‘Some of the most horrifying audience participation I’ve ever seen’: The first Fringe festival reviews are in

5 days ago 5

This year’s Fringe festival has kicked off, with over 500 shows on the schedule. Here, our writers take a closer look.

DANCE
Himherandit Productions | Mass Effect
Meat Market, until October 11

Mass Effect offers the sort of dancing you might see anywhere, but clarified, exalted and enthusiastically worked into a sweat-drenched fantasy of togetherness. Five dancers in sportswear cycle through a series of well-co-ordinated drills. They sprint, feint, bop and hop. They jounce from one leg to the other, hips opening and closing. They beam at the audience. Actually, they flirt like the very mischief. The audience re-beams at the performers because it’s all so attractively cheerful.

Mass Effect is on at Meat Market until October 11.

Hips start to slalom; arms scythe loosely. Everything gets shoutier and sweatier. Shoes disappear, then shirts, then shorts and everything else. Finally, as the music cranks up, half the audience leaps on stage to join the frantic communion.

Isn’t this what we want dance to be? A thing, as the poet says, to clarify the pulse and cloud the mind? Well, whether you believe in that or not – it’s still terrific fun to watch.
★★★★
Reviewed by Andrew Fuhrmann

THEATRE
SUBJECT OBJECT | Instructions
Trades Hall Fringe Hub, until October 12

Instructional theatre uses a different actor each night, with only a set of instructions (revealed to artist and audience in real time) to guide them. The rare experimental form games the presence and immediacy of unrehearsed performance, usually to overcome an absence. In the most famous instance – Nassim Soleimanpour’s White Rabbit Red Rabbit (2010) – the absentee was the playwright himself. He’d been refused permission to leave Iran; the show became a game of art without borders.

Instructions is on at Trades Hall until October 12.

At Instructions, UK company SUBJECT OBJECT plays with the unnerving prospect of actors themselves (and most of their creative process) vanishing into the maw of unregulated AI. On one level, it’s a paranoia-inducing speculative thriller, thoughtfully reworking the gothic doppelganger trope for a wireless and witless age. On another, it’s an act of resistance – a springboard for actors to give a live rebuttal of their own obsolescence.

No one performs twice, so you won’t get to see the improvised comic genius of David Woods. Still, the show’s clever concept and design should reward all but the most robotic execution and, given the subject matter, an all-too-human performance might just be an asset.
★★★★
Reviewed by Cameron Woodhead

THEATRE
Do Theatre | The Ship
Meat Market, until October 4

On a metaphorical ocean liner sailing from China to the Southern Hemisphere, passengers and crew voyage through an intellectual and physical test of resilience in a game of chess, battling real and imaginary foes.

The Ship is on at Meat Market until October 4.

Inspired by Stefan Zweig’s novella The Royal Game, The Ship brings together a cast of five performers playing multiple characters: the ship, its captain and crew, an authoritarian inquisitor, and two chess-playing champions. Set in 1943, the performance blends electrifying theatre with contemporary dance; a haunting effect instilled by a smoke machine, dim lighting, and Chinese folk music.

As our “boarding tickets” are stamped at the door, we’re handed a taro mochi, a welcoming gesture. A dancer recites poetic dialogue as the conscience of the ship, guiding the audiences through the journey they’re about to embark on. As the events unfold in a disconnected sequence, the story evolves into an exploration of migration and imprisonment – of the mind and body. Due to the multilingual nature of the show, translations are cleverly projected onto material that’s hung like sails. Brutal violence is cleverly choreographed to feel its impact without physical contact being made. An intriguing premise with many layers that gradually unravel like a maiden voyage.
★★★★
Reviewed by Vyshnavee Wijekumar

THEATRE
Becki Bouchier | Orgy at the End of the World
Festival Hub: Trades Hall - Quilt Room, until October 5

The world is ending and every manner of calamity is being unleashed on planet earth – cyclones, volcanoes, wildfires, earthquakes, you name it. Consummate people pleaser Trisha (a suitably crazed Sally Brown) has decided it’s the perfect time to host an orgy. Joining her is a laughably small motley crew – workaholic Phil (Simon Tegart), tough-as-nails survivalist Noni (Karla Hillam), and fitspo influencer Gavin (crowd favourite Eddie Tuckerman).

Orgy at the End of the World is on at Trades Hall until October 5.

