I knew that PAPILLON was one Adelaide Fringe show I couldn’t miss out on for another season, so squished in to The Octagon on Saturday night for one of what is sure to be many sold out shows, I knew I was in for a good one.
The show is described as being a bit of circus, a bit of burlesque, a bit of comedy and a bit of cabaret. It delivers. The cast isn’t huge but it needn’t be when they’re presenting scenes that are entertaining as hell and have the ability to have the crowd gripping the edges of their seats one moment, and howling with laughter in the next beat.
The emcees are funny, but can bring their own when it comes to providing some highlight moments of PAPILLON themselves; this isn’t a just a show to rest on the shoulders of the talent of a few primary performers. The cast works really well together and you can tell that they’ve really whipped themselves into shape as a formidable and slick touring performance troupe.
Some stunning aerial work chimes in near the end of the show’s first act that left us particularly astounded, needing the interval to pick our jaws up off the floor. Even though there’s about 10-15 minutes in between each act, the vibe doesn’t drop off any in between, with the PAPILLON cast coming together quickly and picking up where they left off, bringing the house down by the end of their allocated time.
A definite highlight of this Fringe season, PAPILLON has cemented its position in Adelaide as a Fringe show to be reckoned with and rightly so – get your butts to Gluttony before the season finishes and get yourselves a ticket.
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PAPILLON runs at The Octagon at Gluttony through until March 14th. Grab your tickets here!
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