Type: Storytelling, Spoken Word, Lived Experience of Disability
If You Liked: Prue Stevenson, Physical Theatre
Recent Katie Lees Fellowship nominee Jess Turner debuts her new show SPECTRUM after an acclaimed run at the Sydney Fringe Festival in 2025 where Turner was nominated for ‘Best in Theatre’ and ‘Best Emerging Artist’. SPECTRUM is a solo performance exploring Turner’s own lived experience growing up with AuADHD (Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Turner uses colour, movement, spoken word and storytelling to paint a vibrant canvas where each colour explores an aspect of her lived experience from childhood and beyond.
Turner’s show is a must see for those who are neurodivergent and those who close who love them as she utilises universal themes, introspective storytelling, playful physicality, and spoken word to convey her experience growing up. Each colour represents a pivotal moment in her life, evoking Disney Pixar’s Inside Out core memory approach. It explores the risks also of masking and hiding one’s neurodivergence using the easy-to-understand prop of a simple bowl of water to explain feelings of otherness and the metaphor of a raging storm. Turner often returns to the concept of those around her having the hammers to build castles as they age while she holds her bowl of water and like many neurodivergent people learns to mask and blend in with society.
Throughout, Turner integrates sound, lighting, movement, dance and live painting to enhance her storytelling, as well as being supported by Access2Art who supplied the brilliant Nicky Medlen who AUSLAN interpreted for Deaf and Hard of Hearing audience members.
Despite its mature audiences rating, the show would be accessible for children and young adults. Unfortunately, the Den at The Dom Polski Centre was not wheelchair accessible, a venue limitation that contrasts with the show’s strong commitment to access. Turner’s performance turns this on its head while not bowing to the pressure of expectation, instead forging her own path and suggesting audiences do the same. Her show is a deeply emotional journey through the colour spectrum of a rainbow for anyone who has felt out of sync with society.
See our other reviews from the Adelaide Fringe Festival in the link below
Tickets and Practical Info for SPECTRUM at Adelaide Fringe Festival 🎟️
Sat, 14 Mar – Sat, 21 Mar
50 min
The Den at Dom Polski Centre
M (2 Warnings)
$20 to $25
