Blanc de

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The Garden of Unearthly Delights times vary, 14 Feb – 15 Mar $49 – $55

Parisian flair and speakeasy debauchery meet in this well-oiled production that mixes champagne, aerials and lingerie. It’s as cheeky as it is jaw-dropping and high-pro duction values show off the company’s slickness and attention to detail.

The Fortuna Spiegeltent has a 1920s charm and together with the art deco inspired set – flapper dresses, empire headpieces, and dapper suits – it encases you in an atmosphere of decadence. Hosts Remi Martin Lenz and Felix Pouliot play off one another effortlessly as their jokes – and outfits – become increasingly risqué.

While the ensemble of acrobats, dancers and singers are each remarkable, of particular note are the mind-boggling feats of con tortionist Ugi Otgonbayar and the aerial hoop routine of Caitlin Tom son-Moylan and Spencer Craig. With more confetti and pillow fights than you can poke a special

French ‘musical instrument’ at, Blanc de Blanc Encore is a decadent and intoxicating night out. ✏︎ Lauren Butterworth

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Gluttony - Rymill Park run ended

In PHAT CAB CLUB, some of Australia’s best up-and-coming young acts show off in an hour of high-en ergy, high-skilled contemporary circus. Led by MC Rhys Davies, whose flair for puns and gross-out tricks is superb, the award-winning collective modernises all the tradi tional parts of the circus – juggling, acrobatics, hula and dance – to a soundtrack of hip-hop beats.

Individually, each performer ex cels and, aside from a few fumbles, marks their place on the stage with confidence.

Mark Longo’s haunting dance is a real treat. Like a mechanised doll, his still and mannequin-like face creates an eerie contrast to the precision of his robotic hip-hop moves. A crowd favourite is Odette Robbins, whose virtuosic juggling melts her increasing number of little white balls to a blur. But the real high point of the evening is Emily Chilver’s rope routine. In an astounding feat of strength and grace, she demonstrates why circus remains so captivating: it’s superhuman.

While each performer is strong alone in a cabaret-style variety show, the collaborations are where the energy really turns up, like Lon go’s duet with diabolo king Jordan Twartz. But this does draw atten tion to parts of the night which lack a similar cohesion. That said, this independent company is yet more evidence that you don’t need a huge budget and high production values to stage good circus. ✏︎ Lauren Butterworth

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The Joinery on Franklin times vary, 20 Feb – 15 Mar $29 – $35

Richard Maritzer has been ap pearing at the Adelaide Fringe for more than a decade as a member of the Sound & Fury comedy troupe. For the last few years, he’s also brought a travelling escape room and this year that side gig has become his main show.

But in his role as escape room host, he’s still first and foremost an actor. From the moment he greets us it’s clear that he’s going to bring a sense of theatre to the experi ence, as well as a healthy dose of humour. He knows that this is entertainment, and he makes sure not to take it too seriously.

While many hosts disappear after explaining the rules and basic theme, Maritzer stays in the room with us for the entire hour, inhabit ing his role as 'Almost Fumbledoor' in an entertaining fashion without being overbearing. His presence means that he’s able to guide us with a gentle hand as we tackle a

series of puzzles that are notable as much for their inventiveness as their variety.

Maritzer’s escape rooms have always used plenty of gadgets, incor porating bluetooth connectivity to trigger reactions in seemingly unre lated objects. It’s a perfect fit for the magical theme of this room, which is filled with plenty of humour as we attempt to save a fictional wizardry school from non-copyright-infringing dark forces. And while some of his past creations have been fiendishly difficult and relied on obtuse clues, this is by far the most approachable. As a result it’s tough without being impossible, and one of the most satisfying escape rooms in Adelaide. ✏︎ Alexis Buxton-Collins

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Have you ever woken from such a realistic dream that reality felt surreal?

This is the exact feeling that Michael van der Aa’s Eight elicits as the Adelaide Festival staff remove the virtual reality headset and noise-cancelling headphones, while you exit the lecture theatre into daylight.

The piece is one of the first classical fusion music pieces put to VR and features the voice of mezzo-soprano singer Kate Miller Heidke, as well as the digitised out line of her frame which guides you through the life of a young woman and her memories.

The plot is perhaps a little too rapid in its evolution to allow the audience much time to reflect on this new environment, which may undercut Eight’s thoughtful inten tions. Yet, Eight does linger in other ways as an intensely sensory pro ject, melding visual graphics with a powerful multi-genre soundtrack. At one point, you are atop a cliff that feels so real, you cling to a bar – a bar which exists both in the real world and the virtual. ✏︎ Emma Heidenreich