Comedy

ANH DO - LIVE
Royalty Theatre, Angas St, until March 15.


Four stars out of five.

Anh Do is funny, but it’s his personality rather than his jokes that wins the audience over.

When Anh smiles, the audience smiles with him. You can’t help it.

He intrigues them and rightly so – there aren’t many Vietnamese funnymen getting around.

He gives the audience something different. The “poor, odd looking former taxi driver” isn’t like most comedians.

He’s not afraid to laugh at his own material and doesn’t spend the entire show prancing around telling everyone “how great it is to be here”.

There were the usual Elizabeth and Salisbury jokes, and the wise cracks about how “Asians all look the same” (not to mention the one about his dad Ju-Do, his brother Tai-Kwon-Do and cousin Weir-Do).

But his yarn about stealing a grocery divider from a supermarket checkout so his wife would stay on her side of the bed was a beauty.

In between gags, Anh revealed his serious side - his family was robbed by pirates while fleeing Vietnam and they eventually sought refuge in Australia.

His journey has been incredible, and it seems he still can’t believe how a kid from Vietnam ended up on Dancing With the Stars.

You can tell he loves this country and his job. And we love him. We can’t help it.

REECE HOMFRAY

TRIPOD
Umbrella Revolution, Garden of Unearthly Delights, until March 16.


Two stars out of five.

WHAT has happened to Australia’s most beloved musical comedy trio?

Whether distracted by the heat or the interfering front-row spectator who set teeth grinding from the second to back rows, Tripod fell far short of its usual, well-deserved hype.

While the act started on a high with a hilarious rendition of "Hot girl in a comic shop”, it soon stumbled into fart jokes and woeful rhymes with “bucket” that failed to raise many laughs.

The encore showed a return to form with a cheeky song proving rock band Queen was only “12.5 per cent gay” but unfortunately, it was too little too late for the boys from Melbourne.

MELANIE REID

AKMAL - LIVE
Arts Theatre, Angas St, Adelaide, until March 16.


Two stars out of five.

PARTWAY through his show on Friday night (March 7) Akmal Saleh admitted he was a lazy comedian.

Unfortunately it shows.

While his unusual voice and friendly demeanour means he will always draw a crowd, you sense that the Nova radio personality just isn't trying hard enough.

He reverted to conversing with the crowd on more than one occasion, mainly because he seemed a little bored with telling the same jokes he has for so many years.

On reflection, his sidekick Joel Osbourne, who opened the show, probably had better material.

JAI BEDNALL

ARJ BARKER
Le Cascadeur/Umbrella Revolution, Garden of Unearthly Delights, until March 15.

Four and a half stars out of five.

AS one of the better known comedians at the Fringe Festival, Arj Barker has a lot to live up to. He doesn't disappoint.

It is obvious the Californian loves his job and talking about his genitalia -or perhaps he likes his job because he can talk about his genitalia. Whatever.

His story about meeting a woman and discovering children's books and toys in the back of her car is brilliantly, hilariously funny.

Barker goes the extra step and really gets into the characters, sometimes so deep that you can't help but wonder if he zones out and forgets he is performing at all.

It seems he'd be just as content doing his show by himself in front of his mirror.

A very enjoyable night.

KASIA OZOG

ADAM VINCENT IN HUMANS ANONYMOUS
Rhino Room, Frome St, until March 15.

Four and a half stars out of five.
 
UNDERNEATH Adam Vincent's everyman charm is a dark, dark soul.

Walking out of the show I felt more convinced than ever that I was going to hell.

The sort of stories that Vincent tells just shouldn't be laughed at - such as how the death of a friend made him happy because he could comfort people with cups of tea.

It's dark and disturbing but so funny that you'll be happy to ignore the wider implications of what Adam is admitting to.

Clocking in at just 45 minutes it's a really tight show - and surely the best 45 minutes you'll spend in a therapy session.

DAN HAMILTON

SHORT ORDER IMPRO
La Boheme, Grote St, Adelaide, until March 13.

Four stars out of five.

 
MELBOURNE'S The Crew is Australia's funniest impro squad and boasts a great rotating cast of comedians.

If you want a real good gut laugh then Short Order Impro is theatresports of the highest standard.

If you've seen impro shows before or watched Whose Line is it Anyway on TV then you know what to expect.

If you're a theatresports virgin you can expect plenty of laughs as the comedians enact ridiculous scenarios based on audience suggestions.

The games come thick and fast and scenes are kept nice a short, packing in a few laughs then moving onto the next subject.

The perfect way to share a beer and belly laugh with friends.

DAN HAMILTON

BILL HICKS: SLIGHT RETURN
SoCo Cargo, Garden of Unearthly Delights, until March 16.

Two and a half stars out of five.

AS the good have the unfortunate habit of doing, US comedian Bill Hicks died in 1994 at the all-too-young age of 32.

But not before cementing his place in history as a modern day messiah who made a name for himself spitting ``big t'' Truths about corporate greed, pop music, smoking, sex, war and politics.

Just imagine if Hicks had cut back on the cigarettes he loved so much and had lived long enough to see George Dubya take control of the free world and to watch the Twin Towers crumble.

Imagine the biting social commentary that would have spilled from Hicks' cynical mind and his inimitable and fearless way of describing this rotten world.

