Presented by Wrongtown Productions for CABfringe
Reviewed Tuesday 13th March 2012
Upon arrival at La Boheme, patrons are issued with a copy of the Wrongtown Times. A quick look before the show gives the audience and idea of what to expect, snippets of real news items from Adelaide and Melbourne, the respective home-towns for the stars of the show, Claire Bowman and Rose Sejean.
Bowman and Sejean, in striking royal blue and red outfits, take the audience on a fantastic ride including news spots, 'infomercials', cooking and music, where the content is all a bit 'wrong'. They draw on well-known news items, such as the draining of the Torrens River, the Snowtown murders, the missing Beaumont Children, Geelong’s football obsession and its bogan culture, along with a good level of smut, bodily functions and bad pop culture.
Accompanied by Gareth Chin, on piano and accordion, Bowman and Sejean deliver some beautiful singing and fun choreography, in contrast to the content of the songs, providing new compositions and rewordings of pop music, musical theatre pieces, and cabaret standards. Sejean’s newsreader voice is a perfect imitation of a TV voice-over in pace and pitch, and Bowman gets to show off her burlesque background with an interesting puppet number.
The duo draws on the audience at a few points in the show, with varying effect, and this had the potential to stall the show when the audience looked like they were going to fail a quiz portion of the show. The transitions between the sketches could be tightened, or covered by music or talking, given that both performers are wearing body microphones.
An enjoyable show for anyone that enjoys good comedy and music, but also has a broad mind.
Reviewed by Jade Kops, special guest Fringe Critic, Glam Adelaide
Adelaide Fringe – Wrongtown: Homicide and Home cooking!
CABfringe – Wrongtown: Homicide and Home cooking!
Venue: La Boheme, 36 Grote St, Adelaide
Season: 6pm, Wed 14 – Fri 16 March, 4:30pm, Sat 17 March 2012
Tickets: Adult $25, Concession $22, Fringe Benefits $20, Group $20
Duration: 60min
Bookings: Fringetix 1300-FRINGE (1300-374643), their outlets, or online
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