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Uta Uber Kool Ja – 2012 Adelaide Fringe

Presented by Technicolour Army.
Reviewed Friday 9 March 2012.

Trust me when I say that Uta Uber Kool Ja is like nothing you have ever seen before.

Arriving at the Hotel Richmond, Uta’s camp, hotpant-clad assistant George herds you and the rest of the audience into her hotel room. Moody, outrageous, narcissistic and utterly charming washed up pop star Uta awaits – and the moment door opens, the mayhem begins.

Uta’s hotel room is the stage and you, the audience, are her honoured after-party guests. What ensues is a debauched 75 minutes filled with sequins, champagne, party games and clashing egos. Think Almost Famous meets Absolutely Fabulous meets a game of make-believe on crack, and you might be halfway to guessing at what you’re in for. Uta Uber Kool Ja is a show that you really have to see for yourself, because it’s next to impossible to properly describe.

If virtual reality could be crossed with theatre, this is what it would produce. The interaction between Uta, George and the audience can’t accurately be called audience participation, nor is it breaking the fourth wall. From start to finish, the audience are totally integrated into the show. It is a wonderfully chaotic thing to behold.

Uta Uber Kool Ja is immersive theatre done utterly right. Uta and George cleverly stay in character no matter what the show throws at them, ad-libbing lines and going with the flow so brilliantly they make it seem effortless. Uta’s “party guests” are eager to play their part – it is fascinating to see the audience unconsciously become a kind of collective character.

The use of the hotel room as the performance space is brilliant. There’s no stage, no rows of chairs to mark where the performance ends and the audience starts. The performance is, literally, everywhere. Not an inch is left unused, not even the bed or bathroom.

Uta Uber Kool Ja is weird, fun, amazing and definitely über-cool

Uta Uber Kool Ja – Adelaide Fringe

Venue: Hotel Richmond, 128 Rundle Mall, Adelaide.
Season: 24 Feb – 17 March 2012.
Tickets: $22 – $27.
Duration: 75 minutes.
Bookings: Fringetix via 1300 FRINGE, outlets or online.

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