Back on Board! Adelaide Fringe Review 2019
Cheesier than a platter of cubed-cheddar on jatz, ‘Back on Board’ is a night of fun, puns and smooth tunes as you cruise the high seas on this hilarious musical boat of love…
The costumed shipmates, including ‘Dick Bathers’ on keyboard and ‘Leonardo Defrapuccino’ on guitar, all come from a range of local Adelaide bands such as Doctor Desotho and Goldstein (or are their own individual artists like the brilliant Tara Carragher), so in between the intentionally clunky jokes and corny script-reading, the musicianship is spot on. Drifting from the Little River Band’s ‘Reminiscing’ to Renee Geyer’s ‘Heading in the Right Direction’ (my personal favourite), you’ll head back in time to a time when lyrics were sometimes a bit creepy but the tunes were ship shape, and my friends and I loved the contrast.
There was plenty of audience interaction with us all receiving a name-tag on entry – my new name was ‘C. Worthy’ – and all of us joined in on one song as the words beamed up to the curtained wall behind the stage. A few people hit the dance floor with gusto, while waves of laughter routinely filled the Wheaty!
Because the band said they only need one star to navigate their ship by… I give them 1 flute, 1 Hawaiian shirt, 1 handle-bar moustache, 1 slinky curvaceous kimono dress and 1 blow-waved head of hair (nice work Robin!) adding up to a total of 5! I loved the show and so did everyone around me.
And be sure to get in the spirit with some era-appropriate clothing, and you might even win a prize like the ‘Wayne King’ (say it out loud) record or a casserole cookbook.
If you like your punny gags delivered intentionally unpolished, and your late 70’s laid back tunes played by an 8 piece local super-group (some showing more chest hair than others) then this is the show for you. And I recommend grabbing a ‘Trotty’s Special’ at the front bar while you’re there.
Please note: Although rated PG, due to the adult nature of the jokes, this is not recommended for children.
For more information about this show and ticket bookings, please see the Adelaide Fringe website here.
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
This review was written and photographed by Catherine Leo, professional family photographer and a Play & Go mum who regularly visits playgrounds with her children. See the Catherine Leo Photography website here and Facebook page here.
Want to get other Play & Go Reviews, plus all the latest events and activities straight to your inbox?
Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter to keep up to date with our latest posts and find out what’s on, where to go and what to do with the kids in and around Adelaide. Newsletters are only sent once a week, and you may even get the odd ‘special offer’ exclusively sent to our newsletter subscribers only!
