I think I’ve just seen the BEST SHOW of Adelaide Fringe 2025 - and it’s not even close!
After watching Inferno last year, I mentioned that “Inferno belongs on the world stage!” Unfortunately, after that comment, I’ve left myself nowhere else to go, but I still believe this quote to be true, if not more so than before. On Saturday night I saw a cast performance so flawless, so astonishing, and so utterly amazing that the May Worth Tent was positively crackling with energy. Yes, all the artists were great (I’ll get to that later), but it was the crowd that really brought this show to life. Yelling, screaming, hooting and hollering at their loudest in order for the onstage artists to feel their positive vibes and release them through their performances. More surprisingly, this show was taking place at 11.15 pm. I’ve never seen or heard a show create that much excitement that late at night for one hour straight in all my years of reviewing. It’s an accomplishment that everyone from the production crew to the artists to the audience should take great pride in.
From Nikita and Roxie performing a duo act perfectly in synch, to Miss Olive Dip bringing the crowd to life with her cowgirl act, and Jaxx Wild bringing the “WTF?” with his flaming chair, the flow of the show started on a high and never let up. Even when the pace was lowered by the magnificent Icarus, the crowd were still into it. Like watching an artist paint, they were entranced by her movements and the story she was telling. What I particularly loved was that some of the performers arrived on stage without an introduction. It made them seem like such a big deal, and the knowledgeable crowd reacted because they knew who they were before the act even started. Foxy Roxie and Evana Del Lune were these moments and the reactions to their arrivals (and performances) could be heard all around the Gluttony parklands.
I could gush on for pages over the remarkable Micky Rolls’ balancing act, Clara Fable’s singing voice like honey, or the group routines that need to be seen to be believed but like last year, it was Jessy Spin as the headliner, who stole the show. The evolution of her performances keeps growing and growing and I constantly sit in awe at her creativity and mastery of fire as an art form. If the creator of Inferno Kraken is the queen of fire, then Jessy is the princess. A princess who will entice you with her slow, seductive movements before ripping you to shreds and setting you off in a blaze of glory. Inferno is a seven-star show that hides out among the fives. Enjoy!
***** SEVEN STARS (but I'm only allowed to give it five)