I had no intention of seeing Yummy this Fringe season. I didn’t know what it was and thought I had no time to fit it into my busy schedule. But one five-minute performance by South Australia’s own Jarred Dewey at the Gluttony Opening Gala changed all that, as I was left to pick my eyeballs off the floor at the astonishing physical display I saw. This is a man who can bend and contort his body in ways I never thought possible. And if someone like Jarred had taken the time to perfect his craft to create such an eye-popping performance, then surely I could find some time to check out what Yummy was all about.

So just what category of show does Yummy fit into? Well, that’s the great thing about it, Yummy covers a lot of bases. Celebrating diversity and inclusivity, it blends burlesque with drag, adds a pinch of live singing, a sprinkling of physical theatre, and a good dose of cabaret to create a show for everybody to enjoy. It’s fun, it’s loud, it’s colourful, and it will leave you with a big smile on your face once the frenetic 60-minutes is over. And with six stage performers taking it in turns to delight the audience, Yummy never gets too bogged down with one thing. Wearing flamboyant costumes, drag queens (Jandruze, Valerie & Ben) shimmy and saunter their way around the stage, dancing and miming to all sorts of obscure songs. Buxom dancer Val gives a couple of sexy burlesque performances, while self-proclaimed ‘Fat Diva’ Milo leaves the audience breathless with some awe-inspiring musical numbers. I’d reckon her powerful voice could be heard all around Gluttony. And, don’t get me wrong, all that is fabulous, but it’s Jarred Dewey that I came to see and he didn’t disappoint. Performing an aerial display that is as fantastical as it is scary, before moving to the human contortion act, which I mentioned at the start of the review. This is a show that will literally leave you breathless!

Four Stars ****