theatre show. That, and I didn’t have the budget.’

Having only begun comedy in 2018 and benefiting from ‘uninhibited naivety’, Boxall has developed quickly on the back of some glowing reviews, and was unprepared for the mental toll Buck Wild would take in terms of performing. And besides, this is only her second full show. ‘I really was setting myself a lot of challenges,’ the 28-year-old recalls. ‘I wanted to have storytelling, wanted to write and produce all the music, perform it live and for it to be atmospheric. One of the perks of being so fresh and new is that I could throw a lot of shit at the wall to see what stuck, because no one really knew who I was and I could just fade into obscurity if it didn’t work. The stakes have been personally high but professionally low. So it felt like a good chance to take a risk, before I get boxed into any one type of comedy.’

As a non-binary act (Boxall’s preferred pronouns are she/ they), she’s wary of being seen to represent anyone but herself.

‘Being a queer geek is a really easy mode for someone like me. It’s easy to crush a queer gig by just saying “fuck JK Rowling!” A greater challenge is winning over someone who’s never heard of me and thinks I’m the weirdest person they’ve ever seen on stage.’ So, while trying not to sound ‘like a 16-year-old smoking a joint’ by pointing out that her experience of bipolarity is subjective, she does want neurotypical audience members to ‘feel just a fraction of what it’s like to be manic or have a mixed episode. A lot of people experience depression or have an idea what that feels like. But they often think mania is like pure euphoria and you’re super-happy. But it’s not, it’s quite terrifying. Everything is going so fast. I didn’t want the show to be overwhelming or traumatising but to capture just a sliver of that. And though I didn’t intend it, the show itself has become quite bipolar, oscillating between these serious storytelling bits, then these hi-energy sound cues and the PowerPoint. It’s become a show with a lot of mood cycles.’

Scout Boxall: Buck Wild, Gluttony, Rymill Park/ Murlawirrapurka, 17–19, 21–26 February, 9.15pm, 28 February–2 March, 6pm.

WILD AT HEART

MAGIC BEN HART

‘Magic is like chocolate cake. If it’s a really rich dark chocolate cake, then that’s lovely and you have a few bites of it but you wouldn’t eat the whole cake. Magic is like cookery: not too much salt, not too much sugar. It’s all about getting the right balance.’

Ben Hart has thought a lot about his art and how to structure the perfect set. Let’s face it, he knows what he’s talking about having been in the magic game for many years, with a decade of touring shows behind him as well as a notable appearance as a finalist on Britain’s Got Talent in 2019.

His impressive illusions and subtle sleight-of-hand may be wondrous and jawdropping, but Hart isn’t in this simply to provide unadulterated thrills. For him, magic should actually say something. ‘All great artists reference the richness of their inner world,’ he notes. ‘It’s normal for a songwriter to quote a poet and to find interconnections across the arts. But traditionally, it has been the case that a magician tells empty stories: here’s a card trick about nothing. And that’s a waste of the power of the magic trick. I see no reason why a performer can’t be doing work that is saying something about politics or the environment.’

As an ode to Ben Hart’s love of structure, we end where we started, with another of his analogies which sums up the work he puts on a stage. ‘My friends laugh at me because I always talk in metaphor. But it’s true. I think that a memorable magic show is like a dinner party: good intro, nice icebreakers, and at the end there’s a wicked game. The audience comes into the theatre and I am the conductor of the space and they’re all my musical players. We’re going to make something special together.’ (Brian Donaldson)

 The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, Rundle Park/Kadlitpina, Rundle Road, 17–19 February, 21 February–19 March, 7pm.

COMEDY NISHANT SURI

You’d imagine that being a former wedding photographer would have given Nishant Suri enough material for several solo shows. He must have witnessed all sorts of shenanigans: behind-the-scenes tantrums, traumas and maybe a few sweet moments too. But this Indian comedian’s stand-up is a more rounded and intelligent take than your average observational routine as he dissects over-confident bachelors, his sense of direction (or utter lack thereof), and how your masculinity is often defined by your choice of ice-cream flavour.

As part of the Indian Independent Showcase, Suri’s Fringe date promises a further look at life’s many quirks. His solo show covers the global pandemic and his world tours, but also a quarter-life crisis and the slow heal of a broken heart. A lot to chew on for a young comic. Suri first came to prominence when he won the first season of Amazon Prime Video India’s comedy reality show Comicstaan in 2018.

Allied to touring all across his native India, Suri’s YouTube clips have galvanised his international appeal; with a new global following in place, he has made inroads on comedy circuits around the world. Despite his youth, he can also add engineer and banker to his list of jobs, making it easy for this rising stand-up star to look at life from many angles. (Marissa Burgess)

 The Parks Theatres, Cowan Street, 4 March, 8pm.

CABARET & CIRCUS COMEDY & MAGIC

PICTURE: MATT CROCKETT

BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT

From off-centre surrealism to outrageous smut, Kevin Fullerton digs into the list of superlative UK stand-ups hitting Adelaide this season

‘The British are coming’ was once a jocular reference to one nation’s heritage of conquering the living bejesus out of the globe. Now, as Britain staggers hither and thither in a post-Brexit haze, it’s more akin to what people say when they witness a slavering drunk relieve themselves on the weathered plexiglass of a disused bus shelter. As in, ‘the British are coming. Don’t look them in the eyes and, for the love of god, don’t give them any spare change.’

While the state of Blighty may make you want to inject every bulldog in the land with pentobarbital, those UK comedy acts heading to Adelaide are proof that our fine tradition of subversive and gut-busting comedy is still alive and well. Oddball extraordinaire Paul Foot (The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 13–19 March) has maintained a remarkably consistent career mining strange turns of phrase and whimsical observations. Expect shire horses, murderous Santa Clauses, and plenty of his trademark ‘disturbances’. Offering something a mite more accessible is Sarah Millican (Thebarton Theatre, 20, 26 February) whose frank relatability has made her one of the biggest comics back home. She hits all the right notes to draw in a mainstream crowd, but maintains an endof-the-pier smuttiness to keep fans of edgier material happy. Next on the laughing block is John-LukeRoberts (Gluttony, 7–19 March) with A World Just Like Our Own, But . . . We gave this superlative hour of comedy five stars when it was performed in

Edinburgh last year, calling it ‘light yet profound, not to mention packed with punchlines’.

Also no slouch in the gag department is Stephen K Amos (The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 3–12 March), a veteran of the standup scene whose show Before And Laughter finds him crafting erudite jokes from the decidedly unchucklesome events of the past few years. A loveable everyman of comedy, MarkWatson (The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 13–19 March) will explore the travails of being an immature middle-aged man. Watson always treads an impressive line between the approachable and hare-brained (a standup show that lasts 24 hours, anyone?), so expect plenty of shaggydog humour and oodles of invention.

Still flying high from his Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination last year, LarryDean (The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 14–19 March) is reprising Fudnut, a combination of juicy jokes and life lessons that mine topics of grief and loneliness. Dean is a jaunty and effervescent presence, able to conjure the atmosphere of a mate telling you filthy and embarrassing stories over a pint. Last on the long-haul flight is JojoSutherland (The Griffins, 17 February–18 March) with her latenight club-comic vibe, and a barrage of expletive-laden punchlines and rants against modern life. If you love your comedy blue, pay GrowingOldDisgracefully a visit.

For full listings details, go to list.co.uk/adelaide-festival

PICTURE: NATASHA PSZENICKI

PICTURE:

MATT CROCKETT

COMEDY & MAGIC HIGHLIGHTS

LAUREN BOK

This award-winning burlesque performer and mime artist is reflecting on a whole decade in showbusiness with a new stand-up show.

n Rhino Room, 7–12 March.

SH!T-FACED SHAKESPEARE

This must surely have started as a pub-based jape: perform a full Shakespeare play with one actor totally off their noggin on booze, and see what happens. Years later, it’s a bona fide festival phenomenon.

n The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 17 February–19 March.

KEVIN QUANTUM

This magic man started off convincing people he was a conjuror on a British reality TV show called Faking It but is now an impresario and practitioner of this ancient form.

n The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 17 February–19 March.

DR BROWN

An alternative clowning show with nary a red nose in sight but packed with an audience who need to be on their toes and on top of their wits as Phil Burgers comes among them.

n Arthur Artbar, 9–19 March.

ABANDOMAN

Rob Broderick is among the very best in the musical improv business, weaving comedic glory from the merest snippets of audience suggestions. The man may well be a machine.

n The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 17 February–5 March.

REUBEN KAYE

Reuben is in town with his Kaye Hole but for these shows he is Live And Intimidating, performing a stripped-back and raw set packed with barnstorming filth.

n The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 6–19 March.

JUDITH LUCY

A book talk in which the veteran comic discusses some bleak topics as well as light-hearted subjects, and concludes that, well, she’s doing OK after all.

n The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 25 & 26 February.

KIDS

Lucy Ribchester discovers an Adelaide Fringe programme brimming with innovative children’s shows, from stories inspired by jars of scent to a barking mad take on ballroom dancing

IMAGINE THAT

Think children’s parties and what springs to mind may be a mixture of chaos, noise, and food used as missiles. Storyteller Helen Lawry, however, has a different idea, and in her show, Party For Two, she aims to celebrate ‘quiet people who like small parties’. The show is set to take place in Adelaide’s lush Botanic Garden and is an acknowledgement that not all children love noise, mess and social-sensory overload. Instead, it promises to subtly encourage play in the natural world, by telling the tale of a storyteller preparing (with lemonade and mud cakes) for a small, chilled gathering.

