A lot of Adelaide Fringe performers read scripted lines and perform rehearsed skits onstage and do it well, but sometimes they focus so hard on getting their performance just right that a key ingredient goes missing: PASSION. With Bob Marley: How Reggae Changed the World, performer Duane Forrest doesn’t just bring the music and story; he brings a passion to the stage that I’ve rarely seen at the Adelaide Fringe. This man has a passion for his heritage, a passion for his culture and a passion for reggae (and Bob Marley) that will leave you with goosebumps by the time the show is over.

This show is just not about Bob Marley. Duane intertwines the roots of reggae music, his own childhood, black history and the story of Bob Marley into one thought-provoking, sometimes heart-breaking and often uplifting tale of the power of words in music. For a show that I thought was just going to be about playing the hits of Bob Marley, my eyes were opened, and I was truly blown away by Forrest's performance. I’m sure he has played this show hundreds of times, but the enthusiasm for the story he is telling has never left him. And, with a fascinated and responsive audience, the show was even better.

The Holden Street Theatre is the perfect setting for this intimate and sometimes bleak show. Forrest has an endearing quality to him that makes you sit up and pay attention to his words. It’s not often that a show makes me go home and really think about the subject so deeply, but with Bob Marley: How Reggae Changed the World, it is still at the forefront of my mind 36 hours later. 

Five Stars *****