UK comedian/actor Chas Early has done just that, bringing Hicks back from the afterlife for One Last Show in his hour-long tribute Bill Hicks: Slight Return.

In white suit and black shirt, Early bears such an uncanny resemblance to the real Hicks it is hard to believe they weren't separated at birth.

And despite curiously and disappointingly smoking not a single cigarette the entire show, the mannerisms are down pat: Flicking the hair from his sweaty brow Hicks; doubled-over, head-in-his-hands Hicks; two-fisted, head-back, muffled microphone to the mouth Hicks; whiny, ``mmmmm k?'', running to and fro in manic desperation Hicks.

Early is as near an incarnation of the man as a ``little known British actor'' can get.

But Early is not Hicks.

And while the premise of Hicks' return is an interesting one, Early does little to advance the concept besides making his entrance in a pair of white angel wings to the strains of Jimmy Hendrix and treading over some of Hicks' own classic rantings on smoking, boy bands and heaven's house band.

If Early achieves anything besides an eerie imitation, it is to update Hicks' canon with a few smart jokes about modern topics such as Facebook, reality TV, internet porn and James Blunt.

But much of it exploits only the vulgarity of Hicks' style, not the acerbic social commentary he was famous for.

Hicks built the car, Early merely dusts it down and takes it for a drive, for old time's sake.

And this inescapable fact only serves to highlight how deeply Hicks is missed and how, though some may try, there can be no imitations.

GREG BARILA

DANGER - MARK TRENWITH
Electric Light Hotel, until March 15.

Two stars out of five.

MARK Trenwith bursts onto the stage in his usual energetic fashion, but we can barely hear his dramatic opening music.

Surely not a technical fault so early on? In fact, it's an ingenious start to this one-man show which starts strongly but becomes a bit rambling and disjointed.

Mark is a nerdy, likeable anti-hero who tackles phobias, insecurities, ``Clipsal bogans'' and Mr T, but the central theme is his desire to be a stronger man who can protect his girlfriend.

Unfortunately, despite his naturally funny style, he delivers a mediocre monologue backed up with some unremarkable projected images from his laptop.

I saw Trenwith's show last year and it was excellent but, disappointingly, he uses some of the same material again. It's hard to conjure belly-laughs a second time around.

Danger is sprinkled with some funny gags, and Mark has good stage presence, but the show just didn't gel for me.

KYLIE FLEMING

CAL WILSON: LIVELY!
Nova Cinema, Rundle St, Adelaide, until March 15.

Four and a half stars out of five.

AWAY from the shadow of her Nova radio partner Akmal Saleh, Australia's second-favourite contemporary New Zealand comedian behind Alan Brough shone.

This is a great show with something in it for everyone spanning the range of the raunchy through to the intellectually stimulating and everything in between.

Wilson started in a nightgown, saying her support act, cousin Adele the repressed feminist uni student poet, was running late.

Soon Adele (Wilson's alter ego) emerged armed with some revealing poems. Lines such as ``I've discovered my inner animal, it's a tapeworm'', and ``I stride across the sky in sensible shoes'' cement her character.

When the real Cal Wilson returns, the pace picks up. Her machine gun delivery covers a range of subjects including her new husband, travel, sexy accents, Huntsman spiders, Port Pirie, pick-up lines and her two cats.

This is an original show and a good chance to see Cal Wilson away from the small screen. She is a star.

SHAUN HOLLIS

THE BEST OF THE EDINBURGH FEST
The Gov until March 16.

Three and a half stars out of five.

ADELAIDE girls are quick to jump in the sack, Elizabeth residents are tracksuit-wearing health fanatics and Australians whine too much about being in a drought when it's AFRICANS who really know what a drought is -  the four comedians in this show managed to simultaneously offend and praise almost everyone in the space of two hours.

No one in the audience was safe once host Daliso Chaponda took to the stage with his quick banter and ability to belittle audience members with one snappy sentence.

Hailing from Ireland, Maeve Higgins slows things down - her quiet demeanour causing an embarrassing silence across the audience. As she settled in to her routine however, and as audience members realised her on-stage persona was deliberately awkward, the laughs started to roll.

The pace continued to pick up as Englishman Gordon Southern took centre stage, adding a bit of crude humour (well, it is an over 18s gig). There's nothing quite like the imagery created with the line ``banging away like a screen door in Darwin''.

Headline act Canadian Tom Stade takes the stage after interval. Reputedly ``so cool he could be comedy's answer to global warming'', Stade delivered punch line after punch line in a sleazy drawl as he cruised around the stage.

If Southern is crude, Stade takes it to a whole new level, crossing the line of decency with disturbing images of sex during his child's nap time. His routine was polished yet his delivery raw enough to leave audience members feeling that maybe some of it was spontaneous.

Overall an entertaining gig.

EMMA GRAHAM

GOING APE AT THE ZOO
Adelaide Zoo, February 28 to March 2.

Two stars out of five.