For kids who do like to make noise, however, Elias Faingersh’s A Journey To The Land Of Sounds is a celebration of all things aural. With the aid of his trombone, live loop machines, animation and a lot of collective imagination, composer-performer Faingersh invites you to board an imaginary train that can travel underwater, through space, and back in time. Audiences are asked to come prepared to join in with the clicking, rustling and thumping, exploring all the ways the body can be tuned to make sound.

At the sound spectrum’s opposite end, Stephen Noonan’s The Boy And The Ball demonstrates that some stories need no words at all. Touring specifically around schools during the Fringe, this non-verbal tale is about struggling to fit in when you’re shy, and aims to explore the turbulent ‘rite of passage’ that all small children have to go through as they begin to enter social spaces and navigate friendships. It’s already been garnering glowing reviews for its simplicity and elegance.

Also touring schools, Patch Theatre and Stephen Sheehan have created a play based around the innovative concept of scent as story. In Spark, Sheehan arrives in a classroom with a suitcase full of jars, containing mysterious smells from birthdays long past. Each scent provides the stimulus to a variety of different story paths, introducing children to the idea that scent can trigger both memories and emotions.

Did film legend Baz Luhrmann ever imagine that his debut film, Strictly Ballroom, would become such a cultural touchstone, fuelled by the Dancing With The Stars and Strictly Come Dancing TV shows that have spread all over the world? Comedy practitioners Jon and Ollie, along with The Garage International, have now created their own canine-flavoured homage to the franchise in Strictly Barking, a sequinned, high-energy slapstick and dance extravaganza about a lonely old man and a homeless dog who become friends before taking to the stage for ‘fab-u-lous’ ballroom dancing. The duo arrives at the Fringe with a bunch of audience awards and glowing testimonies for their previous work; and let’s admit it, permission to enjoy the silliest of kids shows is one of the secret perks of being a parent.

Party For Two, Adelaide Botanic Garden, North Terrace, 18 & 19, 25 & 26 February, 4 March, 10am & noon; A Journey To The Land Of Sounds, Crack, Franklin Street, 11 March, 2pm; The Boy And The Ball, touring schools, 17, 20–23, 27 February–1, 7, 9, 14 March; Spark, touring schools, 6–9 March; Strictly Barking, Migration Museum, Kintore Avenue, 25 & 26 February, 2.30pm, Adelaide Town Hall, King William Street, 4 & 5, 11 & 12, 18 March, 1.55pm.

Play time: (from top)

Party For Two, A Journey To The Land Of Sounds, The Boy And The Ball, Spark

FRINGE 3 TO SEE

We’ve long since left behind the notion that science is just for nerds, geeks and those who love to hide out in their basement, surrounded by Bunsen burners, test tubes and Star Trek boxsets. Science, it turns out, is for everyone and explains pretty much everything about the world. No wonder, then, that festivals are filled with STEM-shaped kids entertainment, and this year’s Adelaide Fringe is no different.

The Alphabet Of Awesome Science (Gluttony, 11–19 March) is helmed by Professor Noel Edge (not his real name) and Lexi Con (also made-up) as they zip through 26 words which represent various aspects of science. Experiments and experimentation are at the core of this show (pictured), but fear not, ‘Noel’ and ‘Lexi’ know exactly what they’re doing at all times.

The Scientwits: The Wrong Experiments! (Star Theatres, 10–13 March) may sound like it’s run by people who might not be on top of their lab game, but again, no worries. Scientist Sam (reassuring name) and Captain Chaos (less so) deliver a rapid-fire treat as the former attempts to prevent the latter from destroying his beakerladen workspace.

All the way from Ireland comes Science Magic: Messy Mayhem (Gluttony, 18 February–19 March) as comic-scientist Donal Vaughan marks just over a decade in showbiz with a performance of tricks/ experiments specifically featuring things that you’d find around the house. Such as Dragon’s Breath and a Vomiting Unicorn. Domestic life in Ireland has certainly changed. (Brian Donaldson) n For full listings details, go to list.co.uk/adelaide-festival

FESTIVAL THE RIVER THAT RAN UPHILL

Recounting his own lived experiences, Edgell Junior brings a surprising story of survival and solidarity to the South Australian stage with local theatre company Slingsby. This powerful and poignant world premiere is a retelling of the havoc wreaked on the Pacific Islands by 2015’s Cyclone Pam. Junior is a Ni-Vanuatu theatre-maker from Pentecost Island who lived through the notorious natural disaster that displaced more than 3000 people and killed 15. A terrifying yet hopeful true tale is revisited through the eyes of a young female protagonist who learns how important community and togetherness can be in the face of misfortune.

As a company, Slingsby has been combining community and education with theatre for over 15 years. Before his days in Slingsby, Junior was a core member of internationally renowned Wan Smolbag Theatre in Vanuatu. He now makes up part of Slingsby’s showstopping six-piece ensemble alongside Elleni Karagiannidis, Joshua Campton, Jennifer Stefanidis, Delia Olam and Alexis West.

The company’s newest work (suitable for ages 8+) reflects their values, focusing on solidarity and cooperation in an educational setting. Their in-school appearances, workshops, online performances and Q&As make for captivating, enlightening theatre that can be enjoyed by all. Directed by Andy Packer and Clara SollySlade, 50-minute play The River That Ran Uphill is an informative piece of theatre about a catastrophic collision between climate and community with important lessons certain to be learned.

‘In Vanuatu, there are many customs, cultural practices, old ways and magic that are still strong today,’ Junior explains. ‘This story that I am telling you, I witnessed with my own eyes.’ As our plucky young protagonist will discover, if we can come together with courage, anything is possible. Even when the natural elements are against us, we can still stay afloat. (Rachel Cronin)

n Adelaide Festival Centre, Festival Drive, 1–4, 6 March, times vary.

PICTURE: EMMA LUKER

PICTURE: THE EVENTS CENTRE

KIDS HIGHLIGHTS

MONSKI MOUSE

The Baby Disco Dance Hall extravaganza provides little ones the chance to bop along to some retro beats and shine a different light on beloved nursery rhymes.

n The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 18 February–19 March.

BUBBLE SHOW

All kinds of bubbles are on show here (shadow, light, smoke and square ones among them) as Dr Bubble and Milkshake return for an adventure which is sure to charm adults and kids alike.

n Gluttony, 18 February–19 March.

AMAZING DRUMMING MONKEYS

The nation’s favourite puppet show is a vibrant mix of top comedy and funky percussion with the Monkeys welcoming a recent addition to the ranks in the shape of Kiiko.

n The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 18 February–19 March.

YOU ARE A DOUGHNUT

From the folk behind The Alphabet Of Awesome Science comes a fast-paced show which explores the ins and outs of the human digestive system. Not as icky as it sounds. OK, it might be, but panic not, it’s aimed at those between 5 and 12.

n Gluttony, 18 February–19 March.

PARTY POOPER

A family circus show in which exceptional skills merge with classic party games: pranks, balloons, tumbling and hula hooping are guaranteed.

n Gluttony, 25 February–19 March.

I HATE CHILDREN CHILDREN’S SHOW

Paul Dabek might seem as though he’s not keen on the wee ones, but it’s all just an act. This is the perfect antidote to those kids shows that parents have most likely fallen asleep through.

n Fool’s Paradise, 18 February–19 March.

HANS AND GRET

A collaboration between Windmill Theatre and Sandpit, this take on the classic fairytale is a look at growing up in a world that veers between suspicion and disgust at the ageing process.

n Queen’s Theatre, 3–12 March.

Full listings details at list.co.uk/adelaide-festival

PICTURE: MATT ROBERTS

PICTURE: WINDMILL THEATRE

PICTURE: ALEXIS LEA DESAULNIERS

PICTURE: REBEKAH RYAN

Full lineup out now!

