Bringing to life the essence of the Adelaide Fringe, is Alchemy Dance Collective in a collaboration with Alix Kuijpers and Amelia Waston, with their show PULP.
It’s an eclectic, fruity, interactive, and sensual contemporary dance experience that you won’t soon forget.
The entire show is centred around the artists playing and working with each other, all with the fruit-filled undertones of sexuality.
Based in Therapy’s basement bar, PULP essentially works as a variety cabaret night, with a range of performers dancing in the space between tables and inviting patrons to another room to showcase different dance works.
PULP is mostly hosted by the charismatic Alix on the microphone, who does some creative crowd work in-between the dance performances.
Some of the highlights of the show include Kate Burgess’ sensual acrobatics on a bathtub, Alix’s drag performance where they’re moved like a marionette by the rest of the cast, and Jazzy Williamson-Gray’s performance after a bunch of fruit was shoved into her stockings.
The show isn’t just focused on dance though, but rather the playful interactions of the cast with the audience.
With party games playing a large role throughout PULP, each encouraging audience participation and adding their own fruity twist. From a follow the leader dance party, to a ‘Simon’ Says lead by Caroline De Wan dressed a dominatrix and a dirty I spy, they kept the night interesting.
The group even use the bar as a barre at one point, acting as if those grabbing a drink aren’t there while they do plie’s in the spaces between people.
PULP, as the name implies, also includes copious amounts of fruit being played with and offered to people to eat throughout the show. From banana’s being used as an innuendo to a phone, a rockmelon being played with like a ball, and plenty grapes on offer, the floor did become quite sticky with juice by the end of the night.
Though, the cast did create a fun way of cleaning up offered and discarded fruit. With a sexy maid cleaning up mid-show, and a segment where the entire cast piled leftover fruit into handbags before the final act.
DJ Coop de Grace kept the good vibes going throughout the small venue with his music, both during and between the many performances.
The cast also had an incredible amount of costume changes throughout the nearly four-hour show, though that is to be expected given the many different performances within the show.
PULP is on the longer side, with the performances starting a bit after 9pm and going until around midnight. However, the setup of the show encourages the audience to come and go as they please throughout the night, so people aren’t forced to stay for the entire show.
The only real detraction from the show is the lack of space within Therapy.
When invited into the next room for some of the performances, the seated spaces were very limited. A portion of the audience was left standing awkwardly at the edge of the dancers’ space or with an obscured view at the back of the room if they’re one of the last people inside.
While it is very much a part of the experience to see dancers weaving in between the tables and chairs of the bar, there were times when seating was restricted as more people joined the audience.
PULP may be over for the Adelaide Fringe of 2024, but it's short run certainly showed the creative and fruity side of the Alchemy Dance Collective and their friends.
Should this show repeat itself in the future, whether in this form or another, it is certainly worth the watch.