Adelaide Fringe Review – Something in the Water
Words by Your Local Hok
Breaking news, there’s a squid in the water and its wreaking havoc on societal norms!
Something in the Water is a theatrical comedy by Scantily Glad Theatre. S.E Grummett, a trans artist from Saskatchewan, Canada plays Grumms, a young girl as the protagonist. At its core, it’s about exploring the fluidity of gender and portraying the experiences of those who don’t quite fit in. However, Grumms turns a horrific squid, making for a highly unconventional story about these topics.
Using an overhead projector with hand-drawn scene changes throughout the show, Grumms embeds themselves on the stage and in each scene in such a silly and exuberant way, which cries out for your laughter.
You wouldn’t be wrong in the first few moments of the show to be thinking, ‘what have I gotten myself in to?’ We won’t go in to too much detail here, but let’s just say the opening of the show is very revealing.
Setting the scene for the basis of the show’s underlying message, iconic childhood figures Barbie and Ken make a star appearance in the opening sequences, where you’ll be the strict judge of whether something is ‘normal’ or ‘not normal’ in reference to gender norms for men and women.
Soon enough, the news headlines come flooding in with reports of a monstrous squid-like creature with no gender is on the loose, causing chaos and leaving something in the water. One dance and sleep with this squid later leads Grumms to transform in to a squid-like creature themselves!
Confused, scared, but also outrageously curious, Grumms explores their newly discovered squid form by playing with their unconventional body parts. Don’t sit too close to the stage, or you’ll feel all the excitement of this squid-like creature’s climax!
When Grumms and their squid-like form venture out to the outside world, they discover they don’t fit in, using the scenario of which gendered bathroom to use to convey this message primarily.
Sifting clumsily through various disguises, Grumms is unable to find their place in the world until a very-specific hole needs filling in order to save the ocean. Alas, this creature sacrifices themselves to fill the hole, and becomes a hero.
In a sense, becoming the ‘hero’ as a squid-like horrible monster is symbolic of being accepted. What’s brought to mind is that our differences make us who we are, and that acceptance can be felt in many different ways by all (even if you’re a monstrous squid).
Although embracing diversity is one of the underlying messages throughout the show, it portrays this in a way which is not explicitly in your face. Additionally, Grumms expertly uses the medium of comic-book storytelling to share some of their own queerness through this character.
Interestingly, there’s a kids version of the show, which makes you wander: is this a show which started out as a kids show and then transformed in to an adult version, or vice versa?
Nevertheless, Something in the Water is so damn absurd and wacky. It’s pretty unlikely you’ve ever seen a show like this before.
Rating: ★★★★
Show details: Something in the Water