ALTHOUGH this show promised a lot, both the comedians and the animals were a bit of a let down. Most of the animals were asleep by the time the gates opened at 7.30pm, while one section of the zoo was sectioned off for a private function. The comedy also fell a little bit short. Host Kent Valentine did his best to warm up the crowd on a cold night but main acts Mickey D and Dave Callan never really got going. It didn't stop some sections of the crowd - who had come prepared with a picnic rug and several bottles of wine - from enjoying themselves, but overall, it was a little disappointing.

JAI BEDNALL

KAREN DUNBAR
The Pod, Garden of Unearthly Delights, until March 15.

Four stars out of five.

BEING a sucker for tacky 70s British pop music, anyone who comes out on stage to the strains of Stephanie de Sykes' only hit Born With A Smile On My Face already has my attention.

Karen Dunbar spent the next 70 minutes covering everything from anchovies to pop singer Anastacia to madeira cake and back to anchovies in a slightly manic manner, while occasionally drawing attention to her flaring nostrils, mad aunties, the dietary habits of the Scots and the dangers of a hippy massage in Byron Bay.

A strange but most enjoyable journey.

ROBERT KELLY

FRANK WOODLEY - POSSESSED
Arts Theatre, Angas St, Adelaide, until March 16.

Two stars out of five.

SINCE his split two years ago with former comedy partner Colin ``Lano'' Lane, Frank Woodley has carved out something of a successful solo career. But Possessed, his second solo show since 2003's The Happy Dickwit, kind of makes you long for his old sparring partner to return.

The premise is interesting: A shy young man, Louie, is possessed one night by the ghost of Phoebe, a shipwreck victim from the 1800s. As the two work together to send her spirit to rest, they fall in love.

As you'd expect, much of the comedy in this one-man show comes from the interaction between the two characters, who inhabit the same body. At least, it should.

Louie (who is basically Woodley's usual vague, knockabout character with a different name) is hilarious, repeatedly falling down stairs and getting smacked in the head with various objects.

Sadly his finely honed slapstick and exceptional comic timing can't make up for the dull character of Phoebe, who isn't very likeable or, more importantly, very funny. Woodley already has a character that audiences respond to and love - himself - so why he's bothering to share the spotlight with a dead Irish woman is anyone's guess.

Christina Smith's intricate set and the soundtrack by ARIA winner Paul Mac make this production look and feel slick, but sadly Possessed falls just short of being truly entertaining.

PETRA STARKE

TOM GLEESON - TOM-A-THON
Nova Cinema One, Rundle St, until March 15.

Three and a half stars out of five.

THE appealing thing about Tom Gleeson is that he's just so ordinary. Sitting through his show is like having one of your more extroverted mates tell a few yarns at a barbecue.

The gangly red head, who makes no secret of the fact he's a science geek at heart, is perfectly at home on stage and makes his audience feel welcome and included with plenty of interaction.

In fact he was so laid back on Wednesday night he held up his hand to the audience just to prove he wasn't shaking at all.

His material basically consists of a series of quirky observations and stories from his own life, with his recent wedding providing a lot of fodder.

It is not exactly side splitting belly laugh stuff, but it's quirky and you certainly find yourself smiling and snickering a lot.

Christians and young Liberals may find some of his material offensive - but you get the impression this wouldn't fuss Tom. He's just being himself, take him or leave him.

ELEANOR MILLER

FAULTY TOWERS - THE DINING EXPERIENCE
Sarah's Café @ Where Inn, Adelaide: March 10-12; Strathmore Hotel, Adelaide: March 6-7,  13-14; Old Adelaide Inn, North Adelaide: March 8-9, March 16.

Four stars out of five.

I ADMIT, I was nervous about seeing this show. Theatre dinners can be so cheesy and tragic, but this was a tremendously funny and enjoyable night of interactive comedy.

Brave audience members are greeted by the legendary British sitcom characters of Basil and Sybil Fawlty and Manuel, and then the fun, abuse and chaos begins.

The Interactive Theatre team has been doing this show for about 11 years and the three actors do such clever impersonations that they seem to be channelling the characters.

Nigel Bell as Basil was utterly brilliant, Alison Pollard-Manseragh was spookily like Sybil and Andy Foreman fabulous as the hapless Manuel. Stuart Gifford's three-course dinner (at Sarah's) was excellent but, for once, the food plays second fiddle to the riotous antics which involve everyone in the restaurant  you can run, but you can't hide!

We had tears of laughter streaming down our cheeks for most of the night.

KYLIE FLEMING

2008 THEATRESPORTS
Excelsior Hall, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 12 Sudholz Place, Adelaide, until April 6.

Two and a half stars out of five.

THIS fast and furious live game show is part Whose Line is it Anyway? and part Thank God You're Here, with a little Monty Python thrown in.

Three teams of local comic actors battle it out on stage, improvising short plays (and even musicals) based on suggestions from the audience.

Don't like it? Don't clap, and register a vote of 0 points for the team. Love it? Clap loud, and give them five points. Of course it could all be overruled by the ominous masked ``hanging judge'', who gets to register the final vote and has a penchant for scoring low (sort of like the Ian ``Dicko'' Dickson of theatresports).

Loads of fun, and kids will love it.

PETRA STARKE

JOSH THOMAS  THE ADVENTURES OF JOSH THOMAS AND THE WORLD'S GREATEST LOVE MACHINE
The Pod, Garden of Unearthly Delights, until March 15.

