Here it is – my first five-star show of Adelaide Fringe 2008. Prepare for a late night and book in for the last remaining shows to catch this Fringe’s big surprise event, ’20 Something’.
Apart from superb voices and steadfast piano, there is magic in the air when this trio performs – Tamara Shinners, Rachel McCall and Jamie Cock (piano).
Standards get a reworking as Shinners and McCall take us through those wonderful years when we are/were 20 something. Siren-like Shinners and soulful McCall banter about uni leading nowhere, making new friends, dealing with Centrelink, finding love and travelling.
It is such a rare thing to find a Fringe cabaret act in which all cast members are equally proficient with the technical AND theatrical demands of a show. This trio certainly is, and they cast their spell within minutes of taking to the stage.
The revamped Promethean is the perfect setting for this show – it is cosy and intimate, with patrons scattered on a variety of seating, dangerously accessible to the performers. This last reference is to the audience participation components of the show. Yours truly was roped in as the guest percussionist to assist the girls with Cher’s classic, ‘Bang Bang, My Baby Shot Me Down’. I played drum, cow bell, pistol and whoopee cushion – don’t ask! Strangely enough, even after deducting half a star for this dip in musicianship, the trio still manages a perfect score because they had over-delivered all night.
I didn’t want them to leave, we didn’t want them to leave – I look forward to enjoying their work again next Fringe, perhaps in the Entertainment Centre?!