Places, People - Adelaide Fringe 2013
Post
Subscribe
Wed 20 Feb 2013 - Sat 23 Feb 2013
"Places, people!" is promoted as a new solo comedy, written and performed by Bridie Connell. She is heralded as one of Sydney's most exciting new theatre talents. In her latest solo comedy, she portrays several different characters with a minimal amount of prop ands she relates their stories through comedy, monologues and song.
Connell's one hour theatrical comedy is a combination of conventional theatre and stand-up comedy as she explores through her characters the glamour, successes and disappointments of show business and Hollywood.
The whole success of this show depends on Connell, who is the only performer onstage. However, there are a few moments when a voice from the back of the theatre responds on cue very effectively and assists the audience to feel they are part of the performance.
It can be difficult performing for a small audience, but Connell certainly did that. She was well received by her audience. There was a moment when she had a brief interaction with the audience, which worked really well as she invited different people individually to join her on stage. No-one accepted, but that was okay. I wondered afterwards how it would have gone, had someone actually accepted the challenge. Judging from her performance and how she connected with her audience I feel she would be quite capable of handling that moment of spontaneity, if it arose, with great zest.
I hadn't seen Bridie Connell perform before and after seeing past reviews and promotional material, I had expected a performance providing great theatrical comedy. The show has many humorous moments but it just wasn't as hilarious as I had expected. What I did enjoy was her medley of performance styles and her monologues which revealed her outstanding acting ability. I found her characters realistic and I could quite readily relate to their situations, which made her performance all the more moving and all the more believable.
There were a few instances where her jokes were directed to audience members who would appreciate and see the funny side to some theatrical references. However it was apparent that only part of the audience got these jokes.
I was very impressed with Connell's writing skills and her acting was exceptional as she kept the different characters engaging and entertaining as she moved from one to the next in smooth succession.
When reflecting on " Places, people!" afterwards, I was reminded of the TV series "United States of Tara" with Toni Collette, portraying a woman diagnosed with D.I.D. who when stressed, transitions into one of several different personalities. What Birdie Connell does on stage is portray six different characters with great skill as she performs their scenes in smooth professional succession.
Places, people is certainly worth seeing, for its entertainment, praise worthy script, skillful performance and realistic characters.
#february
#theatre_reviews
#theatre
#performing_arts
#nightlife
#adelaide_city
!date 20/02/2013 -- 23/02/2013
%wnadelaide
187230 - 2023-06-16 02:58:14