Onomatopoeia: Playing With Words At Grace Emily Hotel – Adelaide Fringe Review

Grace Emily Hotel, Sat Mar 7 Pop! Tick! Shazam! It’s all about the sound of the word. Chris Bedding, Glenn Hall and Esther Longhurst love sounds and words, and they use plenty of them as they perform a series of skits that has the actors quickly weaving in and out of different characters and genders. You have to pay close attention to the stories though, or it can become confusing and will go plop! Onomatopoeic words create a sound effect that mimics the thing being described, and can affect our senses on a subconscious level. Pop is a light explosive sound, (Poooop is not). Tick is a regular, short, sharp, sound - and was used to good effect linking several of Esther’s skits, appearing as a sprinkler and metronome. Shazam is more commonly known as a word to create an instantaneous transformation (Captain Marvel), and in more recently as a smartphone app to identify music sounds. Keyboard and vocals were sensitively used to accentuate mood and heighten our emotions during many of the scenes, and worked well to round out the show. The subject matter was generally comical though the harsh parent who regulated her affection certainly created uncomfortable feelings. I loved the opening scene where onomatopoeias were tossed around the room, the audience contributed more examples, and the sounds were massaged into a delightful a Cappella. I would have loved more word play though! Karen Bailey