Presented by Brent Ray Fraser and Adelaide Festival Centre
Reviewed 18th June 2021
Brent Ray Fraser is The Naked Artist. All the way from Canada, Fraser brings his artistic tools to the Adelaide Cabaret Festival for the Australian premiere of this show.
The Naked Artist’s,not to be confused with the Naked Painters (Pricasso) who has also toured Adelaide, show pretty much states what’s in the tin. Fraser is on stage, naked and painting artwork. He paints with his body, manipulating what is naturally available to him in what could be considered a gimmicky manner. However, the structure and well-timed pace to the show, along with Fraser’s charming stage presence, boosts the quality of the overall entertainment.
Over the course of the show Fraser paints three key pieces with black and white paint, including a rather detailed, considering the time and equipment in hand, portrait. It is a full body experience, timed to music, which accentuates moments of humour and were a bit of a personal soundtrack for Fraser’s work. It was fun, quirky comedy in the musical timing and added to the overall movement of the show.
The Naked Artist is very much an adult only show. It’s all on show with full frontal nudity the moment the lights come on. It is also a quick production. The full show is just at 45 minutes, but in that time a complete, entertaining behind the scenes look of an artist is on show, displaying a full range of techniques.
It’s an impressively physical production. Fraser uses his entire body through stretching and flexing to add a remarkable physical theatre aspect to the show. The manner of his movements provides for an inclusive show with all seats able to witness the painting and avoid any blocking.
The intimacy that comes with the Spiegeltent is a great space for this style of performance where the close up style of artistic demonstration can be witnessed from all angles. The lower stage movements were luckily limited due the visibility issues.
Brent Ray Fraser as The Naked Artist is performing in Adelaide over the weekend, with the final show on Sunday. It’s a unique inclusion in the Adelaide Cabaret Festival line up and an enjoyable event for those looking for something out of the box.
Reviewed by Alex Dunkin
Twitter: @AlexDunkin
Venue: The Famous Spiegeltent
Season: 18th – 20th June 2021
Duration: 45 mins
Tickets: $35-$40
Bookings: https://www.adelaidecabaretfestival.com.au/events/brent-ray-fraser-the-naked-artist/
Rating out of 5: 4
More News
