Luke Belle returns to the Adelaide Fringe for the third time with Adore Händel’s Cautionary Tales building upon the success of Belle’s previous show Adore Handel’s Little Black Book.

Belle’s character, Adore Händel ‘everyone’s favourite pansexual, time-travelling songbird’, shares stories of past loves while playing with the audience in this highly entertaining romp around the centuries.

The show begins with Adore’s appearance in what must be a leading contender for the most marvelous costume of this year’s Fringe, seventeenth century inspired finery with layers of pearls, lace, lavishly constructed jacket and pants with extravagantly fashioned shoulders and thighs, white gloves, white hose and pink court shoes. Adore’s white made-up face is matched by a stark white wig. On stage is the large black book.

Adore conscripts the willing audience to learn from the stories of past loves and heartbreak, even enlisting audience members to take notes as the tales are recounted. The reminiscences include Adore answering a newspaper personal ad in 1865 and falling in love with Maine’s John the farmer and the events that follow. Included in this anecdote is a hilarious demonstration of sheep shearing during which an audience member is co-opted on stage to be the sheep.  In another story Adore takes the audience to the 1924 Berlin cabaret scene where Adore forms a connection with Alex but the course of this love is also not without a twist. However, are these ‘cautionary tales’ as stated by another reviewer as Adore reports or something else.

Throughout the show Adore enhances the stories with classic songs including, Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You, It’s Oh So Quiet first released by Betty Hutton in 1951 and also covered by Björk in 1995, The Bad Touch by the Bloodhound Gang, ABBA’s Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight), Toxic by Britney Spears and others. Audience participation in singing is also required.

Belle is a classical trained opera singer with a first-rate baritone voice. Adore plays with the audience with great prowess and in the smaller confines of The Lark at Gluttony, nowhere is safe. Adore’s storytelling expertise is superb. The pace of the show is well measured as with the audience participation sections who become very eager participants.

Adore Händel’s Cautionary Tales is a glittering humorous show with a message which is stunningly performed and is another wonderfully timely experience of this year’s Adelaide Fringe.