ADG7 South K orea AILAN SONGS PROJECT Aus ALEXANDER FLOOD Aus ANGEL OLSEN USA ASANTI DANCE

THEATRE Ghana/Aus AURORA Norway AURORA VOCAL ENSEMBLE Aus BAB L’ BLUZ Morocco/France BALAKLAVA BLUES Ukraine/Canada BANDALUZIA Aus BANGARRA DANCE THEATRE Aus BECKAH AMANI Aus BÉLA FLECK & ABIGAIL WASHBURN USA BILLY BRAGG UK BON IVER USA CIMAFUNK Cuba CONSTANTINOPLE Canada

DANIELLE PNG DEM MOB Aus DIDIER KUMALO Aus DIDIER THÉRON COMPANY France DILI ALLSTARS Timor Leste/ Aus FANTASTIC NEGRITO USA FLORENCE + THE MACHINE UK FOCO ALAIRE Mexico GAIA by LUKE JERRAM UK

GALMAE France/South Korea THE GARIFUNA COLLECTIVE Belize GENESIS OWUSU & THE BLACK DOG BAND Aus

GOSTI Aus GRACE CUMMINGS Aus GRATTE CIEL PLACE DES ANGES France GUTS ( DJ ) France/Spain IZY Aus

JAGUAR UK JULIAN BELBACHIR Aus JUSTIN ADAMS & MAURO DURANTE UK/Italy JYOTY UK KEE’AHN Aus

KEFAYA AND ELAHA SOROOR Afghanistan/UK/Italy KOKOROKO UK KRONOS QUARTET USA KU ARTS Aus THE LACHY DOLEY GROUP Aus THE LANGAN BAND Scotland MADELEINE PEYROUX USA MDOU MOCTAR Niger MEUTE Germany

MINDY MENG WANG 王萌 AND TIM SHIEL China/Aus NAKHANE South Africa NIGHTMARES ON WAX ( DJ ) UK

ONDATRÓPICA Colombia PANDIT RONU MAJUMDAR & DR JAYANTHI KUMARESH India THE PROCLAIMERS Scotland

QUINTETO ASTOR PIAZZOLLA Argentina RIA HALL New Zealand RICHARD J FRANKLAND Aus RIPPLE EFFECT BAND

Aus RIZWAN MUAZZAM QAWWALS Pakistan SAMPA THE GREAT Zambia SAN SALVADOR France SISTER NANCY

MEETS LEGAL SHOT Jamaica SMALL ISLAND BIG SONG Taiwan/PNG/Mauritius/Aus+ SONS OF ZÖKU Aus SOUL II SOUL

UK TAIAHA New Zealand/Aus TARABEAT X MZRIZK Lebanon/Aus TARAF DE CALIU Romania TIANA KHASI

Samoa/India/Aus YOUSSOU N’DOUR & LE SUPER ÉTOILE DE DAKAR Senegal YUNGCHEN LHAMO Tibet

10 – 13 March 2023

Botanic Park / Tainmuntilla Adelaide

womadelaide.com.au

KRONOS QUARTET

San Francisco’s beloved string collective have had a revolving line-up since being formed in 1973 (that’s precisely half a century, folks) but they always were and always will be a quartet. If you’re someone who values an act on their list of collaborators, get a load of this selection from down the years: Philip Glass, Astor Piazzolla, The National, Tom Waits, Nelly Furtado, David Bowie, Paul McCartney and Björk. n Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, 11 & 12 March.

NIGHTMARES ON WAX

The one-man DJ/producer machine called Nightmares On Wax has been largely flying solo since forming his own label, Wax On, in 2005. His most recent album, Shout Out! To Freedom, featured guest appearances from the likes of Shabaka Hutchings, Greentea Peng and Haile Supreme. n Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, 12 March.

CAMP COPE

This Melbourne trio have described themselves as ‘power emo’, and they’ve certainly been a force to reckon with since breaking through in 2016 with their eponymous debut album. Their 2022 release, Running With The Hurricane, received praise for showing a more vulnerable side to the band. n Hindley Street Music Hall, 3 March.

MUSIC

MAGIC NUMBERS

The sound of music will be very much alive across Adelaide and its surrounding areas during this festival season. Here, we gather up a bunch of acts at the Fringe, the Festival and WOMADelaide and put them in order of least band members (1) to most (70, kinda)

THE PROCLAIMERS

Twin brothers Charlie and Craig Reid have been making emotive and socially driven records since their emergence in the mid-80s.

‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ has become (maybe to their horror) a karaoke staple while the anthemic ‘Sunshine On Leith’ is a terracing favourite of their fellow Hibs FC fans in Scotland. n Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, 11 March.

PICTURE: NICK MCKK

PICTURE: NACÍON IMAGO

MEUTE

A German techno band of eleven drummers and horn players? Don’t mind if we do. Are they making us rethink the concepts of brass bands or dance music? Well, both as it turns out.

n Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, 11 & 12 March.

THE CHOIR OF MAN

KOKOON

K-pop comes to Adelaide in the shape of Jeon, Lee, Gang, Kim and Tanaka. Emerging in 2018 from a show entitled Comedy Big League, this South Korean/ Japanese boy band comprise chaps who are both musical and funny. Like The Monkees maybe, but different.

n Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, 12 March.

There are plenty of uplifting acts on these pages, but we’re unsure if it gets any more joyful than the guys who comprise The Choir Of Man. With a show set in a pop-up pub, both spirits and glasses will be raised with their singalongs and harmonising, as they dot around the musical canon from Adele to Avicii.

n Gluttony, 17 February–19 March (not 20, 27 February, 6, 14 March).

AURORA VOCAL ENSEMBLE

Not to be confused with Norwegian alt-pop star Aurora (though she is also on the WOMADelaide bill), this is in fact the senior grouping of the Young Adelaide Voices. Expect a compilation of early music and contemporary pop.

n Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, 12 March.

SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR

Hope is something we all need in this modern world, and this most inspirational of gospel choirs uses that term as the umbrella for these shows. Expect songs of freedom and protest as well as pop tunes with a lot of heart.

n Gluttony, 14 & 15, 18 & 19 March.

ADELAIDE CHAMBER SINGERS

While moving through this dramatic cathedral space, these singers will perform works by the likes of Bach, Elgar, Joe Twist and Paul Mealor. Celestial has become a regular and popular late-night concert in such evocative settings.

n St Peter’s Cathedral, 15 March.

ONDATRÓPICA

OK, so there won’t actually be 70 people on stage, but this Colombian supergroup draws from a pool of that very number for their live shows and album work. Their vibe is very much eclecticism, with tunes informed by reggae, punk, electronica, Afrobeat and cumbia, to name just a number of styles.

n Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, 12 March.

ESCOLANIA DE MONTSERRAT

Possibly the oldest act to appear in Adelaide across the coming weeks, the Escolania choir was founded in the 13th century. Among the repertoire for their Australian debut will be Catalan folk arrangements and pieces from the present day.

n Adelaide Town Hall, 3–5 March.

PICTURE: STEFFI RETTINGER

PICTURE: PAMELA BOUTROS

PICTURE: WILL BUCQUOY

Delve into the sonic universe of this issue with our curated Adelaide Summer Festival Guide playlist.

Hear music by featured and mentioned artists including Kronos Quartet, MEUTE, The Proclaimers, BARKAA, David Bowie and many more.

Scan and listen as you read:

playLIST

FRINGE 10X10

Founded by indie film guru Norwood Cheek, the 10x10 challenge pairs ten enterprising filmmakers with the same number of the hottest upcoming bands in Adelaide. Over the course of the Fringe, each team is tasked with producing a music video, culminating in a screening of all ten films with performances by some of the bands. Cheek has been running the event all over the world, having brought it to Adelaide in 2008.

Cheek got his start shooting music videos for bands like Superchunk, Ben Folds Five, She & Him, and AFI. He filmed most of them with a Super 8 camera, using it as a testing ground for different directorial tricks. ‘I think the music-video format is a great way for filmmakers to experiment and test out their skills, and just focus on the visuals since the music is already taken care of.’ For a decade and a half, Cheek ran a film festival in Los Angeles which focused on Super 8 and 16mm while also running workshops in Adelaide which taught filmmakers to ‘shoot to show’.

All of this gave him an understanding of the power of focusing filmmakers, forcing them to make big decisions during the shoot rather than getting bogged down with tweaks in the edit. ‘It is invaluable to learn what can be done in a limited time,’ adds Cheek. The 10x10 challenge is by its nature highly collaborative and the screening/ performance event at the end of this process gives the whole thing a sense of vibrancy that can often be lost when short films are made and sent out into the world.

All of the participants are locals who feed off the lively world of Adelaide’s Fringe. Cheek says that he hopes to bring the event to Europe and beyond: ‘wherever there is a vibrant music scene, that usually means there are filmmakers ready and waiting. I want to put those people together to create something special.’ (Sean Greenhorn)  Festival Plaza/Tarntanya, King William Street, 25 February, 7pm.

THE SPECTACLE OF ADELAIDE FRINGE 2023 AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE — 3 NIGHTS — ALL AGES

FESTIVAL SPINIFEX GUM

Packing powerful political punches through music and song, Spinifex Gum are performing the Adelaide Festival’s free opening concert at Elder Park. Featuring vocals from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls choir Marliya, and music by creative directors Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill, this collaborative project will be fully arranged with the support of Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

The Marliya choir is made up of around 30 girls and young women between the ages of 12 and 20, who will take to the stage to sing a selection of original songs while performing the choreography of Deborah Brown. Grounded in electronic pop music, the Spinifex Gum ensemble sings in a mixture of English and the Aboriginal language of Yindjibarndi to share stories and protest the treatment of Indigenous communities from the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Their latest single, ‘Ganalili’, decries the mining of Pilbara land in the 60s and 70s, and the social fallout it caused afterwards. Disguised in pleasing harmonies and key changes, Spinifex Gum expertly land gut-wrenching lyrics with production that could comfortably sit alongside current chart music. Since the Adelaide Festival’s premiere of Spinifex in 2018, the ensemble have taken Australia by storm. They’ve released two studio albums and one concert recording, Live At Sydney Opera House, while also touring the country with artists and activists including Emma Donovan and Adam Briggs. (Megan Merino) n Elder Park, King William Street, 3 March, 7.30pm.

WOMADELAIDE BECKAH AMANI

Beckah Amani’s debut EP, April, features a one-sided romance, climate change and a Black girl growing up in Australia. Her radiofriendly slow jams, which are influenced by Rihanna, Adele, Ed Sheeran and Nina Simone, won her Emerging Artist in the 2021 Queensland Music Awards and landed her on NME and The Music’s 2023 lists of artists to watch.

