Five shows to see at the Edinburgh Fringe, vol. 8: Australian special
The House Of Oz showcase is back, with a contemporary circus show, an acclaimed triptych of comedies, a solo show about a sex-worker, and more.
Hello, and welcome to The Crush Bar, a Substack about theatre written by me, Fergus Morgan.
This newsletter is the eighth in a series of special issues focusing on the Edinburgh Fringe. Most will contain a brief round-up of updates from the festival, plus recommendations for five shows to see. This one is a bonus promo issue on the exciting shows at the festival as part of the House Of Oz showcase. Regular newsletters will resume in September.
There is a couple of things you can do to help me keep this newsletter and its coverage of fringe theatre going. Firstly, you can share it far and wide, forward it to anyone you think might be interested, and encourage them to subscribe. And secondly, you can become a paid supporter of The Crush Bar - it’s £50/year or £5/month - via the button below. Thanks.
The House Of Oz showcase is back…
One of the defining features of the Edinburgh Fringe - and one of the best ways to work out what is worth seeing - are the international showcases. There are thirteen official programmes of work at the festival this year, hailing from all around the world: Scotland, England, Canada, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, South Korea, Luxembourg, Quebec, Taiwan, and Australia. Tuesday’s newsletter focused on the Here & Now showcase of work from England-based artists.
This issue is on the philanthropy-funded Australian showcase - House Of Oz - which first ran at the Fringe in 2022, returned in 2023, and is back for its third festival. This year, it is produced in partnership with Assembly Festival: its twelve shows, spanning theatre, comedy, cabaret, circus, dance and more are all at Assembly venues.
“Australian artists punch way above their weight creatively,” says Georgie Black, House Of Oz’s founding patron and creative director. “Tim Minchin and Hannah Gadsby’s careers, among many others, were transformed at the Edinburgh Fringe.”
“We are proud to be able to supercharge Australia’s world-class talent within the biggest arts marketplace,” Black adds. “Aussies have the furthest to travel to take part in the Fringe, increasing cost and risk. Our mission is to reduce risk for performers and allow them to explore their creative practices and gain global exposure.”
Plenty Of Fish In The Sea – Assembly George Square Studios, 11.25am
Founded in 2012, Clockfire Theatre Company is an Australian outfit based in the outskirts of Sydney and led by graduates of Paris’ prestigious physical theatre school Jaques Lecoq. An established and award-winning presence down under, Clockfire is now making its debut at the Edinburgh Fringe with Plenty Of Fish In The Sea.
Created and directed by Emily Ayoub and Madeline Baghurst, the shows tells the story of a castaway sailor washing up on the shores of a devoutly religious fishing village, using a mix of physical theatre, storytelling and music. It might not sound like it, but it is actually a funny and fantastical fable about the modern world of dating.
Plenty Of Fish In The Sea was a hit at the Sydney Fringe Festival, where it won several awards, and at the Adelaide Fringe, where it won another. It is now at Assembly George Square Studios for the entire festival. You can get tickets via the button below.
Of The Land On Which We Meet – Assembly Checkpoint, 5.30pm
Na Djinang Circus is a Melbourne-based, First Nations-led contemporary circus company that explores challenging themes through intimate and expressive physical performances. Last year, they were at the Edinburgh Fringe with Common Dissonance, a spectacular show about the divergence between Indigenous and Western cultures of spirituality and storytelling that incorporated acrobatics, diabolo, and hula-hooping.
This year, the company is back with Of The Land On Which We Meet, a new show exploring modern Australia’s lack of connection to its own history and geography. Lifting its title from the “Welcome to Country” – the ritual acknowledgement of a site’s traditional owners, which commonly precedes public events in Australia – the show involves three performers – Johnny Brown, an indigenous Australian; Manuela Kaydo-Nitis, a descendant of migrants; and Bridie Hooper, a descendant of colonial settlers – use circus, movement and contemporary dance to probe resonant questions.
The show has been performed to acclaim already in Australia, and now runs at Assembly Checkpoint for the whole festival. You can get tickets via the button below.
Summer Of Harold – Assembly Checkpoint, 1.50pm
Prolific Australian writer Hilary Bell, a graduate of New York City’s prestigious Julliard Playwrights’ Studio, has had work produced around the world, from Sydney Opera House, to Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, to London’s National Theatre. Now, her celebrated trilogy of plays Summer Of Harold arrives at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Over ninety minutes, it sees two actors perform three short comedies. In Summer Of Harold, two backpackers take a summer job as housekeepers for Harold Pinter. In Enfant Terrible, a ceramicist wreaks revenge on his rival. And in Lookout, a middle-aged man and woman look back on their lives from a viewpoint in the Blue Mountains.
The trilogy premiered to acclaim in Sydney last year, when the Sydney Morning Herald called it “a shrewdly crafted expedition from comedy to weirdness to poignancy.” It arrives at Assembly Checkpoint in a new production staged by Damian Ryan, founder and artistic director of theatre company Sport For Jove, starring Lucia Mastrantone and Berynn Schwerdt. You can get tickets via the button below.
The State Of Grace – Assembly Rooms, 7.05pm
Pippa O’Sullivan – AKA Grace Bellavue – was a high-class escort based in Adelaide, who became famous on social media for her passionate activism in support of the decriminalisation of sex work in Australia and beyond. In 2015, she died suddenly. Now, her story is being told on stage by acclaimed singer and actor Michaela Burger.
The State Of Grace is an hour-long, one-woman show built from Bellavue’s own writing: her social media musings, her unpublished hip-hop lyrics, her diary entries, and more. It is, Burger says, “a story of love, persistence, fearlessness and survival.”
Burger is a familiar face on stage and screen in Australia. She has been nominated for two Helpmann Academy Awards – Australia’s Olivier Awards – and won the Best Cabaret Award at the Adelaide Fringe. She has impressed at the Edinburgh Fringe before, too, with Exposing Edith in 2019 and A Migrant’s Son in 2023. This new show is at Assembly Rooms throughout the festival. You can get tickets via the button below.
Dancefloor Conversion Therapy – Assembly George Square Studios, 11.15pm
Last August, Jonny Hawkins made their debut at the Edinburgh Fringe with Maureen, a spellbinding solo show in which they transformed into an octogenarian Sydney woman and wove a gently funny, deeply moving story about love and loss. I called Hawkins’ performance “utterly charming” in my four-star review for The Stage.
This year, the acclaimed actor, writer, and DJ returns with something completely different. Directed by Mikala Westall, Dancefloor Conversion Therapy is an autobiographical lecture-cum-peformance about Hawkins’ evolution from a repressed Christian Youth Minister into one of Australia’s most-loved queer DJs. It is also the only show at this year’s festival – I think – that slides straight into an after-party.
“Dancefloors are overlooked as a place of healing and community-building,” says Hawkins. “They’re places you can both be yourself and find who you’re becoming.” Dancefloor Conversion Therapy - and its after-party - is at Assembly George Square Studios all month. You can get tickets via the button below.
Thanks for reading
That is it for this issue. I will be back in your inboxes on Friday with five more shows to see at the festival. If you want to get in touch about anything raised in this issue - or anything at all, really - just reply to this email or find me on Twitter, where I am @FergusMorgan.
A quick reminder of the two ways you can support The Crush Bar. You can share it and encourage others to subscribe. And you can become a paid supporter. There are currently 3164 subscribers and 104 paid supporters. You can join them using the button above.
Fergus