A Butterfly Effect: Come Witness Something Refreshingly Different ~ Adelaide Fringe 2020 Review 

[THEATRE/Performance ~ VIC] Studio at Bakehouse Theatre, Thu 20 Feb. The Victorian based First Draft collective is reprising a show they first brought to Adelaide in 2015. I can’t vouch for the 2015 version but the 2020 production is wonderful. It feels a bit peculiar to praise something by saying that it’s so natural but that is the case here. Within minutes you feel like you’re sitting in a friend’s loungeroom witnessing friendships and relationships being challenged as an unintended romantic entanglement is revealed. Again it sounds a little glib but the five characters involved are totally ‘there’, in the moment; totally present. No histrionics, no over the top acting, no pretend soliloquies – just honest authentic reactions to awkward situations just as normal people might react. What is normal is of course very subjective, and it might be for some what could bore them about A Butterfly Effect, but I simply loved its reality. There are lots of pauses between phrases, halting unrehearsed sentences, people talking over the top of and interrupting each other – just as happens in everyday conversation. It’s an unusual experience at the theatre not to feel that people are acting and it’s strangely engaging. In a good all-round performance from the whole cast Rhys Auteri deserves special mention: his character was beautifully underplayed with just the right amount of self-deprecating humour. An interesting plot twist added intrigue and I enjoyed the choice of music during the quick scene changes. Do yourself a favour and go and see something refreshingly different; theatre that sits somewhere between totally improvised and fully rehearsed. 4 stars Michael Coghlan A Butterfly Effect continues at Studio at Bakehouse Theatre from 6pm until Sat 22 Feb. Book at FringeTIX on 1300 621 255 or adelaidefringe.com.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets. #ADLfringe