This young troupe of puppeteers from the VCA, has brought a mixed bag of experimental puppetry that is intriguing and fresh.

It seems you are served three shows from the repertoire of six, per performance. And each show tries something different. Tonight we saw shadow puppetry, classic hand puppets, and then a fully embodied puppet show in which our actor became stage, actor and puppeteer all in one.

For a glimpse of raw, contemporary puppetry, Six Pack! an interesting programme.

Read more of book tickets through the Fringe Guide

Mark Watson personifies the polite, self-deprecating stand up comic, bumbling through life stumbling from one rich vein of comic material to another.

He is careful to manage our expectations, playing down his comedic skills so as to surprise us time and time again with a sharp observation or barbed put down.

Mark Watson delivers solid stand up comedy and fans of the genre will not be disappointed.

Read more or book tickets with the Fringe Guide

I’m afraid I do not agree with the publicity blurb for this play, which claims it can, “touch our heartstrings without them going out of key.”

For this reviewer, this tribute to Vivaldi had too much Boston Pops sweetness. The acting was over-played and pauses in dialogue were achingly prolonged, as if the players were keeping one eye on the mirror throughout the performance.

My major concern was the cardboard-like characterisations; Vivaldi “plopped” from cue to cue like a big, red-haired Jemima doll from Play School, Sister Zita shuffled around with a limp that any extra from Les Miserables would be proud of, Gastarini Darth Vadered around the stage, while Agata was played as a cutesy, starry-eyed Alice in Wonderland. It was difficult to believe in or engage with these characters.

The disappointing lack of character development and simple blocking mistakes (Vivaldi’s room begins with restricted entrance through an imaginery doorway, but soon actors are able to enter and exit the room through any wall they chose) are compensated for by beautiful music and Johanna Allen’s superb voice. She does live up to her “Angel” status.

I agree with writer/director, Sean Riley, that this story is a “scenario too good to ignore” – Vivaldi, working as a priest in a “musical orphanage for girls” in Venice in the 1700s, on the brink of having his music propel him to the status of court composer. All the elements for great drama and music are here. A little more work on the characters would help integrate the narrative with the musical score. 

Read more or book tickets through the Festival Guide

These two crazy Canadians (self-proclaimed) have delivered much of the promise of the ancient, theatrical art of Commedia Dell’Arte. This style of theatre, most popular in Italy from the 1400s to the 1800s, involves creating scenarios for stock characters to play within. Typically, the story lines are simple and the dialogue loosely composed to allow for and encourage actors to improvise.

In Tombola!, the story centres around a game of Bingo being played by one of the most fundamental Commedia Dell’Arte characters, Pantalone – an old business man of much wealth but little luck. He contrives to marry his daughter off to Capitano, against her will, to no avail.

The actors are versatile, move gracefully and capture their characters with physical aplomb. They are hampered by a scenario too flimsy and disjointed. And, unfortunately, the huge German Club hall dwarfs the action.

I would love to see this show in a much more intimate space where it would be more able to reach its full potential.

Read more or buy tickets with the Fringe Guide

I am a fan of the many works Guy Masterson brings to the Adelaide Fringe but this show disappointed me on a number of counts.

Firstly, unlike other productions where focus is given to the artistic development of a theatrical base from where he launches his political barbs, this show lacks that development. The first act is a recital of history dates delivered at breakneck speed, punctuated with small digressions and caricatures of key historical figures, as we race through the history of Britain discovering, fighting for and losing control of the USA. In the second act, Masterson is the patronising American tourist/visitor, clomping his way around the quaint, historical country. There are many obvious observations and no real killer punches.

Secondly, it was sad to see such rich territory for satire and political savagery pass by without being plundered. Instead of Satire of Mass Destruction, we are treated to a highly-charged Grade Five project with occasional back handers.

For the best of Masterson this Fringe, I recommend Playing Burton and Goreing’s Defence, even Masterson’s reprise of Under Milkwood.

Read more of book tickets with the Fringe Guide

Pluck triumphs on the genteel side of the Fringe with The Titanic Show. This celebration of the musicians on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic distils the Edwardian spirit of the early 1900s and uses this setting of manners and mores as fertile ground for comic exploitation.

We are treated to a repertoire of beautiful period pieces, primarily on violin and cello, with occasional brass interruptions. Needless to say, our musical clowns twist and contort their ways to playing instruments in an array of postions while also deftly delivering slapstick in farsical proportions.

This gifted trio delivers delightful music, spiced with comedy, rather than the other way around. Come in that mindset and you will enjoy another memorable Fringe show by Pluck, as they delivered in 2006 and 2004.

