Presented by Calamity Productions
Reviewed 8 March 2017
The House With No Name is a local amateur cabaret, theatre murder mystery that plays around with the usual clichés, expected red herrings, and character stereotypes.
The audience is welcomed to a dinner set up by the rich and excentrict The Count after he received a message from a psyhic nun, Sister April, that he will be murdered that night. The Count along with his money and luxury obsessed wife, The Countess, take what they believe is the most appropriate response to such a threat by gathering the four murder suspects and hosting them for a meal.
The characters cover all the expected personalities for such a production, including the mistreaten butler, the former detective turned pop star wannabe Karen Karen, the not very nun-like Sister April, the unhinged Sara Lee Cheesecake, and an awkwardly presenting musical producer. Each character includes neat little tweaks to their otherwise blue/grey makeup to subtly add the presentation of their characters’ personalities.
The shows launches into being deliberately and gloriously kitsch. Puns are thickly loaded into the script, as were some comical musical numbers that vary from cringe inducing yet hilarious to strongly performed ballads. To its benefit, the cast seemed to know the shortcomings of their production, such as plot holes, the cramped stage space, and limited set time to present a full theatre production. They delightfully and humourously over-emphasised any shortcomings by craftily turning them into intentionally and poorly timed punchlines, and out of sync lyrics, lighting and sound.
There is still space for The House With No Name to develop and polish its production yet the present show at the Fringe is a fun and entertaining show.
Reviewed by Alex Dunkin
Twitter: @AlexDunkin
Rating out of 5: 4
Venue: Le Petite Grande, Gluttony
Season: 8 – 13 March 2017
Duration: 60 mins
Tickets: $10.00 – $20.00
Bookings: https://www.adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/the-house-with-no-name
https://www.adelaidefringe.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/CalamityTheatre/
More News
