Each time this year, the Fringe Festival hits little old Adelaide in an explosion of art and culture, engulfing the city of churches in a lively bohemian atmosphere. The festival sees live performers from all over the world come to flaunt their stuff, be it comedy, dance, music or theatre. I’ll be emerging from the dark depths of the cinema to catch some of the shows on offer, reviewing them for a great site called Buzzcuts.

Here is an excerpt from my review of  Jason Chong’s Reel Life:

 

Packed with channels of high-definition humour and guaranteed to receive a great reception at this year’s Fringe Festival, Jason Chong’s Reel Life is the digital upgrade to analogue comedy.

He may be a bit of a techno geek, but it’s hard not to be charmed by the talented young Adelaide comedian – who proudly bears a shirt that confesses his love for his parents – as he cleverly interacts with a digitized universe being projected onto a three metre wide display situated onstage.

The show unassumingly kicks off with a typical stand-up routine, but before Chong can reach any sort of punch line, he is interrupted on-screen by the much reviled Paperclip help feature from Microsoft Office. Does the winner of 2009s Adelaide Comedian of the Year need help telling a joke? Certainly not.

Things go from funny to slap-the-skin-off-your-knees hilarious as Chong must put his routine on hold after his shoulder devil is accidently let loose within the digital world projected behind him. The imagination soars as we’re taken on a madcap journey through a collection of pop-culture sight and sound gags – from Super Mario to Star Wars – where Chong sets out to bring an end to his evil alter ego’s reign of terror. [...]

Read the rest of the review, plus many more great Fringe reviews, here!

The Adelaide Fringe Festival runs from the 19th February – 14th March. Check out the program guide and buy tickets online at www.adelaidefringe.com.au

Follow the author Anders Wotzke on Twitter.