Four stars out of five.

JOSH Thomas is a willowy 20 year old who looks like he should be playing chess or hopscotch.

Instead the dorky but cute lover of vintage sweaters is on stage doing stand-up, and he's hilariously funny.

He talks about his disastrous sexual mishaps, including his first visit to a strip club, his love of Harry Potter and his attempts to be ``hardcore''.

Thomas is quirky and fun, and you can't help but want to find him a girlfriend.

KASIA OZOG

CORINNE GRANT - OUT OF ORDER
Nova Cinema One, Rundle St, until March 2.

Four stars out of five.

STEPPING out of the shadow of appearances on Rove Live and The Glass House, Corinne Grant shows she's even funnier in real life.

The stand-up comedian has the audience in hysterics right from the word go, describing the time she had to explain what a tram was to a bunch of Canberrans  ``It's what you get when a bus and train have sex.''

Throughout the show she feeds off childhood memories about how she repeated kindergarten, got braces, developed ``f****d up teeth and social retardation'', as well as a love for cows, bogans and rolling down hills.

Despite laughing till it hurts, you almost feel a little sorry for her. Grant is witty, hilarious and not ashamed to sing or dance (quite badly at times) across the stage.

Out of order? Yep, she sure is.

SARAH GARVIS

SOUND AND FURY'S CYRANOSE
The Lounge, Gouger St, until March 16

Three and a half stars out of five.

ALTHOUGH loosely based on the classic story of Cyrano de Bergerac, is less a play and more an improvised comedy mish-mash of one-liners, dirty jokes and song and dance routines.

It's completely silly and deliberately half-arsed - there's no set and the three actors switch between characters with only the most minimal costume changes.

It's kind of like watching a bunch of musicians jamming; you're not really sure who's having the most fun - the performers or the audience.

Not all the jokes hit but the charm of the three actors carries them along as they have such a good time on stage ad-libbing and mocking themselves that it's impossible not to be swept up in the fun.

In short, Cyranose is stupid and silly. Which could be a warning, but in this case it's a recommendation.

DAN HAMILTON

HEATH FRANKLIN'S CHOPPER IN MAKE DEADSHITS HISTORY
Arts Theatre, Angas St, Adelaide, until March 9.

Four stars out of five.

THIS has got to be one of the rudest, most outrageous and funniest shows going around at the moment.

No one is spared as comedian Heath Franklin in character as notorious criminal Mark ``Chopper'' Read launches his attack on everyone and everything from Terri Irwin to September 11 to lizards (they have legs and they're still slower than snakes).

Towards the end of the show Chopper, with the help of three audience members, even performs a self-written play in which he heroically shoots ``Breville Bartos'' in the face.

While not for the faint-hearted, this show is sure to be a favourite with younger audiences. Do yourself a favour: Get a group of mates together and go check out Australia's most popular former inmate.

JAI BEDNALL

JIMEOIN ON ICE
Umbrella Revolution, Garden of Unearthly Delights, until March 9.

Three and a half stars out of five.

IRISH funnyman Jimeoin is back in Adelaide, ready to rock the Fringe as only he knows how

The popular stand-up was in good form at the Garden of Unearthly Delights last Monday (February 25) delighting the crowd with his humourous observations and twisted facial expressions.

After starting the show by borrowing an audience member's camera to take a photograph of the crowd, Jimeoin launched in to a string of classics, including his tried-and-true memory routine.

And just when it seemed the 42-year-old's energy was about to drop he stepped the show up another level with some Spanish dancing and a wonderful impersonation of a washing machine. Well worth a look.

JAI BEDNALL

DANIEL TOWNES: YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH
Rhino Room, Frome St, Adelaide, until March 1.

Three stars out of five.

BEING caught in the wrong place at the wrong time appears to be Daniel Townes' forte. From being cavity searched in the USA to being busted by cops with pot-smoking teenagers in South Africa, Daniel manages to fill a whole hour of stand-up with tales of his own misfortune. Young, fresh and spontaneously funny, Daniel even manages to use the audience as comedic material. Given the extensive use of explicit language, it's probably not a show for the kids.

SARAH GARVIS

FIONA O'LOUGHLIN
Arts Theatre, Angas St, until March 2.

Two and a half stars out of five.

Whether it's a good thing or not, you can sort of always predict what you're going to get from Fiona O'Loughlin in an hour of comedy.

Not necessarily a joke telling woman, O'Loughlin bases the show on anecdotes about all of the wacky and embarrassing experiences of her life while taking the piss out of herself.

In literally the first three minutes she brings you up to speed with her life - she's from a massive Irish catholic family of over 100 relations who have a reunion every two years to dodge the incest bug, she drinks likes a fish and smokes like a train.

Anything from mocking her five kids, losing everything including her cervix, dropping the F word in front of the Queen and talking in an Italian accent to the Pope, O'Loughlin's chain of events is evidence she's had an amusing life. She also delves into her early life as a nurse, admitting she saved more lives once she left the profession.

O'Loughlin won't leave you in stitches but she knows all the right buttons to press to get you laughing.


NATALIE DE NADAI

CHARLIE PICKERING: 13 DUCKS
Bosco Theatre, Garden of Unearthly Delights, until March 2.

