Apocalipstick | Polytoxic
Apocalipstick used drag and gender-fuckery to engage the audience through laughter, the absurd, and the excess. There is nothing better to make someone think about serious issues than to make them laugh! Laughter sits with you in a light vein and it makes you come back to the funny sketch again and again looking for one more laugh. Drag invites laughter by highlighting the contradictions of gender through the excess: hoping for a fuck, office tape and markers become the perfect beauty tools for a face-lift and make-up, and thin-glass toxic masculinity is the weapon of the man looking for acceptance in the wolf pack.
The G.O.A.T. Show | Shock Therapy Productions
We sit on fold-out chairs on the front lawn of an abandoned house on Chevron Island. A table piled with iceberg lettuces sits beside a temporary stage. Our hosts, two men in neon coloured suits, are offering pickled onions from the jar, sardines from the can and melons ripped apart with their bare hands. They take it upon themselves to gently whack some audience members with fly swatters, despite the lack of flies. Ah, yes, hospitality.
Fun times for bouncy kids at the Flipside Circus pop-up space!
On the morning I visit, there are a bunch of energetic small bodies bounding over an obstacle course made of foam blocks and gym equipment. The kids shriek with joy as they tackle the course, and their parents laugh delightedly as they help the smallest ones along. The biggest ones go in full tilt! It truly is a unique opportunity to blow off steam and develop great physical skills for the 200+ youngsters that pass through the space every week.
Grand Slam & Seventh Birthday | Ruckus Slam
It was all the best trivia-night vibes, coupled with some kick-ass artists. No poetry clicking here. The poets were judged by audience members selected at random who got to don funny hats. The scoring system was in dinosaur puns. You can’t be simultaneously pretentious and score in dinosaur puns.
yana marumba (Walk Good) | Wynnum Fringe Opening Ceremony
The act of walking as one group evoked a sense of togetherness in a year marked by separation. It was a participatory aspect that many opening ceremonies lack and which made us feel like part of the festival from the very beginning.
Wynnum Fringe. It's a wrap.
The locals packed out the free festivities reaching capacity with a one-in one-out by about 5pm on the Saturday, milling around drinking trendy seltzers and watching the music and circus on the free stages. Many of the ticketed shows sold-out – no doubt in some small part due to the Covid-restrictions, yet I feel confident that tickets would have sold at double the capacity. Tickets were priced to welcome locals and artists and those with depleted 2020 incomes, and the range of shows was nicely balanced between safe choices and delicious wildcards. This was a very quick turnaround for such a fab festival!
yana marumba (Walk Good) | Quandamooka Festival & Wynnum Fringe
There was a moment during the smoking ceremony when I shut my eyes and felt a strong sense of peace. I touched the ground with my hands and gave thanks in my heart to the Quandamooka people for inviting me onto their land and allowing me to stand alongside them. I also thought about the men and women that came before me and the hardships that they had to endure for my freedom, through their work as activists to make sure that First Nations people could have equal opportunity.
Family friendly fun at Wynnum Fringe
What strikes me is how great this spot is for a Festival and the audience diversity completely representative of the Wynnum community. The street is filled with lots of families, young and old, great access provision for the prams and wheelchair users. There is enough shade, an abundance of helpful local-community volunteers who are easily located wearing Wynnum Festival Fringe shirts.
An Afternoon with Colin Peterson | Colin Peterson & Ron Kelly
Peterson’s passion for entertaining a crowd is palpable. He told the story of playing with musicians at the old Cloudland Dance Hall as a child, where he would be hiding in the bass drum only to emerge three hours later to a roaring crowd. “One spotlight, that’s all it took. And we had ‘em,” he recounted with glee.
Committed, Content, Confused | Grace Whitney, Gabriella Boumford, Jahla Black & Thomas Currie
Skilfully accompanied by pianist Thomas Currie, they reached musical near-perfection, with some goosebump-inducing three-part harmonies through a range of original songs and pop covers that really got the dopamine going. Stand outs were their brilliant rendition of I Am Woman, and a few wonderfully soppy love songs sweet enough to melt the iciest of hearts.