‘At the heart of my songwriting is storytelling,’ Amani explains. ‘I write from a vulnerable place and aim to make people feel deeply and reflect. “I Don’t Know Why I Don’t Leave You” was a mix of fiction and real-life heartbreak, inspired by Twilight and The Notebook. A lot of people relate to the fact that even though you know someone can break your heart, you can’t help but find one more reason to stick around when you should let go.’

WOMADelaide audiences will hear Amani’s afro-infused, soulful set performed with a live band, a first for the 23-year-old artist who was born in Tanzania and moved to Australia aged eight. ‘It’s so exciting,’ she says, about performing at her first large music festival. ‘There are too many artists on the WOMADelaide line-up that I hope to catch, but Genesis Owusu, Bon Iver, Florence + The Machine, Sampa The Great, and Aurora are top of my list.’

After performing tracks including ‘Standards’, where her soaring vocals describe feeling shamed at school for her afro hair, or ‘The Hills’ (namechecking London’s O2 Arena where she dreams to sing one day), Amani will tour Australia before working on her next project in London. ‘Since the EP came out, it’s been amazing to see how my music has connected with people all over the world, in places that I wouldn’t have expected. As an artist, I’ve grown a lot and have so much more knowledge and confidence.’ (Claire Sawers) n Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, 11 & 12 March, times tbc.

PICTURE: MARK GAMBINO

17 FEBRUARY –18 MARCH

TECHNOLOGY & STORYTELLING

Join us for Electric Dreams, the annual celebration of the future of storytelling at the Adelaide Fringe, bringing you immersive shows from around the world that harness technology in incredible ways to offer awesome experiences like you have never seen before.

This year is bigger than ever with a lineup of shows that fuse dance, music, poetry, museum collections and artificial intelligence to bring stunning digital worlds into your physical reality. Step into theatre shows with no actors where your best friend is a trusty printer, immerse yourself in a visually spectacular meditation on our relationship with water and return to the skies on our VR swings.

For those who want to dig deeper or take their own creativity to the next level the Electric Dreams Conference offers a chance to hear from and connect with internationally renowned ground breakers, innovators and dreamers who are driving innovation in storytelling.

TORRENT WORK.TXT

17 February–18 March

A stunning new immersive experience from the award winning Megaverse that beams live performers into a spectacular digital world to vividly illustrate the complex and urgent fight to reshape our relationship with water. Combining original poetry, music, dance, live motion capture and huge LED walls to take you on a spellbinding journey into deserts, rivers and oceans.

23 February–18 March

This is a show about work. But the worker isn’t here, so it’s down to you. You’ll clock in at the beginning. You’ll get short breaks at regular intervals. You will be your own boss. You will be free. ‘work.txt’ is a show performed entirely by the audience about the gig economy, financial instability and bulls**t jobs.

TEMPING ELSEWHERE IN INDIA

21–25 February

Renowned Indian DJ’s Murthovic and Thiruda are ready to take you on an immersive Indofuturist trip into that blends art, heritage and science. ‘Elsewhere in India’ remixes traditional Indian folk music, dance, electronic music and digitised artifacts from museum collections in the UK and India to imagine a spectacular and hopeful future.

17 February–18 March

Sarah Jane Tully, a 53-yearold actuary, is taking her first vacation in years, and you’ve been hired to take her place. A strange and comic tale of an employee’s inner life, is performed for an audience of one by a Windows PC, a corporate phone and a laser printer. Pack your lunch and get ready to work.

ANTHROPOCENE IN C MAJOR VR SWINGS: VOLO –DREAMS OF FLIGHT

18–23 February

Anthropocene In C Major is an experience of human impact on earth, felt through a live AV orchestral performance that turns data into sound. After sold-out shows in 2022, Anthropocene In C Major is back bigger for Fringe 2023, a must-see experience.

17–23 February

Designed and produced by Studio Go Go, Volo is a da Vinci-inspired virtual reality swing experience. Wearing a VR headset as they swing, Riders are transported into exhilarating dream experiences, with four iconic flying machines to choose from, each offering a different sensation of flight.

CHECK OUT THE WHOLE PROGRAMME AND BUY TICKETS AT:

CONFERENCE:

20 February

Join internationally renowned ground breakers, innovators and dreamers to investigate the art of immersive storytelling and build a network of creators who are ready to push their practice to the next level. If you’re an artist or technologist, a film-maker or performer, a programmer or curator, Electric Dreams is for you. It’s for people who want to keep on top of the creative and commercial opportunities of emerging technologies. It’s for people who want to shape society, encourage debate and connect with audiences in new ways.

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

Florence Welch is one of the most distinctive and captivating musical artists operating across the globe right now, and prepares here to play live on the back of her band’s 2022 release, Dance Fever

n Botanic Park/ Tainmuntilla, 11 March.

BAARKA

A homecoming gig for Allday also provides a chance for supporting Australian hip-hop artists to show off their wares, including BAARKA whose 2020 debut single has given her a platform to speak out on behalf of First Nations.

n Hindley Street Music Hall, 17 March.

MUSIC HIGHLIGHTS

BON IVER

Indie-folk act Bon Iver have been crafting sonic dreamscapes since 2007 with Grammy-bothering albums, and here offer up a chance to sample the back catalogue that has charmed a generation.

n Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, 10 March.

ANCESTORS ARE CALLING

A new song cycle arrives at the Festival which acts as a response to the belongings of First Nations which are held in museums across the world, asking for the spirits of their past to finally be brought back home.

n UKARIA Cultural Centre, 4 March.

MESSA DA REQUIEM

This opera/dance spectacular brings together Ballett Zurich alongside Adelaide’s Symphony Orchestra and Festival Chorus for a vital (and busy) production of Verdi’s Requiem

n Adelaide Festival Centre, 8–11 March.

SO MUCH MYSELF

Virtuoso pianist Sonya Lifschitz joins forces with composer Robert Davidson to produce a series of musical portraits celebrating female icons from Frida Kahlo to Patti Smith.

n Adelaide Town Hall, 17 March.

NUSH LEWIS

Arriving as part of the Indian Independent Showcase, Lewis released her debut EP in 2015 and has continued to be drawn towards collaborative projects as well as directly supporting music education.

n Various venues, 3–11 March.

PICTURE: AUTUMN DE WILDE

PICTURE: LUKE CURRIE-RICHARDSON

PICTURE: GREGORY BATARDON

produced by mark watson

Produced by MARK WATSON

MARK WATSON

moving out C

reativity always moves in mysterious ways. But rarely have there been stranger circumstances to inspire new ways of thinking than when dancers had to adapt to the restrictions of the pandemic. For an art built on close bodily contact, dependent on the immediacy of live performance, suddenly having to make work online in isolation was a radical disruption. But for

THEATRE & DANCE

It’s common now to see dance pieces entwined with digital technology. But choreographer Lewis Major tells Lucy Ribchester that nothing can beat the pure onstage connection between audiences and bodies

some choreographers, it also led to extraordinary innovations. In the case of South Australian choreographer Lewis Major, restrictions resulted in two new works, both of which will be performed as part of this year’s Adelaide Fringe. The genesis of Unfolding, Major says, began ‘when everyone was getting stir crazy enough to start trying to make art again’. Desperate to get moving and creating, unable to access a theatre space, he teamed up with some of his long-term collaborators and began using technology to make a virtual theatre online.

PICTURE: CHRIS HERZFELD

Dancing around his living room in a motion capture suit, he was able to track his own movements and input them into a video game-style digital space. Major is clear: this wasn’t what he would have wanted to be doing under normal circumstances. ‘I don’t want to sit there rendering data,’ he says. ‘I’m a choreographer. All I wanted to do was be in a room with bodies. But it was a really interesting way of looking at the data inputs, the interaction.’

When things began to open up, Major had the bonus of a new insight into the differences between digital and in-person performance. The ‘unfolding’ that takes place in his show is a transformation from virtual to real. ‘It starts off very technical, very digital. Over 25 minutes it basically draws back to naked bodies onstage with a single theatre light, and that’s the only light in the entire show. It’s about visual overload and the essence of why we go to the theatre. Not to watch computers render, but that drawing back to the essence, which is bodies moving in space together.’

This is Unfolding’s second outing at the Fringe and it’s something of a homecoming for Major, who describes himself as ‘staunchly regional’, following a successful nine-city European tour. Major came to dance late, after growing up on a farm and attending a ‘bush school’. He particularly loves to hear the opinions of audiences from his part of Australia. ‘They do not bullshit you. If the work is bad they’ll tell you straight out.’ He’s adamant he does not ‘want to make dance for my dance friends’ but instead believes all good art crosses boundaries of

class, gender and race: ‘It says to you what you need it to say.’

The other piece Major is presenting, Lien: One-To-One (lien meaning to bind or connect), was similarly driven by the pandemic’s isolation. Having wanted for a while to create a oneon-one piece, Australia’s social distancing rules during lockdown made it a necessity. Lien premieres at Adelaide, but its prototype was performed during the later stages of lockdown, with one performer and one audience member in an otherwise empty auditorium: ‘a very intimate personal experience’, Major says.

