David Jobling Archives - FIFTY+SA

Adelaide Festival Review: A Concise Compendium of Wonder

David Jobling — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 06:18:37 +0000

A Concise Compendium of Wonder: Technical Triumph Meets Narrative Distance Theatre of this magnitude is often intentionally challenging, especially when designed for young people. In Slingsby’s farewell triptych, A Concise Compendium of Wonder, the deep melancholy and sense of isolation may be a bold act of provocation—a move that fits the company’s history. However, as the production takes its final bow at the Adelaide Botanic Garden, it presents a curious paradox: a company at the height of its technical powers delivering stories that feel held at arm’s length by a persistent narrative chill. The first chapter, Jennifer Mills’ The Childhood

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Adelaide Fringe Review: Partying with Manson

David Jobling — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 03:17:14 +0000

Partying with Manson by Stephen Sewell: Stripped Back and Sharper Than Ever A year after its initial provocation, Stephen Sewell’s Partying with Manson returns for a new season, proving that some nightmares only get sharper with time. Now haunting a larger stage at The Garden of Unearthly Delights in the Le Cascadeur venue, this “True Crime a go-go” remains a dizzying exploration of Susan Denise Atkins – the infamous “Sexy Sadie” – whose legacy is built on a shifting foundation of blood and artifice. In a bold move for this season, the production has been stripped of its previous “bells

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Adelaide Fringe Review: The Giant Balloon Show

David Jobling — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 07:59:05 +0000

An amusing show for the kids that encourages interaction and delivers a slow burn of silly dad jokes and anecdotes that climaxes with some genuinely hilarious moments. Finding something suitable for the younger kids that doesn’t demand too much of them can be difficult. I took a range of grandchildren between 5 and 11 and they all had a laugh, clapped along and forgot about their electronic devices for a while. It isn’t a complex show at a glance but beneath the surface there are some very fine-tuned skills on display in the Giant Balloon Show. The soundtrack is all

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Adelaide Fringe Review | Hannah Maxwell: BABYFLEAREINDEERBAG

David Jobling — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 12:22:48 +0000

Last year Hannah Maxwell demonstrated her abilities as an exceptionally good storyteller when she presented two original shows she had developed and toured back on her home turf around the UK – this year she returns to Adelaide Fringe with a new interactive show that is as poignant as it is funny; if you enjoy the process of creating theatre, BABYFLEAREINDEERBAG (a jumble of Baby Reindeer and Flea Bag in case you hadn’t noticed) is unmissable. In an effort to decide which of a few different ideas she should develop as her next show, Maxwell creates something of a make-shift

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Theatre review: The Stirling Players’ Hansard

David Jobling — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 04:52:51 +0000

For a play written only 25 years ago, Hansard by Simon Woods has an intentionally traditional quality about it; this reflects its purpose in spotlighting a particularly vicious piece of legislation created by the Conservative Party under Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher’s leadership in 1988, which became known as Section 28. The Act was driven by commentary in the House of Lords such as: “… they (Gay men) act as reservoirs of venereal diseases of all kinds. Ask any venereologist: syphilis, gonorrhoea, genital herpes and now AIDS are characteristically infections of homosexuals,” said The Earl of Halsbury, “I was referring to

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Cabaret review: Bond Songs – The Music of 007

David Jobling — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 11:43:00 +0000

Safey kicks off proceedings with the immediately identifiable theme by Monty Norman arranged by John Barry; a theme that has appeared in every official James Bond film since Dr No (1962). The connecting tissue between numbers offers anecdotes about the various artists who have become part of the legendary film franchise and their songs origin; in some cases, this information is quite surprising and reveals a lot about the process of manufacturing the particular sound, to accompany this very particular character. At one point, Oliver John muses about what makes a good Bond song and offers a show stopping rendition

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Review: An Audience with Don Dunstan

David Jobling — Thu, 15 May 2025 05:03:22 +0000

As State Premier of South Australia, Dunstan had a lot to do with preserving the historical building, so it is doubly fitting that a production reviewing his legacy should play there. This play is essentially a conversation between a Somali/Australian student (Ag Johnson) and the former Premier (Alec Gilbert) with moments of poetry and song that conflate many of the issues addressed into a more universal context. A curious and compelling element to this production is the playwright never directly articulates the where or when of the piece, which in a way, is a deft move because what the play

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Theatre review: Beauty and the Beast

David Jobling — Mon, 12 May 2025 05:23:58 +0000

Beauty and the Beast is wonderfully funny theatre magic. Primed by outstanding performances from the lead love-triangle, Shubshri Kandiah (Belle), Brendan Xavier (Beast) and Jackson Head (Gaston), each of whom deliver optimum home-grown talent. To be fair, there are no weak links in this cast at all; from sparkling ensemble players like Annabelle Rosewarne and David Duketis (I’d name every ensemble player if I had the space) through to supporting characters Jared Bickerton (Chip), Adam DiMartino (Le Fou) and Hayley Martin (Babette), this is a massively talented and energetic cast, every one of them a gem. The production values are

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Theatre review: Flight

David Jobling — Thu, 08 May 2025 01:37:23 +0000

The performers on stage and in the orchestra-pit are focused on getting everything right and ironing out any hiccups before the paying audience get a look. It’s nerve-wracking, exciting and a little terrifying for all. I can report back that this production is on course for a spectacular opening night for plenty of reasons. The words are in English which makes it immediately accessible; all the jokes (there are quite a few) land on beat, I found myself laughing a lot. The music is soaring, intimate and eclectic with shades of Igor Stravinsky mashed up with James Horner and more.

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Exhibition review: Treasures of the Viking Age: The Galloway Hoard

David Jobling — Thu, 01 May 2025 06:39:28 +0000

The Hoard features more than 100 rare objects discovered after being buried for over one thousand years. Currently on show at the South Australian Museum this intriguing exhibition fits neatly into a relatively small space and consists of some short videos providing a narrative telling of the historical context which is, to say it plainly, mind blowing. There are the obligatory display cases filled with the various trinkets such as silver arm rings, beads and brooches. Perhaps not too surprisingly many of these ancient objects have an uncanny familiarity to them as these etchings and designs have been passed down

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