Four stars out of five.

With his boy-next-door charm, Pickering is easy to warm to.

He is very lively and funny and works well reacting to spur of the moment incidents such as people turning up to the show late.

He does a brilliant impersonation of American comedian Bernie Mac, and one of BB King (strangely enough, they sound uncannily alike).

And why the 13 ducks? Oddly, Pickering didn't explain the connection.

KASIA OZOG

JUSTIN HAMILTON - THREE COLOURS HAMMO: MOVING
The Garden Shed, Garden of Unearthly Delights, until February 29.

Three and a half stars out of five.

FORMER Adelaide (now Victorian) comedian Justin Hamilton hit the mark on opening night with his tales about love lost and found.

His girl/friend (but not girlfriend, if you get my drift) Calliope was always on hand to help Hammo pick up the pieces from one broken romance after another. Suddenly it dawns on him that she is the love of his life, and has to make a lightning dash to the airport to tell her before she heads overseas.

This is part one of a ``three colours Hammo'' trilogy of Fringe shows (the others are Calliope and The Letter) and Hammo delivers it with style, feeling and believability. The only downside was the irritating and constant banging of god-knows-what from the show next door - always a bit of a problem in some of the Garden's venues.

GORDON ARMSTRONG

JASON CHONG: EMOTICHONG
Electric Light Hotel, Grenfell St, Adelaide, until March 15.

Four stars out of five.

YOU know you're in for a good, fun show when the star of the show declares ``'I'm a little bit g'day and a little bit ah-so.''

Jason Chong, one of the state's best rising stand-up comedians, has no qualms about anyone taking the proverbial mickey out of him - be it about his on again, off again love life or when his girlfriend inquired about his health as he looked ``a little yellow''.

Chong's new material for the Fringe is a beauty - there's a hilarious take off of Transformers and a funny version of song My Favourite Things. A laugh fest.

GORDON ARMSTRONG

CHALKIES
Maxim's Wine Bar, The Parade, Norwood, until March 16.

One star out of five.

You'll find this show listed under the ``comedy'' section of the Fringe guide, presumably because there isn't one for ``tragedy''.

Adelaide actor/playwright/director Matt Byrne's latest effort opens with what feels like an interminable rendition of Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone sung badly to a karaoke backing track, and pretty much goes downhill from there.

The other cast members (Kim Clark, Jessica Lynch and Maggie Moore) try their hardest in the face of Byrne's long winded, dull and nonsensical script about teachers and students battling to save their high school from being absorbed into a ``super school'', but even their enthusiasm can't save this show, which is about as funny as doing your taxes with a head cold while being repeatedly stabbed with a knitting needle.

Byrne seems to rely solely on fart jokes, bad puns and racial stereotypes for his humour (such as Italian student Vinnie Risotto and Russian mail order husband Vladimir Gladimir), which although daggy, might actually work were they not peppered through unusually long and serious monologues about teaching and the future of the public school system.

Byrne clearly has a bee in his bonnet about the state government's super schools plan, which he decries at length in the program notes. Yet it's hard to see how Chalkies supports his opinions when the fictional school in question, Hilltop High, is portrayed as an educational wasteland filled with losers and drop outs. Absorption would seem to be the best thing going for it.

Then there's the tiny and badly arranged performance space, choreography of the kind seen in primary school Christmas plays and a running time of over two and a half hours, not to mention the added joy of watching four grown adults pretending to be teenagers. Is there anything more sad than that? Actually there is - four grown adults pretending to be teenagers rapping to Eminem. And you get to see that too.

This production gets an F, and Matt Byrne several weeks detention.

PETRA STARKE

TITTERS
Distill, Rundle St, until March 15.

Four stars out of five.

I challenge anyone to see Titters and not end up with sore tummy muscles from hard-core laughing.

Former radio host Sheridan Stewart shines as the compere for this strong ensemble of funny women with diverse backgrounds.

The lineup includes ballsy, rock-cabaret performer Geraldine Quinn from Melbourne with her entertaining odes to fetishism and Adam Gilchrist (in different songs, mind you!).

Kate Burr from Port Lincoln is a down-to-earth Aussie chick who’s not sure about bidets and Tracy Crisp, the librarian vegetarian, is brilliant with fantastic lines and deadpan delivery.

The high-energy, ample-bosomed Penny Ashton impresses with her satirical Annie Get Your Gun-style song about married men who cheat while Taswegian Hannah Gadsby’s bone-dry wit and clever, self-deprecating humour was side-splitting stuff.

The night ended with popular Hawaiian-Aussie comedian Kehau Jackson with a humorous look at the lies we all tell.


KYLIE FLEMING

ROSS NOBLE LIVE
Her Majesty's Theatre, Feb 15 to 25.

Three stars out of five.

Only a comedian like Ross Noble could open his show with an impression of musical man boobs and close it with a bit about a jelly nanna and have you nodding your head in understanding and appreciation the whole way.

Noble's act is almost entirely unscripted - he relies instead on audience interaction to lead him along strange and surreal comedy paths, which results in jokes about cats with rocket packs, superheroes with sponge feet, invisible tranquilised monkeys and Delta Goodrem warbling whale song.

Occasionally his tangents venture a little too far into strange territory to keep the jokes afloat, but it's always a fun ride.

