“What the hell did I just watch?” is the first thing I thought once the curtain came down on Marvelous the Show. This is not the kind of performance spectacular that deserves to be seen inside a tent in Gluttony. No offence to the Adelaide Fringe, but this is a big-budget, tech-heavy, flamboyant event that belongs in theatres and entertainment centres nationwide. And I think that’s where Marvelous the Show usually takes place! I suppose it’s lucky for Adelaide Fringe goers then that we have the chance to see this dynamic, salacious, spandex-filled show at a more reasonably priced and condensed version this year.
Fans of the Hawkeye television series on Disney+ may recall in one of the episodes Clint Barton (Hawkeye) sitting inside a grand theatre watching an Avengers play. Camp, comedic and incredibly cringeworthy, Marvelous the Show is basically that but in real life. Our host for the evening is Deadpool, and in a whirlwind hour of non-stop action and laughs we see popular Marvel characters put in very un-Marvel-like situations. From Captain America and Bucky re-enacting Dirty Dancing, to fat Thor performing on the aerial pole, and Iron Man crumping to Ginuwine’s song Pony, this is a show where you won’t know what craziness is going to come next. The whole cast deserves huge a round of applause for the way they tackle this show. The number of costume changes, dance routines and action-set pieces are diabolical, and this extraordinary cast never missed a beat. It also came to a point where I had to take my own bias, in my dislike for the character Deadpool, and listen to how the audience reacted to his many vulgar, sexually gratuitous and off-the-cuff comments in uproariously laughter and delight. Deadpool had the crowd in the palm of his hand, and you don’t want to know where that hand has been!
I should point out that the aerial numbers weren’t as spectacular as I thought or hoped they would be in a big-budget show like this. From my vantage point though it looks as if the monstrous scaffolding takes up a lot of the stage, so the aerial performers don’t have that much room to manoeuvre for safety reasons. So, I can’t hold that against them. With that being said, leave the kids at home and treat yourself to a different side of the superhero genre. Because boy-oh-boy, you will leave The Flamingo Tent feeling much differently about the Marvel universe than you did when you walked in!
***** FIVE STARS
Marvelous the Show is playing now at Adelaide Fringe 2025
Reviewed by Shane Berketa