Reviewed by: Glam Adelaide
Review by Ben Stefanoff | 06 March 2024
Have you ever been to a wedding where everything went wrong? Uninvited family members turn up, or dark secrets of the past bubble to the surface? Well buckle up, because Confetti & Chaos is back at this year’s Fringe. From the brilliant minds at Interactive Theatre International, creators of Fringe favourite Faulty Towers The Dining Experience, Confetti & Chaos is another example of interactive theatre at its best. We, the diners, are guests at the surprise wedding reception of Will and Stacey organised by Stacey’s parent’s Lynn and Ray. From here, it becomes two hours of utter chaos as uninvited family members gate crash what was meant to be the wedding reception of Stacey’s childhood dreams. This show is pure comedy gold. Throw in a scrumptious three-course meal and you have a winning night of entertainment. The show is slick. I was fortunate to see Confetti & Chaos last year and it has only become tighter. The ensemble cast of four bounce off each other brilliantly and their character work is exceptional. They all play multiple characters, each with different mannerisms, accents and costumes — if you blink, you miss it when one actor slips out of the room only to return as a completely different character. Monique Lewis-Reynolds plays mother of the bride Lynn, and the groom’s social media obsessed Aunt Mel. Lewis-Reynolds is a master of her craft. When she first enters the room as Lynn, you instantly love her and feel at ease. Her complete change into Aunt Mel is wonderful — to the point my guest asked me if it was the same person. Lewis-Reynolds comedic timing is on point. Matthew Robson plays father of the bride, Ray, and best man Ricky. Robson is the newest member of this cast and for those that are not in the know, you wouldn’t be able to tell. His banter is excellent — particularly the connection between himself and the groom. Robson’s unhinged best man is a sight I don’t think I’ll ever forget. Rebecca Fortuna plays the bride, Stacey, and disgruntled waitstaff Vikki, as well as another character that I won’t mention — don’t want to give that twist away! Fortuna is simply brilliant. She embodies each role with ease, with enough differences to make them unique. Rounding out the cast is Adelaide boy, Jack Newell. Newell plays groom Will and another disgruntled waitstaff, Mervin. Newell finds all the light and shade in the character of Will. He gives you a look that you instantly feel sorry for him, but then he opens his mouth and you will suddenly want to throttle him. It is a treat to watch him perform. The bond between Fortuna and Newell’s characters Vikki and Mervin is hilarious — you’ll never hear Elton John performed like Mervin does ever again. Like Faulty Towers The Dining Experience you feel instantly at ease when it comes to the interactive side of the show. The magic, like in Faulty, lies in the ad libbing moments between the scripted parts of the show. Lewis-Reynolds, Robson, Fortuna and Newell all are quick on their feet when it comes to ad libbing. No matter what was thrown at them, they never dropped character and were never thrown off the script. Simply brilliant. They also handled the loud, slightly tipsy table 2 crowd very well. No easy feat, but it is clear they are used to hushing people down when it’s needed without breaking character. Confetti & Chaos is a great night out. If you are fans of Faulty Towers The Dining Experience jump across to FringeTix and grab what remaining tickets that you can. But be quick – their short season is nearly sold out.