PETRA STARKE

Cabaret

MADE IN AUSTRALIA
QA Bar, Wright St, Adelaide, until March 16.

Two stars out of five.

MAYBE the heatwave is making me a bit tetchy but this was a very middle-of -the road performance.

Established singer Catherine Campbell teamed up with accomplished pianist Matthew Carey for what could have a great celebration of Aussie songs but it was mediocre at best. The list wasn’t eclectic, it was just bad, with no clever links or reasons for this collection of songs.

At the beginning Campbell made the comment there was so much brilliant Aussie music that she found it hard limiting herself to 12 songs – but she wasted opportunities by performing two very ordinary songs written by Eddie Perfect and Casey Bennetto.

She seems likeable enough but her patter was weak and needs work. Her constant references to it being “dark out there” in the audience were annoying - it was as if she had never performed on a stage before. Her constant references to the heat and her melting hairspray and make up got very boring after a while and the cabaret-style show didn’t seem the right place for her political sermonising. It wasn’t clever satire but just soap box stuff.

Matt Carey is a terrific pianist – a real pro – and played well as always. The show opened with an uninspiring version of Deborah Conway’s tedious pop hit It’s Only The Beginning before segueing to The Big Banana Song which dragged on.

The audience sang along to Paul Kelly’s From Little Things Big Things Grow before three men were dragged on stage for Beccy Cole’s Men Don’t Dance, which was just embarrassing (although they seemed to have fun). One highlight was a ballad-style performance of the Kylie tune Better The Devil You Know.

KYLIE FLEMING

20 SOMETHING
The Promethean, Grote St, Adelaide, until March 12.

Four stars out of five.

IF you're planning to see this show you may well find yourself battling hordes of university music students for a ticket - such is the performers' campus notoriety.

Monday's 7pm show at the Promethean Theatre on Grote St was sold out and packed to the rafters.

But when former Adelaide University music students Rachel McCall and Tamara Shinners took to the stage it soon became clear what all the fuss was about.

The two sassy blondes sang, bantered and flirted their way through a series of anecdotes on university life, travel and boys - and had the audience eating from the palm of their hands.

Accompanied by slightly weird (although I think it was all an act) pianist Jamie Cock, the girls gave truly professional performances, mixing up quirky original cabaret numbers and ditties with more serious pieces, such as Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell.

They were great comediennes to boot, continually sending themselves, each other and the audience up.

Expect a fair few muso in- jokes: laments that all male music students are gay, and the problems of finding an intelligent percussionist, for example.  But they get a got a great response from Monday's crowd.

All in all, a witty, smooth and funny show - you get the impression these girls will go far.

ELEANOR MILLER

AND I CAN COOK TOO
Colonel Light Hotel, Light Sq, until March 9.

Three stars out of five (plus an extra 1/2 star for myself)


WHAT can one honestly say about a show when the reviewer, moi, becomes a part of the act?

There we were, gathered at the Colonel Light Hotel to take in former Hawaiian chef and actor Kristin Van Bodegraven's light-hearted look at food, money and love, the only three things that matter and the things we seem to screw up, when the big break came.

Trying to tuck into an Octopus leg (I think) for an entrée and minding my own business (sort of) I got the tap on the shoulder to join Kristin on stage while she sang and I was supposed to cook.

After making a hash of the strawberries in chocolate and sticking the asparagus stick where it shouldn't have been I was banished. Luckily for Kristin, who is studying a Masters of Gastronomy at Adelaide Uni, she was able to finish her course with some tasty jazz numbers and a few handy recipes for the audience to digest.

GORDON ARMSTRONG

DO YOU REMEMBER
Queen's Arms Hotel, Wright St, until March 11.

Four and a half stars out of five.

BODY shirts, flares, spandex, afro hair  yep, the memories all came flooding back after watching Jo Casson's fabulous tribute to the disco scene of the 1970s and early '80s. A cast of five plays out the well-trodden path of new love, lost love, regained love and happy-ever-after love to the tunes of big disco songs of the era, proving a non-stop groove-fest both on stage and in the audience. Rose Senesi provides comic relief as the narrator, Alopecia, while Peter Noble and Ria Loof sizzle (hot, hot) as lovers Joe and Tyler. At one point, Tyler goes looking for a male member of the audience to join her on stage. Despite nearly falling over my table to get attention I was overlooked for some other damn oldie. I blamed it on the boogie, though.

GORDON ARMSTRONG.

LA CLIQUE
The Masonic Centre, 254 North Tce, until March 16.

Five stars out of five.

SO OFTEN the words ``burlesque'', ``cabaret'' and ``circus'' are used as euphemisms to describe tiresome shows that are little more than stripteases or out-and-out pornography.

So when something comes along like La Clique, which manages to be all three, as well as provocative, funny and completely, utterly sexy, without ever resorting to cheap tactics, you run, not walk, to buy a ticket.

This raunchy vaudeville troupe has been touring to sell out seasons and standing ovations in Edinburgh, Montreal, New York, Dublin and elsewhere - and it's easy to see why.

Singer Mikelangelo, ``the nightingale of the Adriatic'' (think John Travolta, Dean Martin and Fabio all rolled into one) provides a sexy, sultry opening to the show with Marinade, a song that has little to do with cooking (but quite a lot to do with eating, if you catch my drift).