Try as they might to foster an atmosphere of intimacy, awkwardness prevails. Trisha has prepared a smorgasbord of food no one wants to eat. Phil has strange reactions to a certain food item. Noni has something hidden in her backpack. And Gavin is concealing something. They’re shorthand for particular archetypes, but they’re sharply realised characters. Coupled with Becki Bouchier’s script – peppered with throwaway one-liners, an uproarious acoustic rendition of a popular 2000s song, and contemporary references – they’re exceedingly funny. Small flourishes, like the eggplant and peach emoji bunting hanging aloft the stage, add to the zaniness.

Would you bare yourself (physically, emotionally) if the world was ending? Is accelerated intimacy an antidote to lifelong loneliness? Orgy at the End of the World doesn’t have all the answers, but it’s a charmingly comical snapshot of four strangers’ last night of living.
★★★★
Reviewed by Sonia Nair

COMEDY
Claire Robin | Nun Slut
Trades Hall, until October 5

I’ve never witnessed a performer exchange bodily fluids with an audience before. But this is the Fringe, I suppose. If you’re of any Christian denomination – stay far, far away from Nun Slut. The sisterhood would not approve.

Nun Slut is on at Trades Hall until October 5.

Claire Robin’s godless concoction juxtaposes spirituality and sexuality – leaning heavily into the latter. It’s an uneven, but thoroughly enjoyable experience of clowning, music and some of the most horrifying audience participation I’ve ever seen. Horrifyingly enjoyable if you’re seated in the back row and watching the chaos unfold, it must be said.

While some songs drift and several skits don’t land, others such as the satire of youth group preachers and the sexualisation of communion thoroughly hit the non-theistic bullseye. If you’re up for bare buttocks being slammed into your face, come right in. Robin’s facial expressions throughout are worth the price of admission alone.
★★★
Reviewed by Tyson Wray

EXPERIMENTAL
Matthew Shiel | Hans Zimmer’s Hollywood 1925-2025 – A Centenary Celebration Of Film Music
Brunswick Uniting Church, until October 4

For cinephiles with a sharp ear for film scores, Matthew Shiel’s classical renditions of themes from blockbuster films will keep you guessing. The intimate church setting and candlelit stage build the mood as the audience settles into the pews. Dressed in a kilt, the Edinburgh musician breathes life into iconic songs through a passionate piano performance as clips from silent films Le Voyage dans la Lune, Georges Méliès’ Joan of Arc, Fantasmagorie by Émile Cohl, and Police starring Charlie Chaplin are projected onto a modest screen.

Hans Zimmer’s Hollywood 1925-2025 – A Centenary Celebration Of Film Music is on at Brunswick Uniting Church until October 4.

Between each film, Shiel provides an explanation on the movie choice and accompanying score, which will delight curious film buffs. He explains that he’s transporting you to a time when music was performed live as the film played, capturing audiences with everything from Hans Zimmer’s compositions for Interstellar and Pirates of the Caribbean to John Williams’ scores from the Harry Potter and Star Wars franchises.

The challenge for Shiel is that he’s operating the projector himself as well as needing to walk from the stand where he delivers his explainer to the piano, which impacts the overall flow. Whether intentionally or not, it means that he’s often still playing after the clip ends. The volume on his mic also needed to be increased. Tech and stage assistance could make things smoother, though not always possible with a lean show. These disruptions are minor in what’s a thoroughly enjoyable experience; even Chaplin would mime an applause.
★★★
Reviewed by Vyshnavee Wijekumar

COMEDY
AJ Lamarque | A Beginner’s Guide to Gay Cruising
Grouse, until October 4

A Beginner’s Guide to Gay Cruising is on at Grouse until October 4.

Last year AJ Lamarque went on a nine-day cruise with 5000 other gay men – plus a few bisexuals having an existential crisis. For those unaware, Lamarque is part of the new wave of sass-fuelled camp comedians alongside Andy Balloch and Charlie Lewin coming to usurp the crowns of Joel Creasey and Rhys Nicholson. However, Lamarque is still yet to learn how to properly walk the tightrope between poignancy and filth.

His tales of speaking to older gay men who come on the cruises to escape being the societal minority and feel comfortable in their surroundings, and depictions of classism within his community, are both heartwarming and heartbreaking. However, they’re quickly unstuck by recollections of graphic sexual acts.

Having been fostered through the Melbourne Comedy Festival’s RAW Comedy and Comedy Zone programs, Lamarque has certainly honed his craft and delivery in recent years – he simply needs to pick a lane. It’s hard to take the pathos throughout an entire show seriously when you’re concluding with a lascivious story of the size of a phallus you can accommodate.
★★★
Reviewed by Tyson Wray