Auslusion – Variety Show: A Fun Sample Of What’s On Offer At Fringe – Adelaide Fringe 2019 Review                            

[CABARET/COMEDY ~ SA] Ayers House Events – The Ballroom, Tue 26 Feb. Auslusion performers Mr Stunz and Mr Wonders were our hosts tonight for an eclectic tasting plate of Fringe entertainment. Please note, that each night will feature a semi-random collection of performers providing a sample of their principal Fringe shows. Personable, funny and clever, Mr Stunz and Mr Wonders gave us a taste of their show with a ‘mentalist’ routine which impressed – I want to see their main show Auslusion: Gadzookz! First up was magician Rob Ellinger who impressed us with some classic sleight of hand trickery and slick banter. Rob’s show is called Magic McMagicFace, the naming of which was a consequence of crowd-sourcing he informed us. Next up was comedian MJ Wong from the show In The Wong Family. Self-confessed 75% Asian (I’ll leave it to him to tell you which bits of him are not) he had us laughing hard with a steady stream of humour focussed around his family and himself. Lightly sprinkled with profanity and genitalia-related humour this is not one for the kids, but recommended for everyone else – the highlight of the night. Following this was a monologue excerpted from the show Socially [un]Acceptable. Some explanation as to the nature of her performance would have been welcomed as it was not immediately obvious that it was a serious piece – we spent the first five minutes trying to decide if we were supposed to be laughing. Once past that though, she provided a confronting and thought-provoking piece on the subject of sexual assault which she explained after was intended to “To start conversations that will change the future of sexual assault. Let’s change the narrative.” Next was a hula-hoop performance from Bede from the kid’s show Let’s Get Wild. Clever and talented, it was however oddly placed at 9pm amongst more adult focussed entertainment. Speaking of adult focussed, the next act was a cheeky and flirty burlesque routine, ably performed by the delightfully fulsome and curvy Serena. Serena can be found in the shows Club Gotham: Villains of Vaudeville and Club Justice: The Brave And The Brazen. Comedian Steve Wayland from the Atten-borrow: The Lecture Tour closed off the show. Polished and seriously funny at times, the highlight was his very clever and hilarious impressions of dubbed Chinese Kung Fu movies. Humour was definitely on the ‘blokey’ side but unquestionably a good choice for a night out with the mates. Auslusion: Variety Show is a great way to sample a range of shows on at this year's Adelaide Fringe. 3 stars Anthony Ellis Auslusion: Variety Show continues at Ayers House Events – The Ballroom from 9pm until Sat 16 Mar. Book at FringeTIX on 1300 621 255 or adelaidefringe.com.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets. #ADLfringe