He's followed by The English Gents, a pinstripe suited acrobatic duo that performs amazing feats of strength and balance; the fishnet-clad Amy G who strums a banjo while dancing on rollerskates; the double-jointed Captain Frodo who can contort himself through two tennis racquets at the same time and the beautiful Russian doll Yulia Pikhtina, who does amazing things with hula hoops.

Mario, ``the queen of the circus'', is a latino Freddie Mercury lookalike who juggles and lip syncs to Queen songs, in between cracking jokes. He clearly loves the crowd - the feeling is mutual.

But jaws really hit the floor when David O'Mer gets on stage. With nothing but a pair of jeans to clothe his perfectly sculpted body, O'Mer springs in and out of a full bathtub on elastic ropes, spinning over the top of the audience with beauty and grace, sprinkling droplets of water over the crowd.

This is, without a doubt, the sexiest, the slickest, the coolest, the most colourful - just THE show of this year's Fringe. Superlatives are not enough - just get a ticket.

PETRA STARKE

Theatre

1984
Urban Myth Theatre of Youth, Holden Street Theatres, until March 8.

One and a half stars out of five.
 
GEORGE Orwell's classic novel is a timeless tale of government oppression, with many of its themes as important now as ever.

Sadly however this is the Reader's Digest version - the original premise severely cut and slashed so it can be told in an hour.

As a result, too much of the crucial story platform hits the cutting floor and if you haven't read 1984 in the past week you'll probably struggle to understand why key events are happening.

The high-school aged cast tries valiantly but too often confuses high volume with high emotion.

The central romantic relationship with the two rebel protagonists is particularly rushed and it's a stretch to believe they could even like each other.

There is so little chemistry between these two characters that as they are being tortured during the play's climax I just couldn't give a damn for either of them.

Re-read the book instead.

DAN HAMILTON

TROUBLE ON PLANET EARTH
Crumpet Theatre, Fringe Factory Theatre (old Balfours Pie Factory), Elizabeth St, Adelaide, until March 16.

Four and a half stars out of five.

 
DON'T be put off by the Fringe guide blurb for this show which describes it as a ``choose your own adventure'' style interactive play. This makes it sound somewhat daggy, when it is, in fact, incredibly cool. Here's why:

- Because the play (written by local lad Finegan Kruckemeyer) has 24 possible endings, more than 60 possible characters (played by just five actors) and a myriad of possible plot twists based on the audience's decisions, you can see it more than once and enjoy it all over again. Really.

- Each audience member gets to control the action with a funky little gadget (developed and made locally) that glows different colours depending what angle you hold it at. The majority vote is tallied via wireless technology, and the actors immediately change the play to suit.

- It's fresh, slick, modern and so sharp it could have your eye out.

- Cameron Goodall is in it.

Plus it's on twice a night most nights until the end of the Fringe, so there's really no excuse for you to miss it.

The Border Project is quickly establishing itself as Adelaide's uber cool company to watch - get on board now and you'll be able to say you "saw it when".

PETRA STARKE

RAINBOW LAND - A PLACE WHERE MUSIC LIVES
Athelstone Community Hall, February 29 to March 1.

Four stars out of five.

GOING by my two-year-old daughter's critique of this production by Marianne Riccio and Deanna Carbone, it was ``good'' and deserving of a ``gold star''.

Based on Riccio's book of the same name, the show aims to teach children about music through song and dance while following the story of the Rainbow Princess (played by Carbone) and the rest of the Royal Rainbow Family.

The princess is a bit stressed getting everything done before the Rainbow Ball but she shines in the end, as do the other singing and dancing characters of Rainbow Land.

The colourful costumes were a highlight of this production, which included a well-placed interval letting the kids stretch their legs and enjoy some snacks.

Hats off to anyone who can keep the undivided attention of a group of kids for almost an hour. Overall, well organised in a cute and intimate setting.

NATALIE ROBERTSON

AMERICAN POODLE
Old Balfours Pie Factory, Elizabeth St, Adelaide, until March 16.

Three and a half stars out of five.

WELSH actor/director Guy Masterson presents an intriguing look at the love/hate relationship between the American and British colonies in their early days.

Masterson skilfully and energetically plays the role of both Briton and American in a two-part show, hardly missing a beat with quotes, dates and the odd bit of humour thrown in.

While this show should appeal to the history buffs and threatreheads there's just one tip for Guy - he'll need a big stock of T-shirts over the next few weeks. By the end of act one the poor bugger was dripping in perspiration from racing around the stage and climbing on and over chairs and a table. But it's a good show, no sweat.

GORDON ARMSTRONG

Music

SONGS OF THE INLAND: WHERE RED EARTH AND BLUE SKY MEET - JEANETTE WORMALD
Church of the Trinity, 318 Goodwood Rd, Clarence Park, Thursday, March 13. Repeat performance on Friday, March 14

Three stars out of five.

THOSE who've seen Jeanette Wormald before know what to expect: wholesome songs, mostly on outback, Mallee and Riverland themes, sung in the folk style with a smattering of Aboriginal words and sentiments.

