Adelaide 2019: Theatre Top Picks

Blackrock

A small regional community negotiates the impact of a brutal sexual assault and murder in Blackrock. This Australian play was first performed in 1995 but remains relevant, looking at how isolated communities mediate the extremes of young male violence. Glassroom Theatre Company negotiates the most complex of social issues through the lens of a young adult struggling to relate to his peers and his family. And doing so while being thrust into choices that define his identity. (@HoldenStreet).

Holden Street Theatres – The Arch, times vary, 13 Feb-18 Mar (not 19, 26 Feb, 5, 12 Mar), $17-28.

The Second Woman

The Second Woman by Nat Randall and Anna Breckon is a guaranteed standout of this festival season. A live cinematic theatre performance, it spans 24 hours in a loop of one scene. Different men arrive each loop, filmed live and projected, and patterns and discrepancies are magnified. Come and go as you like, even in the strange early hours of the morning. (@PerformingLines).

Adelaide Festival – Space Theatre, 4pm, 10-11 Mar, $30-59.

Area 53

Experience the paranormal in an immersive performance by the talented young crew from D'faces of Youth Arts in Whyalla. The group have already taken out a Ruby Award and crowdfunded their way to Adelaide Fringe to prove that the most innovative theatre is coming out of regional SA. Area 53 is an alien oddity not to be missed.

Area 53 at Pickup Point, times vary, 22-24 Feb, $25.

Grounded

When a fighter pilot is grounded and reassigned to flying drones, she is forced to reassess her identity and the morality of warfare. This is a sharp-edged, award-winning play that is worth reconsidering as audiences negotiate the disconnection and anonymity of the digital age.

Holden Street Theatres – The Arch, times and dates vary, $20-28.

FLAWED____like a b_y

This is a personal and political performance by No Offence Theatre's Bj McNeill. FLAWED____like a b_y explores the fabulous and fearsome fringe of queer adolescence in a homophobic part of Australia. This performance offers a balance of the confronting and joyous aspects of life.

Gluttony – Masonic Lodge (Owl Room), 6pm, 5-10 Mar, $9-22.

Extinguished Things

Molly Taylor is a playwright who delivers dramatic monologue with lightness and sincerity. She follows up last year's outstanding Love Letters to the Public Transport System with a reflection on how we spend our lives together, and the meaning of the things we leave behind.

Holden Street Theatres – The Studio, 12 Feb-3 Mar (no Mon), various times.

Umbrella Man

Umbrella Man is an unusual combination of spoken word poetry, storytelling and improvisation that pushes the boundaries to prove that the earth is flat. This promises a heartfelt performance filled with unexpected sincerity that goes hand-in-hand with the absurd. Umbrella Man offers a spontaneous and unique theatre experience. (@Teuchterz)

National Wine Centre (Ferguson Room), 10pm, 14 Feb-1 Mar (not 18, 23 Feb), $15-25.

Party Snake

Venture into the glamorous, raucous and raw life of a drag queen in this examination of the many sequinned facets of identity. Party Snake offers a tender, transformational and heartwarming evening of confession spanning from philosophy to fake eyelashes. (@umadproductions).

Adina Apartment Hotel Adelaide Treasury, times vary, 13-18 Mar, $30.