I Hope This Means Something review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

I Hope This Means Something is Patrick Livesey's latest solo performance and boy, have they come a long way since their debut solo work, The Boy, George, from all the way back in 2018. Livesey plays a young activist Corinthian whose move to Melbourne for a job with an environmental NGO sets in motion their downward spiral into saving the planet from its biggest threat, climate change.

Livesey delivers a fantastic performance as Corinthian. Their gradual transformation into a zealous climate activist is evident and you can see how their physicality, facial expressions and speech begin to change, begin to be more frenetic and impassioned. Further to this, Livesey takes on the roles of all the other people in Corinthian's life, including their mother, work colleagues and grindr hook ups, and for the most part, they give equally authentic portrayals to these people as they do to Corinthian.

Victory Lap review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Victory Lap is a semi-autobiographical one-person show by Mashaka Gunnulson that gently and sensitively explores mental health and suicide with a nostalgic look at friendships gone by, and what saying goodbye feels like.

This is a meditative tale where not much happens on stage but plenty takes place in our minds through Gunnulson's descriptive language and the vivid imagery it conjures. One particular scene where a character is visiting a morgue paints a highly detailed picture of what is being seen, heard and smelt. Their direction of Adam Marks as Billy is minimal yet considered as it allows the performance to be in tune with the tone of the story.

Kinder review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Drag Queen extraordinaire Goody Prostrate is getting ready for a scandalous night out, but a misunderstanding has them realising they are performing drag storytime for children and not an adult-themed drag show. With the clock ticking, Goody needs to come up with something appropriate, and fast. Written by Ryan Stewart who also delivers a sensational performance as Goody, Kinder opens the conversation on the politics surrounding children and queerness.

Stewart is incredibly passionate and committed as Goody, showing exceptional control over the character and comfortably navigating the highs and lows of Goody's temperament and personality. Their choreography and lip-syncing acts keep in line with who Goody is, and you can easily see that Stewart has become Goody Prostate.

Gina Rhinestone: Pig Iron Queen of Asstraya review | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Trades Hall

Tina Arena’s "Chains" and Merril Bainbridge’s "Mouth", iconic Australia pop songs, greet us as we take our seats for Kimberley Twiner’s Gina Rhinestone: Pig Iron Queen of Asstraya. The political satire on Australia’s richest woman digs into the life of Gina Rinehart while raising questions about how much wealth and power one person should possess.

Twiner makes a monster of an entrance as she rides atop a bedazzled child’s toy excavator. She performs a number of sketches from “Gina Rhinestone’s” life, including baby Gina’s first words to the valuable “daddy thoughts” she has been raised on, with some incredibly racist comments about Indigenous people made by her father, comments that Rinehart has never publicly condemned.

We are also treated to the more adult events in her life, such as being named Telstra’s Businesswoman of the Year, where she shares her own “me too” ordeal, and the debacle over her demands that a portrait of her hung at the National Gallery of Australia be taken down. Twiner finds marvellous humour in these sketches, sometimes exaggerated and sometimes subtle, but mostly cleverly highlighting the power and influence that Rhinestone’s wealth has afforded her. Some toilet and bodily function gags undermine the thoughtfulness and consideration that Twiner has put into the show and perhaps there's a need to reconsider those moments.

I'm Fine review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

Saxon Evans is a 29-year-old dental assistant who is hurtling towards gay death... he is turning 30. But does his depression run deeper than just getting older? Written and performed by Evans, I'm Fine is a one-man play that explores millennial mental health and navigating self-acceptance and belonging.

Performing as a character based on himself, Evans has a pleasing presence on stage that is evident from the moment he appears. His pace, tone and delivery of lines highlight his personality and perspective of how he sees and understands the world around him, and in turn, establishes a strong connection with the audience.

Even as he deals with mental health, suicide and self-harm, Evans finds good doses of humour to scatter throughout I’m Fine, ensuring that we are never left overwhelmed with what we are learning and comprehending the gravity of the circumstances he is in.

While Evans is an engaging performer and the narrative is entertaining, the structure remains a little rough, particularly with its ending. Evans provides great insight into the mind of this angry dental assistant, but the final act feels hurried and concludes quite abruptly. Some re-working of this would ensure this part of the play is afforded the same care and consideration as the rest of the show.