Thunder from Down Under: Our Picks from Adelaide Fringe

In case you hadn’t heard, Fest launched in Australia in February of this year. Here’s a roundup of our top reviewed shows at the Adelaide Fringe coming to Edinburgh - it was all about the comedy and cabaret this year

Fringe Wives Club: Glittery Clittery

Assemby Roxy, 1–26 Aug, not 13, 8:50pm

“This show knocks it out of the park. It is a raunchy, sassy, feminist call-to-arms.”

Midnight Marauders

Assembly Checkpoint, various dates between 2-26 Aug, 11:30pm

“Carla Lippis mixes energetic songs—backed by her tight band—with dry humour, and introduces a range of acts to the stage.”

Yummy

Assembly Roxy, 1–26 Aug, not 8, 14, 21 , 9:40pm

“A variety spectacular that questions the gender binary and turns preconceived notions of ‘drag’ on its head.”

Kids

The Bean Counter

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 18–26 Aug, 12:45pm

Josh Glanc: Karma

Karma Karma Karma Chamedian

Comedy Music

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 1–26 Aug, not 13, 5:30pm,

“Absurd, dynamic sketch comedy, furnished with props, costumes and musical cues, and infused with warmth and care.”

The Travelling Sisters: Toupé

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1–27 Aug, not 15 , 6:15pm,

“In each grotesque caricature they perform, they find something vulnerable, resilient or triumphant to share with the audience.”

Demi Lardner: I Love Skeleton

Assembly George Square Studios, 1-26 August, not 13, 8:05pm

“She’s a master of character work, in this show effortlessly switching between human and animal.”

Ukulele Death Squad

Leith Depot, 9pm, 3–12 Aug, not 4, 6, 10, 11

“The sheer talent and vivacious nature of the boys is clearly apparent as they dance, croon and play their way into the audience’s hearts.”

“While the concept is modest, Cooper has the theatrical skills to make it excruciating.”

Focus On: Natalie Palamides

Last year’s Best Newcomer is back with a new show, only this time she’s a man. Paul Fleckney finds a performer still unafraid to break a few eggs

We are quickly learning that Natalie Palamides doesn’t do things by halves. Her debut show last year, Laid, was a wild and messy ride, and involved her secreting a lot of eggs about her person – eggs she would then either fry onstage or raise as a child. When Natalie and I speak about her new show, Nate, she’s at home in Los Angeles creating a painting of a naked woman with a tuna casserole in front of her vulva.

Aside from the obvious issue of what on earth a tuna casserole is (I understand it’s mainly an American thing), this is a good marker for what kind of comedian Palamides is. That is, full-throttle and visual, yet substantial too. In my review of Laid last year, I described her as peddling “carnage with purpose”, and Nate promises to pull off a similar trick.

Whereas Laid was study of femininity, Nate is a study of masculinity, and if it’s about any one thing, it’s about consent. Palamides drags up as Nate for the entirety of the show, much like Zoë Coombs Marr did for her 2016 anti-misogyny tour de force, Trigger Warning. The difference here, though, is that Palamides clearly feels a lot of warmth for her creation.

“Nate’s just a stupid, lovable guy. I love playing him so much, I get to say really stupid stuff. People may think he’s a douchebag at first, but as you get to know him you realise he’s a lovable character. He’s kind of been affected by toxic masculinity and he’s pro-consent – that’s something that comes up again and again. He says, ‘all you gotta do is ask’.

“He does get into a difficult situation, but because he’s so lovable it makes the situation tough for the audience to say what’s right or wrong.” fest-mag.com

The 28-year-old comic and actor was crowned Best Newcomer last year, and returns once again with Phil Burgers as director of her show – that’s Doctor Brown, who won the 2012 Edinburgh Comedy Award for the spellcheck-defying Befrdfgth. Palamides says in jest that she enjoys playing Nate so much that she’s considered staying in character for the whole month. But does she feel different performing as a man? Does it bring any sense of freedom?

“I feel so much freedom playing him! I get to be gross, sexual, I get to be a badass as well. He allows me to enter arenas that I couldn’t normally as myself. Although I’m not sure it’s playing a male that gives me a privilege [so much] as being onstage. When I’m on stage, I can do whatever I want.”

And that’s a privilege Palamides embraces more than most. / Paul Fleckney

VENUE: Pleasance Courtyard

TIME: 6pm – 7pm, 1–26 Aug, not 13

TICKETS: prices vary