Presented by Encore Arts
Reviewed Saturday 10th March 2012
In black tulle petticoat, tailcoat, red shoes and mini top hat, Jennifer DeGrassi weaves her way through the audience to deliver her first song, Leonard Cohen’s Everybody Knows, backed by the Lyndon Gray Trio.
Other numbers include songs by Kirsty Maccoll, Tom Waits, Jacques Brel and Nina Simone, and DeGrassi delivers them with a lovely voice. The band get some nice jazz solos in as well.
This show is listed as a cabaret, but it is more of a late night music gig. The connection between the songs is tenuous at best, starting out being a story about a friend and their “lust for love” and destruction, but the links are quickly lost as one song follows on from the other with no connection to set up the premise of the music, nor is there any connection between the singer and the audience, save from walking into the audience or pointing to them. The song selection also causes a drop in energy in the middle of the show which is never fully recovered.
The show also features belly dancer Lilly Sim, who is lovely and graceful, but her inclusion in the piece, if it is meant to be a cabaret, is not clear, as she features in a musical interlude to a piece, then later on as the musicians leave the stage, and there is a dancing solo.
At an actual run time of 45 minutes, this show is suitable if you are just wanting to sit back and listen to some music to finish your night out.
Reviewed by Jade Kops, special guest Fringe Critic, Glam Adelaide
Adelaide Fringe – States of Desire
Venue: Queens Theatre 2, Cnr Gillies Arcade & Playhouse Lane, Adelaide
Season: 10:30pm Sat 25 Feb, 9pm Sun 4 Mar, 10:30pm Sat 10 Mar, 7:30pm Wed 14 Mar 2012
Tickets: Adult $25, Concession $22, Group $22
Duration: 60min
Bookings: Fringetix 1300-FRINGE (1300-374643), their outlets, or online
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