Murder, Mystery & Mayhem Night Tour: Frightening Flashbacks And A Newfound Respect For The Dead – Adelaide Fringe Review

West Terrace Cemetery, Thu 23 Feb. South Australia’s oldest cemetery opened its doors as part of the Fringe, and while some of us (i.e. me) were at first hoping we were all in for something supernatural, this proved instead to be part history lesson, part dark comedy and part frightening flashback to an older and meaner Adelaide, plus a welcome means of achieving newfound respect for the dead. After all, the Cemetery is home to over 150,000 of them (!!!). Gathering the punters in the head office before the 9pm tour began (and just as the last of the daylight faded), staff members Dave, Trevor and Susie offered answers to a few preliminary questions before we were led out to be met by our cloaked guide (and she turned out to be played by Tarn, although she didn’t give her name just to keep things a little spooky). Supplied with lanterns that later also served as speakers for pre-recorded information and sometimes pleasingly jokey recreations of key events, we then followed her through the darkness, among the many, many graves and well away from the traffic noise. Some of the Cemetery’s star residents were introduced, and Tarn offered a description of each, detailed notable aspects of their lives and explained how exactly they wound up interred right there in front of us, and they certainly were an intriguing bunch. The first was the seriously (in)famous Percy Grainger, musician extraordinaire (and a bit of a pervert too, but that was kept mainly out of Tarn’s talk), and then there was John Monk, the cemetery’s first sexton, and it was here that the tour became a proper performance piece, as an actor appeared dressed as John and, with blustery humour, discussed his slightly notorious life. Other luminaries included a career criminal (400+ court convictions!), a murder victim (played by an actress who emerged from behind a bush, which startled the woman beside me) and others, and by this point the cemetery had lost much of its eeriness, and the small group of Fringey tourists were truly fascinated. And then there was pretty much West Terrace’s star ‘guest’ as the final stop, but he should be a surprise, and some might be unaware of his amazing and still tantalising – and troubling – story. The West Terrace Cemetery offers night and day tours throughout the year (not just as part of the Fringe), and they’re compelling, often funny and most enlightening ‘interactive’ experiences. And yes, maybe you’ll be driven to make plans for your own burial there one day because, after all, they have a ‘few spaces’ left… 4 stars Dave Bradley Murder, Mystery & Mayhem Night Tour continues at West Terrace Cemetery, at various times, until Fri 17 Mar. Book at FringeTIX on 1300 621 255 or adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix. Click HERE to purchase your tickets. #ADLfringe