ROUGE REVIEW: Bringing sassy to the streets of Adelaide

Anyone remember circus and acrobatics favourites, Papillon? Well the directors are back, with something a little steamier this year. The 2018 Adelaide Fringe welcomes Rouge to Gluttony!

The grand opening was a sea of glamorous black and red costumes made up of feathers, sparkles, leather, and sometimes… nothing but a lampshade. Deemed “circus for grown-ups”, this performance had all the fun and cheekiness you need to escape the ruled and regulated real world, which is really what the fringe is all about. The show was a powerful display of strength, skill, and just enough brazenness to keep you uncontrollably giggling. It was almost impossible to sit still in your seat, especially with their incorporation of music which was a combination of burlesque 1950’s inspired Jazz and entrancing cabaret style opera sung by diva Isabel Hertaeg; accompanied by a few snippets of the modern day ‘banger’ of course. The show offered the perfect balance of slow and intense combined with fast-paced, crowd-interactive madness. From this we quickly came to learn that we should only expect the unexpected from this talented crew.

There wasn’t a single moment where the crowd weren’t chuckling, clapping, gasping, or next level foot tapping in an attempt to keep up with the energy given off throughout the show. Despite there only being 6 performers within the group, each individual was multi-skilled and brought their own lively character into each act. The dancing was a personal favourite, boasting more sass and vivacity than the 2015 VMA’s (‘Miley, what’s good?’).

It didn’t appear as though anyone was quite prepared for the diverse range of skills that took over the stage. The classic chair stack act carried on from Papilion gets more extreme every year! And with it came foot juggling, hula-hooping, crazy acrobatics, and smouldering fire. After plenty of suspenseful “nearly” moments, incredible talent and good vibes all round, this one definitely gave me something to talk about.

★★★1/2   3.5/5 stars

Rouge is running every night of The Adelaide Fringe (excluding Mondays) at The Octagon, 8pm. Tickets available online, via the Fringe Box Office, or at the venue. 

 

Image: Supplied

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