Anna Lumb - Hard to Reach Places @ So Soiree - Review

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Posted 2022-10-14 by Jen ⇒ follow

Fri 14 Oct 2022

Anna Lumb - Hard to Reach Places is a mixed bag of circus, movement, humour, and personal insight, and she carries it well. With just one more night of performance on Friday 14 October 2022 at 6pm, grab a ticket at Melbourne Fringe, and take a wild ride with Anna at So Soiree's Parlour Program at Grattan Gardens on Greville Street, Prahran. Just walk halfway up the street and you're there. Do check out all the other amazing shows running only till 22 Oct and support the Arts and Performers while having a great night out.

You'll find the entertainment tent in the middle of the garden, with the Airstream Silver Bullet Travel Trailer Bar located behind it. On Greville street there's many a choice of restaurants and bars, so why not make a night of it and enjoy some pre or post entertainment gormandising! We did, and bar hopped on the night, visiting the French restaurant Entrecôte and snacked on Carpaccio, Beef Tartare, fresh bread and their wonderful butter. A drink or two, and then to Angus and Bon for some warm Cognac and Casa N.O.M for a couple more tipples, all before, between (there's an hour to kill between shows) and after the two shows attended on the night.

The aforementioned are great bars and eateries all on Greville street, and a 5min walk and less from So Soiree, so check them out. They're aesthetically pleasing, have great ambience and rather posh and polished, making the night feel quite special, so why not support small businesses and enjoy great food! As we pass the The Wolf Windsor on our walk home, we thought - why not; a nightcap after a great night out of entertainment.

The inside of the tent kept us comfortable and protected from the pouring rain. It was certainly weather for the ducks on Thursday 13 Oct, and I was happy to be engaged in entertainment. On the raised stage, an exercise bike, a mini sound desk set up on a table to the side which Anna operates as needed to support the show, hula hoops against the walls off stage, and a rather beautiful, opulent chandelier hanging off the centre of the tent. You get the feel of being in an intimate harem at this not so very large venue, with rows of seats facing the stage, some with tables on hand.

Anna's show might take a little getting used to in the beginning if you've never watched her before, but you soon get into it after a few minutes once you've found your stride and her rhythm. She's cycling, she's playing music, she's giving you a running narrative of life and all its challenges, she's expressing herself through her body, and managing to perform a few amazing feats of skill and suppleness in her circus acts as she twirls a ton of hula hoops around her waist and gets her whole body through the tiniest ring of steel. I'd say the R rating is because Anna gets changed in front of the audience in the most discreet way she can on a stage, but depending on where you're sitting, you might see a little more skin which can't be helped.

She's smart, funny and very engaging with her onstage movements expressing and amplifying the point she's trying to make. She covers, not necessarily in sequence, the challenges of parenting, relationships, and the expectations and critique of others and what she expects of herself. There could also be a few slices of toast flying through the air. By the end of the 45 mins to an hour, you will leave the tent fully entertained as Anna grows on you with her engaging performance that covers a gamut of topics intelligently and humorously expressed. Catch Anna for one more show.