Given your background in engaging audiences through food and storytelling, what unique elements will you bring to your own performances or presentations at the Fringe?
Food, festivals and fun are all part of the same equation for me. Adelaide as a city is expert at all of these things, so combining them into one show is really exciting. Over the years The Cook Up has grown a fantastic list of great friends, incredible performers and talented cooks and, and bringing some of that talent into the energy of a live show is going to be fantastic!
As you step into the role of an ambassador for the Adelaide Fringe, what aspects of this journey are you most excited about?
When people ask me about Adelaide – in any context – I tell them about Fringe. If people visit Adelaide during Fringe time, they get to see the real Adelaide because I truly believe Fringe is the heart and soul of the city. For me to be involved both behind the scenes and on-stage as part of an event that I’ve been attending since I was a kid is kind of a dream come true.
As a Fringe ambassador what would you say to someone who has never been to Adelaide Fringe?
Get out of your comfort zone. If you’ve never been to a comedy show before, just go and see one. If you have no idea about dance, pick a dance show and book it. If a show sparks even the slightest amount of interest in you, just take the plunge. There great thing about Fringe is that the shows don’t expect you to be an expert. The more you participate in Fringe, the more you’ll get out of it.
You’ve been an attendee to Fringe for years now, do you have a favourite Fringe memory you can share with us?
I’m showing my age now, but the first year of the Garden of Unearthly Delights and the Spiegeltent in 2000 was a revelation. I was working in the city at the time and we walked down there nearly every single night after work for a drink, the atmosphere and a show or two. I remember thinking I’d never seen the city so alive before, and to see what it has evolved into now nearly a quarter of a century later is truly spectacular.
In your role as ambassador, how do you envision contributing to the growth and evolution of Adelaide Fringe, and what impact do you hope to have on both the festival and the broader arts community?
I travel a lot and when I’m outside of Adelaide and tell people that Fringe is the biggest arts event in the Southern Hemisphere, the response is always gobsmacked surprise. It’s hard to imagine an event as huge as Fringe and with such a stellar international reputation is still something of a hidden gem to many in the Eastern states right here in Australia. I really want to change that.