Together, Belgian Compagnie Chaliwaté and Focus Cie have created an intelligent, amusing, moving but also important theatre piece about climate change and the absurdity of our unwillingness to act in Dimanche at Adelaide Festival.
Incredibly clever, this cast of three use their bodies in three different ways in Dimanche at Adelaide Festival: they act of course, but their bodies are also props (a man becomes a mountain in the opening scene) and, at times puppet masters.
Dimanche at Adelaide Festival tells two stories: one of a crew of three filming a documentary about climate change – one which will see them traverse the Arctic, bushfire affected areas and oceans – and another of a couple and a grandmother going about their daily routine in their family home in the face of climatic extremes.
Adelaide Festival’s blurb about the production promised the most adorable polar bear we’ve ever seen. I was sceptical but can say that it most definitely delivered in a very cute, yet poignant scene. I wanted to get up on stage and give it a hug!
The soundtrack is fantastic throughout and perfectly matched to what we are seeing on stage at the time. Paul Simon’s “50 ways to leave your lover” lent itself wonderfully to the very drôle opening scene of the three filmmakers in their van going over bumps, drinking from a shared flask and attempting to have a cigarette. The use of classical music also added incredible comic value at the house of the couple and grandmother.
There is no dialogue in this performance (apart from what we assume may be Italian) coming from the member of the film crew that we see in front of the camera and a story on the television. That said, the performances physical, video and through other effects tell the story without any need for words.
We were glued to the stage for the entire duration, wanting to follow the progression of the piece. Dimanche at Adelaide Festival had us captivated from beginning to end. Dimanche at Adelaide Festival is not a piece of theatre which rams a message down your throat, but one in which you are left thinking for many a dimanche.
🥐🥐🥐🥐🥐 5 CROISSANTS
Matilda Marseillaise was a guest of Adelaide Festival.
You can see Dimanche at Adelaide Festival until Saturday 7 March and we strongly suggest you buy tickets soon. Just 5 performances remain:
- Wed 04 Mar, 6:30pm
- Thu 05 Mar, 11:00am, 6:30pm
- Fri 06 Mar, 6:30pm
- Sat 07 Mar, 12:30pm
Tickets are general admission so your group doesn’t need to buy them together. Adult tickets cost $59, and children 14 and under $20 plus transaction fees. There are also discounts for Friends of the Festival, concession card holders, under 30s and students. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/dimanche/
You can also read our interviews with each of the companies involved in the production Dimanche at Adelaide Festival:
What shows are you seeing at Adelaide Festival 2020?
