Walking into the Hertzel Room of the State Library, audience members are greeted by a strange sight. A woman dressed like a swan (beak and all) is parading around on stage, squawking and pecking at anyone who comes near her. It's an unusual introduction. Some audience members laugh, while others aren't sure how to react as the Adelaide Fringe show Swan? begins. This Canadian theatre production uses the play Swan Lake as its muse but puts a real-world twist on it, as seen through the eyes of the chain-smoking Odette. This woman has been transformed into a beautiful swan and can only become her human self at midnight every night for a few hours. Of course, this leads to problems galore in her love life, as we in the audience soon discovered.
The start of Swan? got off to a jarring beginning. The several character changes in this fascinating one-woman show had me watching, unsure if this performance was for me. It wasn't until about the ten- to fifteen-minute mark of the performance that it finally clicked with the crowd and me. Our silence and confusion were replaced by laughter and appreciation of the interactive artistry taking place onstage. Performer Lauren Brady does a wonderful job of transitioning from swan to storyteller to Odette at the drop of a hat (or feather, in this instance), and, even better, gets the crowd onside while she is doing it. And while her acting skills are at the forefront of Swan?, it is her ballet experience that truly illuminates this lovingly crafted theatrical tale. Standing on her toes throughout much of the show and pirouetting randomly, I was left fascinated by the story she was telling.
This is the type of show for which the Adelaide Fringe was created. The fringiest of Fringe performances, it incorporates theatre, dance, song, and interactivity without trying to be a highly polished production. The first ten minutes of this show made me think I was watching an ugly duckling, but as it progressed, I realized, as the title suggests, it was a beautiful, majestic swan... albeit one with a cigarette hanging from its mouth!
****1/2 Four and a half stars.