Theatre Archives - FIFTY+SA

Illuminate Adelaide 2026 lights up winter with art, music and immersive experiences

Staff Writer — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:56:22 +0000

Adelaide’s winter calendar comes alive once again as Illuminate Adelaide returns from 1–19 July 2026, transforming the city into a vibrant playground of light, art, music and technology. With more than 100 experiences across the program, including 11 world premieres and 11 Adelaide exclusives, the 2026 festival invites audiences to explore the city in new and unexpected ways. From large-scale interactive installations to intimate performances and immersive dining, Illuminate continues to redefine winter in South Australia. A major highlight this year is the Australian debut of Augmented Games by global creative studio Moment Factory. Taking over the Ridley Centre at

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A fresh 70s-inspired Cinderella opens State Opera SA’s golden jubilee season

Staff Writer — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:12:39 +0000

A bold new production of La Cenerentola is set to open the 2026 season for State Opera South Australia, marking a milestone year as the company celebrates its Golden Jubilee. Staged at Her Majesty’s Theatre this May, the production reimagines Rossini’s beloved fairy tale through the lens of Adelaide’s vibrant arts culture of the 1970s, bringing a playful and theatrical energy to the classic story. Directed by acclaimed Australian director Neil Armfield, the production draws inspiration from a defining era in South Australia’s cultural history. Armfield describes the 1970s as a time when Adelaide’s arts scene flourished with creative ambition,

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Empress Joséphine’s Garden to make Adelaide premiere at immersive light and art (ILA)

Staff Writer — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 05:02:26 +0000

A spectacular digital exhibition exploring history, science and botanical wonder is set to bloom in Adelaide this autumn, as Empress Joséphine’s Garden makes its local debut at Immersive Light and Art (ILA). Following a record-breaking run at the Western Australian Museum, the acclaimed large-scale experience arrives at ILA from 11 April, transforming the venue into a contemporary interpretation of the famous gardens created by Joséphine Bonaparte, wife of Napoleon. Created by award-winning studio AGB Creative in partnership with the Western Australian Museum, the exhibition brings to life one of the world’s most celebrated botanical collections, alongside the little-known connections between

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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: PleaseDon’tCatchMeWhenIFall

Dave Bradley — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 08:18:53 +0000

As presented by Coexist Collective and choreographer/producer Aimee Raitman, this ambitious dance performance aims high, and although there’s a little awkwardness it just about works anyway. And this is intended as a very human study of social and oh-so-human awkwardness anyway. Two dancers are introduced after blackness, and while they never speak (or are named) they’re Patrick O’Luanaigh and Cinzia Schincariol, and they begin by walking in separate circles. This is the beginning of a kind of dance or movement Raitman and others call ‘Contact Improvisation’, and while it goes on a little too long, this opening section is nevertheless

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Adelaide Fringe Review: Murder, She Didn’t Write

Dave Bradley — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 08:10:23 +0000

This Bristol-based comedy experience is wholly improvisational, which rather makes reviewing it here a little pointless because, well, the show I saw on this, the opening night, will be completely different from the one you’ll see if you race off to The Gosling at Gluttony ASAP. But, nevertheless, here goes. Our detective is sitting reading on the stage as the audience take their seats, and she hops up to reveal that she’s not Jessica Fletcher (as that title might suggest) but, in fact, Agatha Crusty, a renowned crime-solver who recounts a tale of murder, mayhem and much goofiness back in

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Adelaide Fringe Review | Cyclops: A Satyr Play review

Dave Bradley — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 04:25:48 +0000

Canadian writer/star Griffin Hewitt’s one-man show was performed at Judy’s, an intimate space at Holden Street Theatres, and when we were allowed in to take our seats some of the audience very nearly stepped on Griffin himself, who was sprawled face-down on the floor. Clad in a velvety half-costume, Griffin then leapt up and gave a veritable masterclass in being hungover after an awfully big night. It transpires that his satyr is stranded (a little Greek mythology would help here), Dionysus is scarily disappointed, there’s a cyclops somewhere nearby, and our protagonist can’t help being flawed because, as a satyr,

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Adelaide Fringe review: Cathedral Chiaroscuro

Staff Writer — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 02:54:10 +0000

By Ali Pavic Inside the grand interior of St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral, Cathedral Chiaroscuro offers a captivating Adelaide Fringe experience that blends classical orchestral music with immersive projection art. Seated in the cathedral pews, audiences are invited to simply look up and take it all in. Over 20 minutes, shifting projections wash across the vaulted ceilings, archways and beams, each sequence paired with a different orchestral piece. The lighting feels thoughtfully mapped to the architecture, wrapping every curve and column in colour and shadow. The result is less like a concert and more like a meditative light-and-sound installation. The atmosphere

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