A Night In Gluttony

Gluttony brings forward that real quirky, carnival vibe to Adelaide Fringe season each year. Located in Rymill Park just by The Garden, Gluttony’s gypsy-like set-up, fairy-lit surroundings and artsy shows on offer make for the ultimate alternative to any other Fringe pop-up venue.

We spent last Sunday frolicking in amongst the Gluttony festivities, attending a selection of fun shows and spending the time in between soaking up the relaxing atmosphere.

In the central outside area, a mime performed on a small stage in the centre of the open space with red velvet curtains as a backdrop and fun-loving props to play with. He interacted (silently) with guests, played music on a saw, and performed impressive puppetry with a mini singing skeleton puppet.

We also witnessed gorgeous women on tall stilts roaming about the space in vivacious red, glittering costumes and striding with elegance despite the wobbly extensions attached to their feet. Gluttony really was quite the active environment.

We saw a total of three of Gluttony’s entertaining Fringe shows (The Vaude Villainous Mr GorskiMary Weather’s Monsters and Fuego Carnal), each of which were enjoyable in their own manner and set the scene for a gluttonous journey like no other.

The Vaude Villainous Mr Gorski

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Mr Gorski performs at The Speakeasy.

Fun-loving and light-hearted, entertainer Daniel Gorski presents his show ‘The Vaude Villainous Mr Gorski’ at The Speakeasy in Gluttony. Imitating and old-school style of entertainment, Mr Gorski performs a small selection of neat tricks onstage to an intimate audience.

The show itself is definitely more tailored to children’s entertainment than anything else, with lots of fumbling about, tripping over and animated facial expressions along the way. And despite sometimes being a tad predictable, it’s definitely clear that Daniel loves his job. Never once does his character falter!

Expect to see balancing acts, plate spinning, miming and the works, all without the addition of smoke, mirrors or any sort of modern technological skullduggery. It can be exceptionally hard to appreciate this kind of entertainment what with all the tricks and machinery we have today!

However, it’s the small shows like The Vaude Villainous Mr Gorski that give Fringe a real artistic and obscure flair. We think its great to support underground acts like these because they are what makes Fringe truly unique.

We rate: ★★ 2.5/5 stars

Mary Weather’s Monsters

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Actress Rama Nicholas was downright flawless in her one-woman Fringe show ‘Mary Weather’s Monsters’, there is no doubt about it.

Her acting abilities astounded me, as well as her character impersonations. With such ease, Rama transformed into a multitude of different characters including monster-hunter Mary Weather, Mary’s vampire lover Percy Shelley, an arrogant Bram Stoker and so much more. She used body gestures, facial expressions and voices to mimic each character, and rarely (if ever) forgot her lines or stumbled on her words!

What first attracted me to the play was the gothic connotations. Being quite the fan of gothic novels and movies such as Frankenstein, Dracula etc., Rama did not disappoint.

Sound effects and incredible acting fused together to present a hilarous, yet dramatic gothic tale with a happy ending and plenty of ups and downs, accompanied by action sequences and moments of suspense.

For those who tend to get distracted easily, Mary Weather’s Monsters may prove challenging as it was imperative to pay attention to every, single movement and action if you wanted to keep up with the storyline.

Sometimes I found myself zoning out and trying to return my attention back to the performance but struggling seeing as I’d missed out on some of the most important information! The character changes were quite fast-paced so it was easy to become confused and lose track of the plot.

We rate: ★★★ 3.5/5 stars

Fuego Carnal

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Presented by Dream State Circus, ‘Fuego Carnal’ was definitely a highlight of the night, ending our time at Gluttony with a bang. Dream State Circus are a 15 time international award winning circus duo and its not hard to see why.

The duo is comprised of two extremely talented performers and real-life partners, Sophie McGrath and Jacob McGrath, who bring a wealth of skill to Fringe this year with a number of different supporting acts, too.

The two designed and built their Gluttony venue ‘The Empyrean’ themselves, made to support all sorts of weird and wonderful tricks including the use of ropes, whips, fire and knives, equilibrium, juggling, hula hooping and more.

We saw an impressive aerial rope act, a man spinning around in a gigantic, heavy metal hoop, a girl swinging around a rope on fire in the air, another girl spinning 20 or so hoops on her entire body, the McGrath couple performing acrobalance using baffling core body strength, a man spinning fire on multiple sticks, battons, ball and chains and all sorts… the list goes on.

I particularly enjoy the way the show had been put together, seamlessly flowing from one act to another and showcasing some of the best, most dangerously riveting tricks I had seen in a long time. Performers wore funky costumes and each had their own amusing personalities, which really added to the theatrics of the show.

The whole audience got involved, laughing and clapping and generally woo-ing the acts, with the guys next to me exclaiming “What the f***!?” a whole lot. My thoughts were along the same lines, though. Fuego Carnal is 100% a must see.

We rate: ★★★★ 4.5/5 stars

 

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