The first time the company presented this piece, many audience members were so overwhelmed that they cried. But despite the intense emotional pressure, Major says his performers have cited it as one of the most special moments of their careers. ‘For those ten minutes, you’re carrying around someone else’s hopes and dreams and fears. You’ve really got to take care of it, and that’s quite a lot of responsibility.’

What would he say, then, to any audience member nervous about the intensity of a one-on-one experience? ‘It’s going to be a safe place. There’s nothing bad that can happen. With art being a mirror, you’re going to have to look at yourself a little bit, and that’s a good thing, isn’t it?’

Unfolding, 26 February, 4.30pm, 28 February–4 March, 5.30pm, 5 March, 4.30pm; Lien: One-To-One, 22–25 February, every 15 minutes from 10.30am–4.15pm; both shows at Adelaide College Of The Arts, Light Square.

FRINGE MANSION

Fancy a little horror in your arts? Put aside thoughts of the Insidious or Conjuring movies and steel your nerves for some real demonic spirits featuring in an innovative and original live-theatre piece. Bass Fam Creative’s Mansion is a stage-show which they describe as a ‘gothic fusion of dance, circus and burlesque’, and an exploration of the traditional ‘bad place’ concept which should keep thrill-seeking audiences spider-walking back for more.

The set-up is familiar enough to genre fans. The Walker family (mother Mel plus kids Rachel and Levi) relocate to a new house (the mansion of the title) in Melbourne, only to find that this ancient residence is anything but empty. The house’s contents seem to have sinister designs on the family, and the Walkers will soon have to put aside their own internal squabbles to survive the attentions of some supernatural creatures they’ve disturbed.

Following up on their previous hits (bullfighting-and-boleros show Matador and a Bacchanalian look at the mythology behind zodiac signs in Oracle), Bass Fam Creative have retooled Mansion from a previous venture, an immersive experience in which anxious audiences physically explored the domicile itself. Mansion has now been reworked to function as a highintensity stage show combining various theatrical elements to deeply disturbing effect, debuting at the Fringe’s Gluttony venue for both regular evening and extra-spooky late-night performances ahead of a national tour.

Sure, there’ll be high-end ballet, impressive aerial acts and skeletonbending contortionists but there’s also a nightmarishly dark tone, strobing lights to trick the senses, and a few genuine old-school scares. We’re reassured that it’s the ‘haunting nature of love’ that audiences will take away, but the big question is this: how long can you survive in the haunted mansion itself? (Eddie Harrison)

n Gluttony, Rymill Park/Murlawirrapurka, 17 February–19 March, times vary.

FESTIVAL REVISOR

When Nikolai Gogol wrote his damning reflection on life in Imperial Russia in 1836, he may have harboured a small hope that things would get better. But the political corruption, human greed and petty bureaucracy evident in The Government Inspector are rarely in short supply today, regardless of which country you lay your head in.

Almost two full centuries later, choreographer Crystal Pite and theatre-maker Jonathon Young were acutely aware of this when they created Revisor, their dance-theatre take on Gogol’s play. Pite has been a force to be reckoned with ever since she hung up her pointe shoes in 2000, bidding adieu to William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt to focus full-time on choreography. Since then, the talented Canadian has never knowingly created a boring step, bejewelling the repertoires of Nederlands Dans Theater, Paris Opera Ballet and the Royal Ballet to name but a few.

All the while, her own inter-disciplinary company Kidd Pivot has been producing contemporary dance works that make you sit up and listen: literally in this case. Performed by eight dancers, Revisor is set to words from Gogol’s play, delivered and recorded by Canadian actors. Each twitching shoulder, reaching arm and extended leg ebbs and flows to the sound of their voices, as the tale of local political incompetence unfolds.

Garnering five-star reviews wherever it’s played, this thoughtprovoking, compelling work matches Pite’s characteristically accessible choreography with a subject matter we can all relate to that, sadly, isn’t going away anytime soon. (Kelly Apter)

n Her Majesty’s Theatre, Grote Street, 17 March, 8pm, 18 March, 7pm, 19 March, 2pm.

PICTURE: MICHAEL SLOBODIAN

THEATRE & DANCE

There’s plenty of European theatre imports taking to the stage in Adelaide this year, covering everything from self-harm to totalitarianism, civil rights to sensory deprivation. Mark Fisher takes a closer look at some of the drama highlights heading south

Can you call it a festival without a visit from Ivo van Hove? That’s a moot point, but certainly all eyes will be on the return of the Belgian theatre director to the Adelaide Festival. Like Kings Of War, the Shakespeare mash-up he brought here in 2018, and Roman Tragedies a few years before that, A Little Life is a show that sets its own pace, the four-hour running time feeling as leisurely as the production is mesmerising.

The work of van Hove’s company Toneelgroep Amsterdam, the play is an adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s international bestseller and takes a similarly forensic deep-dive into the lives of a group of middle-class New York men who circulate around the self-destructive figure of Jude St Francis. Neither book nor production is for the faint-hearted.

Played here by Ramsey Nasr, heading an excellent cast, Jude has an appalling history as an abused child and a degraded adult, a trauma that manifests itself in self-harm. Van Hove does not spare us the blood.

For all the grimness, there is something compelling in the fluidity, friendship and everyday business of this show, most recently seen at the 2022 Edinburgh International Festival. Performed on an open-plan domestic interior to the accompaniment of a string quartet, it defies you to look away.

If you think Yanagihara’s novel exists in too hermetic a world, then your antidote is the Belarus Free Theatre. This remarkable company is made up of exiles from the tyrannous regime of President Alexander Lukashenko and its work is charged with the fury of lives unjustly disrupted. Dogs Of Europe is an adaptation of the banned novel by Alhierd Baсharevič and warns of the dangers of turning a blind eye to authoritarian rulers. The current war in Ukraine makes its vision of a Russian super-state seem only more urgent.

Directed by company founders Natalia Kaliada and Nicolai Khalezin, it is not a straightforward polemic, however, but what one critic called ‘a fever-dream of dark, surreal incident and discombobulating, detective-like quest’. It is at turns physical, dreamlike and disturbing.

European theatremakers also get a good showing at the Adelaide Fringe, among them Apphia Campbell with the Nina Simone tribute Black Is The Color Of My Voice. The American writer and performer, now resident in Scotland, not only situates Simone as a civil rights activist in an era of violent racism, but also, in this fictionalised drama, makes Simone’s music her own.

It is one of a healthy crop of post-Edinburgh Fringe productions; others to look out for include the one-woman heartbreak of Eva O’Connor’s Mustard, the spoken-word narratives of Casey Jay Andrews’ A Place That Belongs To Monsters, and the sensory deprivation of four shows under the banner of Darkfield staged in 40ft shipping containers with the lights turned off.

A Little Life, Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Hindmarsh Road, 3–8 March, 7pm; Dogs Of Europe, Adelaide Festival Centre, Festival Drive, 2–6 March, times vary; Black Is The Color Of My Voice, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Grenfell Street, 27 February–5 March, times vary; Mustard, Holden Street Theatres, Holden Street, 14 February–19 March, times vary; A Place That Belongs To Monsters, Courtyard At Treasury 1860, King William Street, 2–12 March, times vary; Darkfield, The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, Rundle Park/Kadlitpina, 17 February–19 March, times vary.

A concert of hope featuring songs from South Africa’s ‘Freedom’ and the US ‘Civil Rights’ movements 14, 15, 18, 19 MARCH

THEATRE & DANCE HIGHLIGHTS

STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE

Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of the good and bad which reside in everyone is brought to the stage with the aid of top-notch acting and modern technology to produce a stirring spectacle.

n Her Majesty’s Theatre, 3–12

TRACKER

Australian Dance Theatre’s new artistic director Daniel Riley brings us a powerful and personal tale of his great-great uncle, a Wiradjuri Elder who served in the New South Wales police force for almost half a century.

n Odeon Theatre, 10–18 March.

PARTY GIRL

Purple Tape Productions gives a platform to Lucy Heffernan as she delivers a solo story about love and faith, and the desire not to be caught in gender-set expectations.

n The Mill, 8–12 March.

BETWIXT

Brisbane’s Pink Matter fuse street dance with spoken word in a celebration of rich and diverse cultural perspectives which follows the paths of five artists.

n Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, 21–25 February.

GREY ROCK

Palestinian playwright and director Amir Nizar Zuabi creates the story of an ordinary man living in a village on the West Bank who has a grand dream and a vivid obsession.

n Adelaide Festival Centre, 9–12 March.

THE GOAT

For Edward Albee’s Tony-winning dark comedy, Claudia Karvan makes a long-awaited return to the stage in this tale of a family ticking along nicely until all hell breaks loose as a secret seeps out.

n Adelaide Festival Centre, 10–25 February.

ALL FIRED UP

What would you say to your 15-year-old self if you had the chance? This unlikely opportunity arises for Tammy whose existential crisis flings her back to the 1980s and a world of leg warmers and Cabbage Patch Dolls.

n The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 17–26 February.

PICTURE: CARLOS CARDONA

PICTURE: JADE ELLIS

PICTURE: DANIEL BOUD

PICTURE: ADT

HOT SHOTS

1 2 3 4

Stellie This South Australian singer-songwriter whose modus operandi is a mix of the heartfelt and hypnotic, joins an exciting bill with LA-based indie/dance outfit MUNA and New Zealand superstar Lorde. Adelaide Oval, 16 March.