An Afternoon with Colin Peterson | Colin Peterson & Ron Kelly
Caught up in the stories of his many brushes with frame, our time with Colin flew by all too quickly. The audience was enraptured throughout, thanks to both Ron’s expert guidance and Colin’s many annecdotes of his life in the spotlight. Despite not knowing much about Colin’s career myself, the combination of guided story-telling and Colin’s honest reflections, with photos and videos from Colin’s career made for an engaging hour on a hot and muggy Sunday afternoon.
Being Male Is | Jaycob Beven-Delaney & Eli Bunyoung
It was clear to me that these two young performers were drawing on emotional truth when performing this story. They were present with each other and they were present with us. Their dialogue was underpinned by dynamic movement pieces that conveyed an emotional intensity beyond words.
Apocalipstick | Polytoxic
Apocalipstick really, truly deserves to be seen. It made me laugh out loud - repeatedly. It’s visceral messages will blow you away. It’s an ultimate feast for the senses. It’s nuanced delivery is nothing short of outstanding. It’s what makes Brisbane even more special.
Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm
Wow wow wow. I feel like my eardrums have just been given a delightful, melodic pounding. Songs My Aunties Taught Me is part opera, part beatboxing, part comedy, and one hundred percent remarkable. This first collaboration between songstress Heru Pinkasova and the beatboxing, drumming Dr Rhythm is a melodious fusion of two very different art forms, which tells the stories of influential women in Heru’s life; both her mother and aunties, and the great women of colour who sang before her.
Circus’cision | Head First Acrobats & Guests
Growing up in rural Australia, the circus is just that: the cliché one that would come to town every now and then. There wasn’t anything particularly bad about those circuses, but they never could grab my attention in the way Circus’cision does. It’s different and brands itself on being a more adult oriented circus cabaret promising delightfully offensive language and the tease of potential nudity.
Dionysus | Tom Oliver Productions
What kind of show has us singing along to a gospel song one moment and gawking at a hyper realistic stiff plastic cock in the next? A fringe-festival renegade cabaret, that’s what!
Songs My Aunties Taught Me | Heru Pinkasova & Dr Rhythm
The interactions between Aunty Heru and Jonny Drama brings out a humorous side to the show and the chemistry between them is endearing as it feels like they have both known each other for a long time and that they have toured lengthy with this show despite it being their first. As talented as Heru is with her voice, Jonny’s beatboxing skills are similarly impressive.
Absolute Objectivity | Backbone
A pop culture fairytale for the internet age, Sampson Smith’s new musical comedy Absolute Objectivity has finally downloaded its way into Backbone Youth Arts. Takes us on a journey to the world elections in the year 2054 where - since the mysterious disappearance of left-wing messiah Turny Banders - the CEO of the world’s largest, and only, corporation ‘Dooglecorp’ has run unopposed as World President for two decades. This journey is filled with rap battles, emotional ballads, sexy times and the most glamorous of costumes.
Absolute Objectivity | Backbone
Backbone was transformed into a glowing corporate dystopia that conjured up visions of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Apple store. The cast of six emerged clad in matching glittery silver suits and launched into it with the aptly titled, punchy ‘Opening Number’. They brought energy, mostly synchronised dancing and set the tone for one and a half hours of playful absurdity and witty banter.
Bearded Bingo | Briefs Factory and Cluster Arts
Hosted by the very glamorous Shivannah, Thom and Captain Kidd, the mid morning was full of chaotic energy as each contestant fought to be the first one to complete their bingo combination. These very sexcellent bingo combinations included the little willy (one top, one middle, one bottom), the full house (everything), the hourglass (three top, two middle, three bottom) and Tasmania (three top, two middle, one bottom).