By Simone Mundy
Okay, time to give our overseas Adelaide Fringe acts some love. I couldn’t think of anyone better to help with this list than comedy genius Boo Dwyer.
Boo is an Adelaide girl; don’t let that English Midlands accent fool you. She’s been coming to Adelaide since 2009 when she fell in love with me, and has been splitting her time between the UK and Adelaide ever since. She may have also met some bloke (comedian Mickey D), got married and had a baby, yadda yadda yadda. I’m the reason she wants Adelaide to be her home forever – not the vast improvement in weather, food and the fact Adelaide is a great place to raise a family with that bloke, but me.
Boo has been travelling the Fringe Circuit for nearly a decade – Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, New Zealand International Comedy Festival, Edinburgh and London as one half of the musical comedy duo, Titty Bar Ha Ha. She’s a busy woman, besides performing in her own show, she produces too. At this year’s Adelaide Fringe, she’ll be behind the scenes of ‘Titty Bar Ha Ha’, ‘Phatcave’, Georgie Carroll’s ‘Gauze and Affect’ and the ‘All Star Fun Bag’ – a pay-what-you-like fundraiser for Breast Cancer, a cause close to my heart.
Apart from being a seasoned professional at packing, she also gets to lay eyes on the best acts from around the world before we do. I’m all over the home-grown Fringe acts of 2016 so I asked Boo to give me the heads up on which Fringe shows from the international circuit we Adeladies should see.
Boo’s ‘Boo-tique List’ of overseas acts you don’t want to miss this Fringe:
First of all – Hi (fellow) Adelaidies!
Secondly, I’d just like to clear up that Simone has been playing the long game for me to move back to Adelaide for about 5 years now, and this year she’s won. I’m officially emigrating and couldn’t be more delighted. To be fair the sunshine, beaches, great wine and Farmers Union Iced coffee, and the awesome arts scene were pretty big draw cards!
As Simone mentioned, my little family and I spend a great deal of time every year travelling to different festivals and the acts in my list I would go see again and again.
1: MISS BEHAVE’S GAMESHOW
I’ll start off by saying JUST GO! It’s a cocktail of a game show with a beautiful citrus twist. You’ll be standing on your chair, shouting and having the best chaotic fun of your life in a matter of 10 minutes – I promise. It’s already run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, New Zealand, London’s Southbank and is soon off to perform a string of dates in San Francisco.
Miss Behave has been on the circuit for years as part of La Soiree, La Clique and many other wonderful shows. She’s an incredible performer and is accompanied by the Sia dancing, Beyoncé booty shaking stylings of Harry. I won’t describe the show in detail asides to say again – JUST GO! Take a group of friends for a great night out!
2: COLIN CLOUD – KILLS
‘Titty Bar Ha Ha’ had the pleasure of being on the same bill as this man in Edinburgh last year and he was simply INCREDIBLE. He’s the performer who all the other performers want to watch. In this incredible show Cloud will deduce everything about you and explain how he did it, accurately predict your behavior, turn someone into an actual genius and, quite literally, get away with murder right before your very eyes.
3: MARY TOBIN presents THE BEST OF THE EDINBURGH FEST
Mary always picks the best standup comics. I have never gone away from one of her shows without the biggest smile on my dial. Great standup from three of the top British comedian on the circuit – you can’t go wrong.
All of the following artists are Aussies…but I saw them overseas…so they still count, right? I love all of these with my whole heart and cannot recommend them enough!
Clara Cupcakes, Tessa Waters, Ro Hudson, The Orchid & The Crow, Georgie Carroll : Gauze & Affect, Mickey D : ‘Cheeky Clean’ & Late night comedy show, ‘Phatcave’, Titty Bar Ha Ha (SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION), Sam Simmons….oh there are so many home grown performers for you to take into your hearts!
4: MARTIN MOR – FUNNY STUFF FOR HAPPY PEOPLE
We met this Irish friendly giant a few years ago and have loved watching him ever since. This show is a great one for the whole family. Martin’s background in circus and street entertainment alongside his genuine love of life makes this a real feel good outing for everyone to enjoy. Our daughter LOVES him and so do we!
My advice for the Fringe:
There are SO many acts to choose from at Fringe time, so if you find that you go and watch the same ‘big name’ each year then I think it’s high time we broadened your horizons! By all means, still go and see ‘big name’, but on each of those evenings you should also pick something from my list – You never know, they could be the first show you book next year.
Happy Fringe-mas my fellow Adeladies!
If you’re after more Fringe love, check out our Top 10 Adeladies You Should See at The Fringe and also our Fave 5 Family-Friendly Fringe Shows.