Silence! Deliciously ironic title, that, given Les Commandos Percu lay on a blistering explosion of pyrotechnics and percussion, as metal-clad musicians cause a sonic and visual firestorm for five intense hours. Elder Park/Tarntanya, 17–19 February.

Jurrungu Ngan-ga A vital piece from bridge-building dance group Marrugeku which seeks to highlight both the disproportionate number of Indigenous people in Australian custody as well as the treatment of asylum seekers in this country. The title means ‘straight talk’. Adelaide Festival Centre, 10–12 March.

PICTURE: BEN WEINSTEIN

PICTURE: DIANA SNAPE

5 6 7

hot shots

Trash Test Dummies Festival favourites on the children’s entertainment circuit, this garbage-obsessed circus-comedy trio fling themselves towards a slapstick, acrobatic and juggling frenzy when all they want to do is get the bins out. The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, 17 February–19 March.

Electric Dreams These immersive storytellers bring us a number of technology-influenced productions including sound/poetry/dance work Torrent (pictured), and Elsewhere In India, a futurist trip featuring art, music, science and heritage. Various venues and dates.

The Sheep Song Belgian theatre collective FC Bergman deliver a contemporary morality tale about a sheep escaping from its flock to try something daring. This acclaimed work utilises a vibrant blend of visual theatre, puppetry and movement. Adelaide Festival Centre, 16–19 March.

Full listings details at list.co.uk/adelaide-festival

PICTURE: PRUDENCE UPTON

PICTURE: KURT VAN DER ELST

CITY GUIDE

pages, Paul Wood lists all the hot places to do those very things

The City Guide is brought to you by the Adelaide Economic Development Agency

EAT

Golden Boy

308–310 North Terrace, Adelaide golden-boy.com.au

(08) 8227 0799

The food at Golden Boy is so good, they had to spread out into the former Botanic Bar next door and its expansive footpath terrace to accommodate hungry diners who still pack this place out almost every night of the week. They put a contemporary spin on traditional Thai food and do it very, very well. Whether you’re seated in the original contemporary dining room, in a leather-bound booth in the bar next door, or out on the terrace, let Golden Boy serve their shared Tuk Tuk menu. You’ll never leave hungry. There for a special occasion? Ask for their ‘special’ dessert: not only phallic, it’s also quite delicious.

Yiasou George

26 East Terrace, Adelaide yiasougeorge.com

0434 812 023

Located across the road from Gluttony and The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, this Greek restaurant loves to throw a party. Join George and his merrymaking team for signature wood-fired favourites like saganaki drizzled in honey, succulent lamb shoulder served in a pool of its own tasty jus with garlicky yoghurt dressing, or just settle in with cocktails that take influence from Greek mythology. Aphrodite’s gin with Davidson’s plum, fizz and citrus is sure to get you buzzing before you head off to catch a show.

Fino Vino

82 Flinders Street, Adelaide finovino.net.au

(08) 8232 7919

It can take decades for an eatery to become a recognised dining institution, but in the third iteration of the well-loved restaurant brand, Fino Vino has secured that mantle at its city venue in only a few short years. Authenticity is at the centre of everything they do. You’ll feel it in the food and as the dedicated, passionate team deliver dinner to your table. This is a kitchen that takes the word ‘showcase’ very seriously, making everything from carrots to chicken the hero ingredient, with minimal intervention and maximum flavour.

Bar Riot

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

57 Gilbert Street, Adelaide barriot.com.au

(08) 8330 6202

The best way to start a riot is with a Molotov cocktail, and while we don’t condone violence, Bar Riot’s boozy tropical-flavoured Molotov

So we’ve told you about the shows and performers that you simply cannot miss during Adelaide’s festival season, but in between lapping up all that culture, time always needs to be set aside for eating, drinking and shopping. Across the following

dessert will spark your tastebuds after you’ve worked your way through their multi-course Riotous tasting menu. But before the rampaging starts, a snappy crew are on hand to pour carafes of wine straight from the keg or mix you a series of spritzes designed to highlight house wines in fruity cocktail formats. This is one of the newest bars and eateries in town, with an Instagrammable minimalist fitout in hues of pink, offering maximum party vibes.

Garçon Bleu

108 Currie Street, Adelaide garconbleu.com.au

(08) 8432 1999

Located on the ninth floor of the Sofitel hotel, this bougie, unashamedly Parisian-style venue is a cut above your average hotel restaurant. An uberchic interior is surpassed only by the ultimate French à la carte menu. It’s a special place, perfect for pre-show dinner or a late-night degustation. Treat yourself and your date with a seafood symphony for two, or go for an entire kilo of côte de boeuf, served with salad, pomme frites and bearnaise sauce (that’s steak and chips to most of us, also designed to share). Whatever you do, do not leave without trying dessert: all of them.

2KW

2 King William Street, Adelaide 2kwbar.com.au

(08) 8212 5511

Rising from the rooftop of a historic bank building, 2KW is more than just an address. This is the spot to come for some of the best views in Adelaide as you eat or drink your way through an afternoon or into the night. They serve up some of the best cocktails here, too. The kitchen

focuses on a modern Australian menu with local ingredients, and the internal dining space is slightly raised above the outdoor terrace, so you’ll catch a glimpse of the expansive north-western views while you dine, as revellers soak up nightly DJ vibes.

99 Gang Social

99 Hindley Street, Adelaide

99gangsocial.co

Where else can you get Hot Buns or

Winter Noods? The cool kids here promise you both and they never fail to deliver a good time, complete with disco balls, 90s music and nostalgic classics. Yes, the menu might sound like a simple mix of burgers, tacos, fried things and ramen-style noodles, but they take their food seriously, even if they don’t do the same for themselves. Cocktails are the main event on the drinks list, and when the dinner party’s over, head upstairs to sister venue, Thirsty Tiger.

Hey Jupiter Brasserie Française

11 Ebenezer Place, Adelaide heyjupiter.com.au

0416 050 721

You’d be forgiven for forgetting you’re in Adelaide while dining or drinking at this little French bistro, whether you’re perched on Parisianstyle seating out front or tucked into a cozy corner inside. An impossibly compact kitchen dishes out all kinds of delicacies and delights; in true French style, nothing is too fussy but everything is très bon. Brunch is one of the best times to grab a spot on the pavement, order a French breakfast

EAT DRINK

FRINGE REPEAT

Yiasou George

classic like croque monsieur (or madame) and sip on a breakfast martini or two as you people watch.

Soi38

74 Pirie Street, Adelaide soi38.com.au

(08) 8223 5472

There’s Thai food, and then there’s Soi38. This dedicated regionally focused restaurant serves up some of the best Thai food this side of the Indian Ocean. While it might be right in the middle of the CBD, you’ll feel worlds away as you delve into a delicious menu that starts with snacks (chive cakes in sticky soy sauce and torched kingfish florets are particularly good) and then moves into the realms of stir fries, curries and grilled dishes (with options including Panang coconut-braised beef or chicken massaman with potato and spices at the top of this list). Service is spot on and the drinks list is lighter in style, to help tone down some of the heat of these traditional dishes.

ITL Italian Kitchen

Sky City, 125 North Terrace, Adelaide skycityadelaide.com.au/eat-anddrink/itl-italian-kitchen

(08) 7077 3948

A meal at ITL starts 36 hours before you arrive, as the kitchen prepares

the dough for traditional-style pizza, topped fresh as you order and slung into wood-fired ovens that sit at the centre of the terrazzo-floored space. Fresher yet is the pasta, made daily, and while dishes are simple, they’re also delicious. More serious Italianinspired dishes include whipped duck parfait, ox tongue sando or hearty lamb neck braise served with polenta, alongside a drinks list that blends the best of Italia with some locally made Mediterranean varietals.

Carton Deli

62 Pulteney Street, Adelaide cartondeli.com

0424 408 011

Carbs are back. And so too, are some seriously good sandwiches. Carton is just one of a growing number of nofuss eateries opening across Adelaide that have invested their energy into getting one thing right: wrapping the perfect loaf around a carefully selected range of fillings to sate the sandwich connoisseur in us all. Whether you’re the easy-to-please type after a breakfast bocadillo (with jamon, cheese, egg and onion jam) or one that enjoys a little international flair (chicken or mushroom katsu with gochujang sauce, Asian slaw and cheese), you’re sure to find something suitably matched to your morning or afternoon brew.

My Kingdom For A Horse

191 Wright Street, Adelaide mykingdomforahorse.com.au

(08) 8410 7408

What started with a couple’s love of coffee resulted in this café and roastery in the south-west corner of the city. Typically a quieter part of town, this retro-inspired venue is always buzzing, and it’s not just because of the caffeine. A wholesome menu reads like many other brunch spots, but it’s the quality, quantity and freshness of the dishes (plus a locally sourced drinks list) that should get you trotting across town to see what all the fuss is about.

Bandit Pizza And Wine

good cocktails. Whatever your tipple, they only have one aim at Bandit and that’s to have a damn good time.

