A rapping frog’s journey through existential dread; Angus Leighton’s Melbourne Fringe debut bursts with energy and originality, even if its ideas sometimes hop faster than they land.
Tickets: Melbourne Fringe Festival – GUS THE FROG SPITS BARS (one man’s response to existential dread)
6 – 10 October
The Cabaret Stage-The Motley Bauhaus
3 STARS
There’s no question that the planet we live in is often hard to comprehend-and that’s just from a human perspective. Introducing us to Gus the frog (who may or may not spit bars-more on that later), Angus Leighton sets out to tell the story of this unlikely hero and the challenges he faces.
This Melbourne Fringe debut brings an interesting angle to say the least, with Leighton donning a green body suit and transforming into an energetic yet emotionally conflicted frog desperate to get back to the familiarity of his home in Adelaide.
While the show is framed as “one man’s response to existential dread,” its treatment of existentialism often feels elusive. Sections that dive into themes of ‘timelessness’ and need for climate action for example, are lost to intergalactic bin chicken space battles. Perhaps this ambiguity is intentional, a reflection of life’s unpredictability, resembled in Gus’ encounters with a web of intersecting plots and characters. If this was the case, I unfortunately didn’t clock it the whole show.
A standout element of this production is Leighton’s impeccable memorisation and delivery of 13 (yes 13!) original songs. His comedic timing shines through in a lot of the zany characters he performed, generating a lot of genuine laugh out loud moments.
Through this very versatile performance, it’s worth noting that there is very limited use of props and costume used to differentiate which characters were speaking at a given time during scenes. Clearer differentiation between characters could have eased some of the harder to follow sections.
The moments in which Gus delivers his epic bars are accompanied by lyrics projected on a screen behind him that made it difficult to know whether the lyrics required our attention or his performance. The lyrics displayed disappeared in such quick succession that it would have probably been best to stick to the latter. Due to the setup, at one point in the show, only one half of the audience could see these lyrics.
Is Gus The Frog Spits Bars Worth Seeing this Melbourne Fringe?
There is certainly a lot to love about this show- Leighton’s character work showcases his amazing ability to bring robots, magpies, and frogs (oh my!) to life. The show is quite content heavy and a lot to grasp but letting oneself embrace a bit of silly this Fringe is something I would never discourage.
