This is a cross-posted entry from my substack newsletter Sunday Night In. To have the newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every week, visit the substack page here.
Sunday Night In brings you the news about South Australian books, theatre and stories that the algorithm doesn’t show you. No ads, no clickbait, and it’s free!
Woah! That week was a hot one, eh? My son and I were trying to understand how we spent eight years in the Middle East living in those temperatures for most of the year. We failed to understand it. I’ve spent the week trying to keep some trees alive in the heat and the birds away from the tomatoes. Oh, and preparing for my Adelaide Fringe season.
In this week’s edition of Sunday Night In we’ve got a quick roundup of some non-Fringe and Festival events, then the second installment of our fringe tips.
Let’s get started …
It’s not all Fringe (yet), and here’s a few arts events over the next week or so:
🌺 The Post Office Projects Gallery and Studio has a fantastic exhibition by textile artist Lottie Emma ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Mum Storms.’ She is exploring ‘vulnerability and strength as a mother to a special needs child.’ She’s got some fantastic posts about it on her instagram feed. There’s an especially powerful post about ‘why I no longer focus on whether people like my art,’ and the relationship between her parenting and her art. Hard Recommend.
📚 Friends of the Barr Smith Library have An Evening with Hossein Asgari – he’s got two doctorates! One in plasma physics and the other in creative writing.
🎶 And this looks fun. A casting call by State Opera to join the cast onstage for their production of Flight.
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Adelaide Fringe is Here
And now to things Fringe. Over the next few weeks we’re going to highlight a few shows from the nearly 1,500 shows in the program. I’ll open with a few of the shows I’m getting along to see, and then hand over to some friends who I have invited to give you some more ideas. Our focus remains on local artists, because that’s the remit of this newsletter. But we’ll be getting along to see plenty of visitors too. And as with the rest of the year, we try to bring you the stories the algorithm doesn’t show you.
If you missed last week’s there’s a lovely little list that you can check out here. And now for this week’s:
🎉🎉🎉 Naturally, I’ll begin with a reminder of my own season which includes a choice of all SIX of my previous shows.If you follow that link, you’ll see that at the time of writing three of them say ‘selling fast.’ I would say selling steadily is more accurate of how my ticket sales usually go, but it’s true a few nights have sold out. In order of appearance they are: Tracy Crisp Pearls, Stitches, The Forgettory, An Evening With the Vegetarian Librarian,I Made an AdultandWhere to From Here.
🎤 I’ve seen spoken word poet Tracey O’Callaghan perform twice, and both times it’s been really powerful. She’s got a lot to say and she says it with a lot of energy. Brains, Balls & Banter is her first full-length solo performance, and she’s doing just one night at The Jade.
💃 Michelle Pearson is well known for her Comfort Food Cabaret which is always a popular part of the program, but if you didn’t see her new show, Skinny at the Cabaret Festival, it’s definitely worth getting along in the early days of fringe. It’s a much more personal show than her other work, and there’s a great review in Stage Whispers where you can learn a lot more about this powerful show.
🫖 I linked to the Curiositeas show last week, and there’s another that I’m keen to see which is Tales in a Teacup. Four unique tea blends unlock four different stories. The sessions are all at uber-friendly times, but there’s only three, so I suspect they’ll be booked out soon.
🎨 Mrs Harris’ Shop will have Artists at Workwith ten different artists in the gallery across the fringe. My one and only visual arts show was in this gorgeous gallery last fringe, and it’s just about the most friendly gallery space you’ll ever visit. Based on the idea that people love to watch artists at work, you’re invited to chat with the artists as they create an exhibition before your eyes. It’s free!
✍ Part of Fringe is a showcase of works in progress from regional writers and storytellers from Mount Gambier, Port Lincoln and the Riverland. One performance only.
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And now with some suggestions from comedy and cabaret, my first guest is Louise Duncan, a friend I made back in the days when we were both starting out on stand-up comedy. Louise reads more (and more widely) than almost anyone I know. She goes to a lot of comedy and cabaret not only at fringe but through the year. Here’s her first roundup:
⏳ Fashionably Late isn’t a cult, it’s a movement! Dynamic duo Libby and Matt are bringing Fashionably Late back to Adelaide Fringe for just three nights, so this is one to snap up tickets early for. A bit silly, a bit sweet, and a whole lot of feel good, this show will have you waving your hands in the air and leave you wanting more. A brilliant fusion of comedy, cabaret and music, this one isn’t for the kiddies but a deliciously joyous adult night out.
💃 The Burlesque Hoe Down Something described as ‘the ultimate country-meets-cabaret experience´ was always going to grab the attention of this country tragic! Spice up your Sunday afternoons at the iconic Adelaide venue Nineteen Ten, because who wouldn’t want a little Western twist with their burlesque?
😂 Attitude Consultant – An Unlikely Symphony Rohan Harry is a veteran of the Adelaide comedy scene, and after a lengthy hiatus is serving up his best work yet. A master in mining comedy gold from his darkest experiences, Harry’s signature irreverent humour is not to be missed. Expect a liberal dose of absurdity, and strap in for a show that could go in any direction.
🥪 Vida Slayman in the Nutella Wars Vida Slayman is such a natural talent, that it seems like she arrived on the scene with the kind of stage presence usually crafted over decades. Her previous shows have been Fringe highlights, and I can’t wait to see what Vida has created this year with her raw, vulnerable and unique style. Once again this huge talent is in a criminally tiny venue, so be sure to leap on these tickets and you can say you saw her before she was famous.
🍃 Sapiens, Homo Sapiens I was lucky enough to see a work-in-progress preview of this show a few months back, and even in the development stage, it’s clear Sapiens, Homo Sapiens will be something special. Bill Egan has a truly unique voice in a saturated comedy circuit, and his formidable talent is well and truly on display in this clever, fast paced and utterly hilarious show.
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To give us some ideas for what to see in the music program, I’ve invited my friend Hannah Homburg. A recent graduate from the Elder Conservatorium’s jazz program, she has already produced and sung in several of her own shows, and she knows a lot about the local music scene.
🎶 These are Hannah’s picks, but I’m going to start with her own show, which is top of my list. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant: A Billy Joel Tribute presented by Hannah Homburg and Sammi Timke. A collection of all your favourites, celebrating the musical genius of Billy Joel accompanied by a wonderful band.
🎸🎹 The Garden Sessions is a curated event featuring South Australia’s best First Nations musicians. Held every Saturday afternoon in the Garden of Unearthly Delights throughout the fringe (check the times), the program is suitable for all ages, and free.
🎶 Zooma Zooma is a 60-minute salute to 1950s and 60s Las Vegas. Fronted by Julian Ferraretto and Anthony Leppa. Louis Prima walked so these two Adelaide-based musicians could run right onto the stage with their hilarious takes on your jazz favourites.
🥁🎸🎤 After Hours is playing in the gorgeous Courtyard at Treasury 1860 and is a celebration of the powerhouse female vocalists who were fundamental to shaping jazz and soul in the 20th century.
Thank you for reading!
That’s it for this issue. We’ll be back next week, with a bit more comedy from Louise, a bit more music from Hannah plus theatre and dance from two more of my knowledgable friends with excellent taste. Until then: Read books! See theatre! Listen to music! Be part of a vibrant, thriving culture of arts.
Talk soon
Tracy xx
A disclaimer: I take a lot of care to make sure I’ve got details correct, but I’m often working on my phone or uploading things from word to substack and I spend a lot of time in places with terrible internet connections. So mistakes will happen. Please double check all of the details about events before you head out.
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