Lune Bar & Eatery

303 The Parade, Beulah Park barlune.com.au

(08) 8133 5952

Parwana Afghan Kitchen

124b Henley Beach Road, Torrensville

parwana.com.au

(08) 8443 9001

Your adventure starts here. Step into a city within a park, bursting with culture and creativity. Wander through laneways filled with intriguing art and boutique bars, discover award-winning restaurants and world-renowned festivals. Watch a game from Adelaide Oval, one of the most beautiful sporting grounds in the world, or stroll along the city’s cultural boulevard, home to some of the country’s best museums and galleries. The choice is yours. n ExperienceAdelaide.com.au Experience Adelaide is run by the Adelaide Economic Development Agency.

248 Unley Road, Hyde Park banditpizzawine.com

0488 104 772

These bandits are here to make sure the good times roll and, despite the name, they do more than just sling pizzas. Prepared right in front of your very eyes behind the open-countered kitchen, the menu features terrific snacks (Hutton Vale lamb arrosticini or Pacific oysters, for example) and more robust eats from the hearth (SA king prawns in nduja butter). Locally sourced ingredients are showcased on some of the best pizzas in town and if their top-notch wine selection doesn’t suit your party mood, they know their way around some really

It’s all the different elements converging that sets this neighbourhood bar and eatery apart from the rest. A solid wine list carefully curated by dedicated owners is bettered only by a menu of small, medium and larger dishes, each designed to match the wines. The ethos is simple: good food and entertaining staff, with some solid music playlists that switch as effortlessly between genres as you will between drinks. A spot at the bar is best or get your gang seated in the outdoor undercover laneway terrace and settle in, because you might never want to leave.

Firstly, Parwana is all about giving: the family-run establishment will welcome you into their venue as if they’re welcoming you into their home, without a hint of gimmick. Next, Parwana is about generosity, and they apply it liberally to their service and to their food. And lastly, Parwana is about sharing, with delicious dishes that reach back into the culinary depths of this family’s rich Afghan history. They’re made to share familystyle and the menu changes every couple of days, so there’s no doubt you’ll want to come back for more. Just be sure to make a reservation because it turns out that an authentic experience like Parwana is as popular as their signature banjaan borani.

Garçon Bleu

Good Gilbert

DRINK

Proof 9 Anster Street, Adelaide proof-bar.com

Nabbing a downstairs stool at Proof is the best way to enjoy this laneway pocket bar. Here you’ll get to watch industry experts craft some seriously good cocktails, or they’ll pour you a glass of something special. Upstairs gives you a little more elbow room, with cosy booths to accommodate your crew, spilling out onto a roof terrace where you’ll find plenty more space to breathe in the late-night air, while sipping your vino or one of the best martinis in town.

La Buvette

27 Gresham Street, Adelaide

Our own little slice of Paris sits hidden just off Hindley Street. French owners and staff make sure that any night at La Buvette feels special, pouring a natural (but never funky) range of drops from the Motherland, alongside a select list of locals and spirits from across the seas. Enjoy the afternoon sunshine on their expanded terrace out front, or head into the dimly lit bistro and bar for late-night eats and drinks that will have you feeling as French as charcuterie, croissants, chablis and champagne.

Shotgun Willie’s 22 Gilbert Place, Adelaide shotgunwillies.com.au

This honky-tonk hangout has quickly become one of the hottest haunts in town, with a Midwest-loving queue out the door almost every night of the week. Inside, grab a booth to gorge yourself on American bar food classics like sloppy joe burgers or fried chicken with a classic range of sauces. But it’s the drinks, live music and boot-scootin’ playlist of country favourites that’ll have you realising you love country music, roots and blues more than you thought you did.

Memphis Slim’s House Of Blues

Basement, 22 Gilbert Place, Adelaide memphisslims.com.au

Downstairs from Shotgun Willie’s, the vibe here is blues and jazzy roots, with live music served up between slamming shots and cracking cocktails. Themed nights featuring everything from Kickass Cowgirls to Dusty Lee’s Blues Jam keep the crowds on their toes and will have you coming back every night of the week except Monday, because even cowboys need a day of rest.

Mary’s Poppin

5 Synagogue Place, Adelaide maryspoppin.com

There really is something about Mary, and she’s an absolute diva. You’ll feel like one too as you get your nightly dose of drag and then dance the night away at Adelaide’s premier gay club. An official festival venue, hosting some of the best LGBTQIA+ acts, there’s space for everyone on this fabulous stage, so lock the doors, lower the blinds, fire up that smoke machine and put on your heels, because they know exactly what you need.

Cry Baby

11 Solomon Street, Adelaide crybabybar.com.au

You might cry when you see the lineup outside this heaving dive bar, but they’ll quickly turn to tears of joy once inside. Inspired by rock classics with walls plastered in records, posters, memorabilia and neon signs, this is a late-night favourite for dedicated drinkers and partygoers. The best seats are up on the back of the booths wrapped around the venue, or next to the jukebox where you’ll get to control the night’s playlist between resident DJ sets. The floor is reserved for dancing.

My Lover Cindi

223 Flinders Street, Adelaide mylovercindi.net

Down a darkened pathway and through neon-lit doors, this utterly accessible and inclusive space leans queer, but is here for absolutely everyone (you might even find a lover, whatever your persuasion).

Part bar, part club, part performance and exhibition space, My Lover Cindi always ends in one hell of a party, whatever the occasion. It’s also an official Fringe venue, with a lineup of acts as long as the drinks list. Ask nicely and they might even whip you up a late-night toastie, too.

Grace Emily

232 Waymouth Street, Adelaide facebook.com/graceemilyhotel

A no-frills, live music-loving pub that seems to have been around since the dawn of time, as have the cans of spam that fill old bar fridge displays, alongside action figurines and religious deities. But don’t worry: the only food that Grace Emily serves is a regular BBQ sausage sizzle out in the beer garden. On any other night you’ll get tap beer, bottled beer, or, well, beer. But it’s the live gigs that have kept this stalwart going, even after all these years. It’s a platform for local acts, national independent performers, open mic nights and the occasional pub trivia, without a pokie machine in sight.

Roxie’s

188 Grenfell Street, Adelaide roxies.com.au

(08) 7123 6343

It’s been called Little Miss Miami, The Crab Shack, and now, Roxie’s. But whatever the name, this outdoor beer garden venue in the heart of the CBD has always delivered on good vibes and convivial times. In case of rain, there are plenty of undercover spots between the tropical greenery, but a glass (or jug) of something cool

and refreshing, a boozy lunch or snacks served from their outdoor late-night kitchen are best enjoyed while temperatures are high.

The Exeter

246 Rundle Street, Adelaide theexeter.com.au

(08) 8223 2623

If you’ve been to Adelaide, chances are you’ve heard of The Exeter. Yes, it’s a bit grungy, but that’s all part of the appeal of this quintessentially Aussie pub. They promise no bullshit and serve an excellent range of mostly local wines, with a few special imports including the cheapest Krug champagne you’ll find this side of France (served in butcher glasses, of course). Their easy-going pub menu and weekend live music are both reasons to visit, or just pick up a jug of something frothy and perch your mates on one of the iconic outdoor mosaic tables and watch all the Rundle Street action, by day or by night.

Bar Torino

158 Hutt Street, Adelaide bartorino.com.au

(08) 8155 6010

Adjacent to dining stalwart Chianti, and operated by the same family, Bar Torino might come off as a bit of a hole-in-the-wall type of venue from outside, but step through the doors and the knowledgeable, leather apron-clad staff will show you to your table and demonstrate they’re

Cry Baby

serious about tradition and even more so about the art of hospitality. Italy may have their hearts, but the wine list is heavier on locals, with a Mediterranean influence weaved into house cocktails and a series of dishes that gives most Italian eateries around town a run for their money.

Rhino Room

131 Pirie Street, Adelaide rhinoroom.com.au

0419 824 912

This dedicated stand-up comedy and live music venue may have changed locations since establishing itself in Adelaide 25 years ago, but their ethos to provide a platform for emerging artists and their ability to throw a bloody good party remains the same. And while independents and local acts do get most of the airtime, the Rhino Room gets commercial every now and then, with their On Repeat nights celebrating the album releases of everyone from Bad Dreems to Beyoncé. They also support local craft producers behind the bar, alongside an otherwise expected list of drinks.

NOLA

28 Vardon Avenue, Adelaide nolaadelaide.com.au

This bar takes its name and inspiration from the streets of New Orleans. So too does The Big Easy hospitality group, responsible for NOLA and a few other fun-loving venues around town (including a couple of those featured in our Eat list). At NOLA, you can certainly eat: they pump out some tasty

creole and cajun-inspired snacks and dishes including their signature fried chicken, easily some of the best around. But it’s the 200 internationally sourced whiskies, bourbons and ryes, as well as their craft beer selection, that makes this double-level bar tick six nights a week, along with regular live music sets on Friday nights and the occasional weeknight jam.

The Wheatsheaf Hotel

39 George Street, Thebarton wheatsheafhotel.com.au

(08) 8443 4546

The Wheaty is a place where great beer and better bands come together. There are no cans, casks or cocktails here, but they do know more about drinks than most, with an in-house microbrewery that works almost as hard as the bar staff, while whiskies and wines come together in a thoughtful chalkboard list pulled from all corners of the globe. A sprawling pub with vintage furniture and nooks to enjoy your drink (or kick back with a boardgame or shoot a game of pool), this is old-school boozing at its best. Here you’ll also discover some of SA’s freshest talent on the enclosed beer garden stage every weekend.

