Long Prawn is cooking up a conversation on food with its Live Leisure Yabby Fishing Restaurant at Melbourne Fringe

If there's one rule to be aware of when going to the Melbourne Fringe Festival, it's to expect the unexpected and open yourself up to new adventures. Okay, so maybe that's two rules. But in Long Prawn's Live Leisure Yabby Fishing Restaurant, both these statements ring true. During the last weekend of the festival, the public will be given the chance to flex their fishing skills as they are given a rod for an hour to go fishing for yabbies. Catch one, and pass it to renowned chef Lorcan Kan who will cook it for you on the spot and create a delicious yabby snack.

For the brains behind Long Prawn, Frederick MG Mora and Lauren B Stephens, the appeal in putting together an event likes this stems from wanting to offer unique dining experiences while subtly asking people to think about the various stories of where our food comes from.

Creatures Lost - Melbourne Fringe Festival preview

Winners of Best Cabaret at the 2018 Melbourne Fringe Festival, Picked Last For Sport are back with a brand new show on animals and the environment. Moving away from the ocean theme of their original show, Creatures of the Deep, Creatures Lost focuses on highlighting the impact that humans have had on extinct animals and the need to look after and respect them as much as we do each other. 

Founded by Ryan Smith and Sarah Wall, Picked Last For Sport's exploration of sustainability and environmental issues extends beyond their content. The company only sources their costumes and props from recyclables and up-cycled materials, which has given them more freedom and creativity with their productions. "We pride ourselves on producing sustainable theatre so all our props and costumes come from recyclables and upcycled materials. It can be challenging at times when it would be easier to head to Kmart, but problem solving and figuring out how to make something out of what you’ve got is half the fun," they tell me. "It forces us to think outside the box and be more inventive in the way we represent the animals. In a lot of ways the restrictions make the show so much better by forcing you to consider things you never would have thought of. A director once told me that if you could have everything you wanted for your show with no compromises it would probably not be very good, and there’s a lot of truth in that. Also, Savers is a life saver!"

AutoCannibal review

The world is ending. We are facing an intense heatwave, crops and animals are dying and people are starving to death. In Mitch Jones' solo physical theatre work AutoCannibal, we witness one of the last people on Earth spending his final days living with the same ignorance and self-destructive mode that led to civilisation's doom in the first place.

From a design point of view, the show is highly successful in creating a grim and desolate environment. The lighting design by Paul Lim and sound design by Bonnie Knight (with contributions from Marco Cher-Gibard) is a constant reminder of the bleak future that awaits our protagonist (and us). They work together incredibly well to create tension and unease right through to the final moments. Similarly, Michael Baxter's minimal scaffolding set design conveys a reality void of any human warmth.

Perhaps There Is Hope Yet… review - Melbourne Fringe

Having recently seen Rockie Stone perform in Finucane and Smith's Glory Box and being blown away by her sets, I was very much looking forward to seeing her in Melbourne Fringe show, Perhaps There Is Hope Yet, and it did not disappoint. Along with fellow circus performer Vincent van Berkel and with music by Sam Keevers, it is a wonderfully constructed show that is inspired by climate change and the slow disintegration of our environment.

The stage is littered with a number of glass bottles, a makeshift seesaw and a kinetic sculpture by Callan Morgan that while only acknowledged a few times, has a strong visual presence throughout the show. Initially reminding me of a traditional windmill and later, due to its movements, that of a wind turbine, it keeps the idea of retaining a sustainable environment for the future churning.