Read more or book tickets with the Fringe Guide

This is a profoundly disturbing and unsettling production showcasing a grotesque view of life in South African townships.

This is not a documentary or opinion piece, there is no sermon in the script, this is instead a story about a serial killer wreaking havoc among people whose lives are already damaged enough.

We are painted a very bleak picture of life in a township in modern day South Africa. Poverty, ignorance, powerlessness, greed, fear, hopelessness and the impotence of public institutions such as law, health and eduction, prepare the canvas for this gruelling work.

There are strikingly Dickensian tones to this show, as we watch the unfortunate members of this abandoned strata of society collide with each other as they struggle to survive and find meaning in their lives.

We also witness graphic violence and sexual violence, without the theatrical nod and wink to the audience we usually receive from a Sweeney Todd or the respectful pause afforded to the passing of lives in a Les Miserables – this is gritty, real, fast, cold, unspectacular violence.

The acting takes a little adjusting to for Anglo-Saxon audiences. It seems, at one moment naive, at next perfectly embodied. Characters are drawn simply, boldly and powerfully, often conjuring an archetypal stature.

This is a difficult production to watch for those of us snugly ensconced in our safe, Western societies, where our fears can be held at bay with money, distractions and the knowledge that our institutions bluff most danger away. The eery part is that this show gives us a glimpse into how human beings can and do act when stripped of social and cultural restraints and expectations. We are looking at our own, carefully obscured underbelly. We also know that many people here in Australia suffer a similarly broken experience of life, in families of cross-generational unemployment and in remote indigenous communities. (If only our leaders like Kevin Foley and Mike Rann who are currently playing silly games hiding from parts of our media, and our editors of those nightly current affair television shows, would see this show, they would understand how fragile our democratic institutions are, and be reminded of the heavy responsibility they bear to keep them safe).

Soundscapes, lighting and set design excel, rounding off this show as an important and salutary “must see” during the Adelaide Festival 2008.

Read more or book tickets through the Festival Guide

This experimental show is worth experiencing, not for the script of the acting, but for the experience.

The intriguing element that provides interest for this show, is the small gadget each audience member is given, enabling them to register votes throughout the evening.

The system is simple. At certain points in the show, the cast asks the audience to decide which path to follow in the story. For example, when our character, suffering amnesia after a car accident on a deserted strip of road in the middle of the night, must decide between hailing down an oncoming car, using a nearby payphone or hiding in the woods with a mysterious suitcase salvaged from the wreck, we must vote.

And so, we choose the plot lines the story will follow, leading to one of 24 different endings.

It is this device that provides us with a poignant reminder of how much we actually control our own lives’ plot lines. Every decision we make means we are foregoing certain opportunities and experiences in deference to others. This also reminds us that we do have potential to make decisions every day. And yet, how often do we make habitual choices while on autopilot? How often have we robbed ourselves of our full potential by defaulting to the path of least resistance?

While this fresh approach to audience interaction is a satisfying device, it does shine alone. Unfortunately, there is no depth to the acting or the script. Our young troupe presents us with a story, in a bare bones fashion similar to the way movies are first devised using storyboards. Lines are repeated, as if their simple recitation is achievement enough. I should add, there is a lot to remember – the cast has learned many more hours worth of script than are actually performed on any given evening.

Although technology trumps art in this production, there is much to be gleaned from the experience. I look forward to future projects where more attention can be paid to the theatrical foundation of the show.

Read more of book tickets through the Fringe Guide

Black light puppetry is always captivating, especially in the hands of Dreampuppets. This show, Dreamer, is part of the Dreamer trilogy in which a childlike, Leuing-style creature experiences bizarre happenings in a bright, colourful dreamscape.

Dreamer encounters strange fish, animated furniture and new abilities to move and interact with the world.

This is imaginatve, entertaining material and a most worthy addition to your Fringe schedule.

Read more of book tickets through the Fringe Guide.

I confess I fall easily for Irish comics. I think it is due to a childhood staple of Dave Allen. However, I am sure I can award four stars with a clean conscience, confident that David has not benefited from my bias.

It’s amazing how one man with a microphone and a tacky little keyboard can win an audience over with a small selection of discordant tunes and a few favourite gripes to share. The secret, I believe, is in how accurately he describes us to ourselves, as he points out how meekly we accept the hype of modern life uncritically. When was the last time you did Laugh Out Loud when you typed LOL into an email, IM or SMS?

As audience members, we certainly did LOL often, although never to the stage of ROTFLMAO (Google it).

Read more or book tickets with the Fringe Guide