Good Gilbert

135b Goodwood Road, Goodwood goodgilbert.com

0434 130 081

In two short years, this neighbourhood wine bar has established itself as a must-drink destination. An approachable by-the-glass list gets serious as you read through a robust menu of international drinks, and the food dished up from the new kitchen into an expanded dining space is top notch, too. But it’s the people here that take the feel of this place from good to great. The fun pours out onto the roadside terrace and they’ll welcome you as well as your pooch. Treats for everyone!

Dolly

246 Unley Road, Unley dollyadl.com.au

With a cocktail list like this, how can you say no to Dolly? She’s the latest bar to open in a swathe of Unley Road establishments and you’ll just want to eat her up. Gin and elderflower with chartreuse, apple and lemon combine to create The Parton cocktail, or try Just Do Yuzu, a vodka-based tipple mixed with cherry, anise and a spritzy Japanese yuzu and sake blend. They’re also pouring some exclusive small batch Dolly wines at this cute new spot, with disco beats, tasty treats and humble hospitality; the perfect spot to head after your 9 to 5.

Bar Riot

SHOP

The Retro Room

37 East Terrace, Adelaide @retroroomadelaide

0420 239 158

It’s a challenge to find quality mid-century furniture pieces and, if you’re lucky enough to source something, it’s likely to need repair or refurbishment. But this little gem has done all the hard work for you by searching, fixing or reupholstering items to display in their East Terrace showroom. You can preview their stock on Instagram and the good news is that shopping here won’t break the bank.

The Sugar Man

197 Hutt Street, Adelaide thesugarman.com.au

It’s rare that artisan chocolate makers can claim using seasonal, hyper-local produce in every bar, but The Sugar Man does just that. In summer, you’ll get white chocolate with pavlova (yes, meringue, berries and all) and in winter you can expect pistachio baklava with delicious nuts sourced from the Clare Valley. These treats are displayed under cloches in their chocolate shop gallery which also features chocolate-themed art, some

ASTORETHAT SYMBOLISES DIVERSITY, RESILIENCE& OPPORTUNITY SINCE1923

of it literally dripping from the walls. And no matter the time of year, every Saturday at their Hutt Street store is Pastry Day, where genius concoctions dreamt up by The Sugar Man himself come to life in pastry form. An insider tip is to pre-order pastries online the day before or risk joining a lineup snaking out the store when doors open at 10am: you’ll find it by walking along Hutt Street until you bump into a crowd stuffing their faces with all kinds of marvellous creations.

notyetwelcoming todifference.

Miss Gladys Sym Choon

235a Rundle Street, Adelaide missgladyssymchoon.com.au

(08) 8223 1257

A fashion institution stocking designer threads with flair, this is one of a handful of independent clothing and accessory retailers left in the city, and one where you must go if you want to stand out from the crowd. A few steps across the alleyway behind Miss Gladys you’ll find Mr Choon, the menswear spin-off with an equally cool eye for fashion.

Imprints Booksellers

107 Hindley Street, Adelaide imprints.com.au

(08) 8231 4454

For almost 40 years, this Hindley Street bookstore has stocked hard-tofind publications and mint condition second-hand originals. There’s nothing average about this store or the literary treasures you can discover. If the books don’t keep you coming back, the old-school service, indie book launches and thoughtful staff recommendations will.

Situatedintheheartof SouthAustralia,theMiss GladysSymChoonstore isafashionemporium thatembodiesalegacy thatresonatesamongst manycreatives.

Thefounderherself, GladysSymChoonwas SA'sfirstfemalefigureto incoporateabusiness duringaperiodthatwas

JamFactory

19 Morphett Street, Adelaide jamfactory.com.au

(08) 8410 0727

JamFactory is a place for artists, designers and creators. It’s a workshop dedicated to the practice of craftsmanship and a gallery that displays the creations of its hardworking community and those from further afield. It’s also a glorious retail space, filled with objects you absolutely need. From glassware to homewares, their functional Jam range produces everything from salt shakers to seating, and you can even take a peek into the working glass studio while you browse. There are short courses for those who like to get involved in the action or you can just pick up a perfectly crafted gem to take home. Every piece has a story and you’ll be supporting local artisans.

Central Market

44–60 Gouger Street, Adelaide adelaidecentralmarket.com.au

(08) 8203 7494

Culinary dreams really do come true at this food lovers’ paradise, with over 80 stalls showcasing fresh produce, artisan groceries and great eat-in options in a thriving, undercover foodie haven. Head in on a Friday night for live music featuring local acts or on Saturday to catch market vendors hosting tastings and cooking demonstrations with guest chefs on the Central Market stage, plus activities for kids including face painting to keep them entertained while you shop. For dedicated foodies, there are tours hosted by Food Tours Australia, experts with decades of experience working, living and breathing this Adelaide institution.

Midwest Trader

1 Ebenezer Place, Adelaide midwesttrader.shop

(08) 8223 6606

With vintage and vintage-inspired threads filling the racks of this UScentric rockabilly store, it’s time to release your inner cowgirl or boy, with neckties, hats of every shape

and style, Western shirts, denim and accessories to boot (oh, they have boots, too). Whether you’re into Harley-Davidson or music icons such as Blondie and Sex Pistols, you’ll leave Midwest Trader feeling (and quite probably acting) like a true rock star.

Push Pin Boutique Vintage

8 Compton Street, Adelaide @pushpinboutique 0432 843 301

Push Pin trades in vintage, but it’s a very specific brand of vintage: think old-school glamour, with a splash of boho, some cutie-pie retro frocks and a hint of mod. This isn’t just a bunch of recycled outfits: it’s fashion. Push Pin will dress you from head to toe, and then add a purse and accessories to match. Go on, you know you’re worth it.

Australian Red Cross Shop

284 Rundle Street, Adelaide redcross.org.au

(08) 8311 0534

Charity shops are typically a bit of a hodgepodge of old shirts, distressed shoes and toys that should have perhaps been recycled, not resold. Sure, you might find a shining star among the faded fabrics, but it’s often about luck. Well, not at this one: volunteers carefully select the best from donations and curate racks to make it feel as though you’re shopping in a designer boutique. Everything from clothing (for women and men) to vintage homewares and accessories line the colour-coded walls, without a broken toy in sight.

Streetlight Records

Shop 2, 15 Vaughan Place, Adelaide facebook.com/streetlightadelaide

(08) 8227 0667

Just off Rundle Street is a vinyl lovers’ paradise. With cult classics and shiny new releases, this place has absolutely everything from Bowie to Broadway (don’t worry, their catalogue does actually go all the way from A to Z). They love arthouse films here, too, and books: many, many books. And, they’ve got contacts in the biz, so if there’s anything you’ve been trying to find, they’ll order it in. Streetlight also supply records to vinyl-loving DJ’s who spin every Sunday at 2KW (listed in our Eat section), so slide onto the deck there if you’re in the mood for a rooftop dance-along preview.

Dulcie’s Bus

The Garden Of Unearthly Delights, Rundle Park/Kadlitpina, East Terrace, Adelaide dulciesbus.com

A vintage shop that comes to you?

That’s Dulcie’s Bus. Limited space inside this former public transport-

turned-fashion icon means that Dulcie only stocks the finest vintage garb. Throughout the calendar year, you’ll find her at stops across town and at markets, festivals and other events. But through festival season, there’s only one spot for this little bus and that’s smack-bang in the middle of the Fringe action at The Garden Of Unearthly Delights. This isn’t just another charity store; it’s a holistic attempt to promote sustainable fashion in a fast fashionimpacted world. But there’s still a charity element here too: Dulcie’s supports the Hutt Street Centre and Centacare. Hurry down as you absolutely do not want to miss this bus!

See Someone Studio Shop 6, 89 Goodwood Road, Goodwood seesomeonestudio.com

0422 806 048

There’s a cheeky side to this independent pottery-centric store as they have boobs on pots and vases and mugs. They also have whimsical wildflowers and prints and cards and fashionable accessories. Whether you’re after nature-inspired earrings, candles of every conceivable scent (apple pie or jam donut, anyone?) or that special little pottery gift for someone who likes mushrooms or pumpkins or flowers, you’ll find something unique, quirky and lovingly handmade at See Someone. Oh, and as if all that wasn’t enough, they do ceramic and pottery workshops, too.

Adelaide Farmers’ Market Adelaide Showground, Rose Terrace, Wayville adelaidefarmersmarket.com.au

Just on the edge of town, this is the epitome of farmers’ markets. Start with coffee from one of many vendors and then line up for the sweetest of treats from Jamface. Next, sample all kinds of fromage from Woodside Cheese Wrights before selecting which ones to take home. Then you’ll want flowers and fresh produce for the week, and whatever you do, make sure to catch The Dairyman. From happy cows comes delicious milk and The Dairyman’s Jersey milk butter and cream are award-winning for a reason (he stocks quality meat and poultry, too). Four-legged friends are welcome at the market and they also deserve a little indulgence: Bone Appetit Barkery has them covered, with treats that are healthy (but your pooch doesn’t need to know that). Before you leave, grab a gin from Never Never Distillery or perhaps a carby snack from Barossa Bagels (they really are worth the extra steps).

Australian Red Cross Shop

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image: Tyr Liang

image: South Australian Tourism Commission

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