Presented by Circo Aereo
Reviewed 9 March 2020
Premiering on Adelaide’s public holiday Monday, The Artist stars Thom Monckton as the elastic-bodied, eccentric artist in search of inspiration in his paint-splattered studio. Monckton is every bit the goof with his wild hair, quintessential striped tee-shirt and amazingly animated expressions: both children and adults adored him from his opening gag to his final beautiful tableau.
Billed as a ‘kids’ show’, The Artist is really ideal for the youngest of Festival goers (approximately one third of the audience were children on opening night) to the oldest. It was pure fun and talent from the moment Monckton welcomed all into his studio, to the last moments displaying his true artistic talents.
Far from your regular comedic show, Monckton found innumerable ways to make the audience laugh, most notably due to the lack of talking. All comedy and communication was managed through his loose-limbed physicality, skill with facial expressions including a most excellent audience stare-down, and a few noises/gibberish to add atmosphere.
His antics ranged from the silly to the truly ridiculous — exclusive banana disco where other pieces of fruit impersonate bananas to gain entry, anyone? He showed off his awesome moonwalk and worm moves, along with his ability to climb inverted ladders and his particular fondness for staplers. There was audience interaction via a ping pong match, portraiture and general ‘silent dialogue’, as well as some beautiful examples of a ‘living canvass’ (you’ll have to see the show to understand that one, no spoilers here!)
Despite a minor hiccup when a wine bottle broke causing a five minute pause to clean up the glass, the audience was enraptured the whole way. Monckton is such a professional clown/artist that he had everyone in the palm of his hand the entire show, and that’s saying much when it comes to children and live theatre. The AC Arts theatre was also a great venue as the raised seating arrangement provided everyone with an unobstructed view. My seven-year-old date pronounced it ‘amazing and wonderful’ and similar comments from children and grown-ups were clearly heard upon exit. This is the perfect Festival show to introduce your youngsters to the annual event but I’d recommend it for everyone, regardless of whether you take children along or not. A beautiful, highly original and unique work, it was pure joy.
Reviewed by Samantha Bond
Twitter: @SamStaceyBond
Rating out of 5: 5
Venue: AC Arts building, 39 Light Square, Adelaide
Season: 9 – 14 March
Duration: 60 mins
Tickets: $20-49
Bookings: https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/the-artist/
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