Presented by: Century Entertainment
The power of words and the importance of the freaks of the world are put on full display in another powerhouse piece by Fringe darling, Michelle Brasier.
Reviewed by Justin Clarke
The Kingfisher at Gluttony – Rymill Park
Thu 06 Mar – Fri 07 Mar: 7:20pm
Sun 09 Mar: 7:20pm
Tickets: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/michelle-brasier-it-s-a-shame-we-won-t-be-friends-next-year-af2025
Type: Reflective, Comedy & Music, Belting Tunes
If you liked: Gillian Cosgriff ‘Actually Good’, Mel & Sam
4 STARS
Fringe darling Michelle Brasier returns with a brand new show that explores notions of shame, anxiety and the power that words have on our very souls. After the award-winning and emotional Average Bear and the intricately detailed true story of Reform, Brasier is taking aim at the very type of person writing this review, the critics!
Once more joined by her real life partner Tim Lancaster, Brasier greets each member of the audience entering The Kingfisher tent at Adelaide’s Gluttony Park with her signature infectious charm. From there we’re immediately reminded that this artist can damn well sing the pants off a venue as the opening number “I’d Like You to Like Me” shows off her octave range courtesy of the alphabet. I’m no music aficionado, but a High E sounds mightily impressive.
Brasier’s newest piece It’s a Shame We Won’t Be Friends Next Year starts with the spiral she went through after a performance of Average Bear in London was awarded, amongst all the other 4 to 5-star reviews, a 2-star rating by a highly regarded newspaper critic. This hyper-fixation takes us on a journey through the world of language, of arts criticism, self-doubt and the people in our lives who make room for the freaks of the world.
Brasier delivers a range of songs that will either produce tears from the heart, or tears of laughter
It’s unfortunate then…that more people can’t see this production as Brasier proves why she is one half of the Fringe’s Ambassadors for 2025! Taking on the often manic persona of the spiral, It’s a Shame differs from her other anthology of work in that it jumps from scenario to scenario. Whereas Average Bear and Reform followed a more sequential plot structure, It’s a Shame pulls together multiple different elements of shame spirals and words that have caused damage. It’s clearly still a work in progress, as Brasier points out at the start of the show, but if this is a work-in-progress, you bet your bottom dollar that audiences would pay again to see the finished product.
With Lancaster providing the soundtrack, Brasier delivers a range of songs that will either produce tears from the heart, or tears of laughter. From a love story romance that we all know lies at the heart of the Fast and Furious franchise, to a mid-show song (that is not funny, she instructs) that produced sniffles from audience members, the range of Brasier is on full display.
The overarching narrative isn’t quite clear yet, as we explore the power that art critics have on those performing the art – critics, please don’t critique artists by saying they have a “Lea Michelle energy” – and also journey through aspiring figures in her life that made space for those who needed to release their inner freak. The pieces of the puzzle are all there, and it’s clear there’s so much rattling around in Brasier’s head as new jokes and gags are pulled out of thin air, it only now needs to be arranged together.
It’s a shame then…that the show had to end and the always impressive Brasier/Lancaster songs had to dissipate into memory. If you’re not already on the radar of Brasier’s collection of shows, do yourselves the favour and start by reading her award-nominated book, and then seeing her latest work before heading over to the Prime streaming service and watch Average Bear. You won’t regret it.
Want more from the Adelaide Fringe Festival? Explore all the shows on offer this year here.