But while she takes us on this musical journey into inland Australia, Wormald gives us something to look at, too - an animated backdrop of projected images by landscape photographers Andrew Weller and Italo Vardaro. That's a nice touch, but Kathryn Sproul's production design, featuring armchairs and standard lamps behind the proscenium, is rather incongruous.

Wormald's harmonious backing band - musical director Michael Cristiano on guitar, John Murphy on lead guitar, and Ben Fuller on double bass - bring warmth and timbre to the music but, for me, they lack some percussive highlights and the cheerful patter of wire brushes on a drum kit.

As always, Wormald's songs are very nice, but in her earlier material, such as Acres of Blue, Call of the Coorong and country-crossover hit If This Isn't Country, her vocal strength is disappointingly uneven.

She finally hits her stride with two swinging jazz ballads, You Wanted Me and T Bone of Whiskey Swamp, which turn out to be the show’s best songs. If they represent Jeanette's new musical direction, then I'll gladly take a journey with her again.

NICK CARROLL

CHAD ROMERO'S KINKEE REPORT
Caos Cafe, Hindley St, Adelaide, until March 2.

Three and a half stars out of five.

A WARNING: this is probably not the ideal show for a first date or for an evening with your grandmother. It is, however, a great option for a fun and frivilous night out with a bunch of open-minded mates.

The content is lewd, crude and silly, but probably nothing you haven't seen before on Sex and the City.

Chad Romero is a high-camp, singing nerd - kind of a cross between Rick Moranis and the Prodigy's Keith Flint. Along with his slick three-piece band, Cabernet Cabaret, he performs a range of sex-themed songs with gusto, great facials and awkward dance moves.

There's an ode to the dominatrix, a toast to golden showers and a letter from a man to his non-working penis, sung country style. But the smut is interspersed with well-performed mainstream love and sex tunes, rearranged into interesting styles: The Offspring's Pretty Fly for a White Guy is turned into a bossanova number, while AC/DC's Jail Break becomes jazz-blues.

Be prepared for some undergrad-style home-made videos covering such themes as sheep weddings and underwear sniffers. All very silly - but you just can't help but laugh.

ELEANOR MILLER

TOM TOM CLUB
Umbrella Revolution, Garden of Unearthly Delights, until March 6.

Four and a half stars out of five.

SO you think you can dance? And beatbox, beatmix, drum and flip through the air at the same time? The boys of the Tom Tom Club can, and they look good doing it, too.

Drummer extraordinaire Ben Walsh (of Sydney band The Bird) provides the funky rhythms on a host of different kits (including a circular contraption made out of PVC piping that has to be seen to be believed) and DJ Dizz1 brings the hot hip-hop beats while a bunch of fit young lads does eye-popping gymnastic feats.

Add to the mix one of Australia's most talented beatboxers, Tom Thum, a healthy dose of Aussie humour and a touch of larrikinism, and you've got one of the hottest acts at the Fringe.

Funky, sexy, funny and utterly amazing. Don't miss out.

PETRA STARKE

LEO KOTTKE
Norwood Concert Hall, Friday, February 22.

Four stars out of five.

EVEN if Leo Kottke weren't a guitar virtuoso, it would be easy to sit back and listen to his folksy and somewhat twisted stories for an evening.

The fact that the American troubadour is one of the finest fingerpickers on the planet is just a bonus.

Kottke first visited these shores back in the '70s when he was a major label artist, but nothing much has changed since then. He still wanders onto stage carrying six and 12-string guitars, acknowledges the audience with a smirk and a nod, and launches into complex guitar pieces as casually as falling off a log.

He held off on the anecdotes for several instrumentals, but eventually gave in and had a chat, mentioning that sometimes when he starts talking he doesn't know how to stop.

That wasn't a problem tonight, as he reached deep into his extensive repertoire to Ojo, his superior arrangement of Duane Allman's Little Martha, Julie's House (a tune he didn't play for a while because he injured himself doing it), and traditional Corrina Corrina.

His lovely take on Wonderland By Night was accompanied by an amusing story on why the tune meant so much to him, as was early piece Jack Fig.

He sang as well, of course, and nothing much has changed there either, his limited baritone as appealing as his laid-back speaking voice.

Whether explaining the nebulous lyrics to From Pizza Towers to Defeat, dazzling on the fretboard or going off on anecdotal tangents, Kottke's world is a wonderful place to be.

JEFF CRAWFORD

Visual Arts

HOMAGE TO NATURE - PLANET EARTH
The Cedars, Heysen Rd, Hahndorf, daily except Mondays until March 16.

Three stars out of five.

WHAT stands out in this exhibition is the setting: the native garden of The Cedars, once the home of Hans Heysen.

Part of the fun was walking around the property looking for the installations and sculptures by 18 Adelaide and Hills artists, my two-year-old daughter leading the way and proudly pointing out each hidden treasure.

We enjoyed the variety of works from the quirky Free Ranged Battery Hens, made out of old car batteries by Kym Afford to Family Tree by Colin Rogers made out of perspex, wood, metal and found objects.

As beautiful as these works are, tucked between the native ferns, fallen bark and towering eucalyptus trees, they make strong statements about what we are doing to our home  planet Earth.

NATALIE ROBERTSON