Presented by Steve Charles
Reviewed 12 February 2016
It’s not often you go to see a show on a replica sail boat!
Aquattica is a unique and rather eclectic song and story experience, written as a dedication to the “many moods of the Sea”. To perform this show in a space also dedicated to South Australia’s maritime history just seems fitting.
Veteran Aussie performer Steve Charles has created a very interesting and atmospheric show here, one that definitely doesn’t go overboard (oh no, sea puns already!) It’s a casual, intimate affair, full of awkward comedy and banter, but also a rather magnificent one, simply because of the backdrop of Active II’s mighty sails and rigging.
Steve is a talented guitarist, vocalist and song-writer, who manages to pull together many styles and blend them together. His version of John Masefield’s poem Sea Fever, put to original music, is a particularly good example of his musical skill.
Steve is also joined on stage by the similarly talented Susan Lily and Eric Kuhlmann. Eric’s fiery and blasting rendition of Dans le Port d Amsterdam by Jacques Brel was definitely an audience favourite, and Susan’s beautiful Sails on the Bay warmed many a heart.
Interwoven between the music are some of Steve’s stories of the sea, including a dramatic tale of love-lost and deadly shipwrecks and a philosophical dialogue between a sailor and a mermaid. While the latter teetered on the side of being a bit needlessly preachy, I think these stories are a marvelously creative edition to the show.
Of course, no one can avoid debut-jitters and technical bugs, and so the atmosphere of the show was marred by some small technical issues with the projector and a few fumbled lines. But hey, like true sailors, the cast plucked up the courage to see the mission through!
Reviewed by James Rudd
Twitter: @james_wrr
Rating (out of 5): 3
Venue: SA Maritime Museum, 126 Lipson St, Port Adelaide
Season: 12 – 14 February
Duration: 1 Hour
Tickets: $12 – $25
Bookings: Book through FringeTix online or at a FringeTix box office (booking fees apply)
http://www.adelaidefringe.com.au
http://maritime.history.sa.gov.au/
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