'Reverse reviews' turn tables on Adelaide Fringe audiences

Audience members at 2019 Adelaide Fringe Show, 2 Cats On A Hot Fringe Roof, will experience something that only performers get to experience; the dread of and curiosity about how they'll be reviewed!

In a world first for theatre, Steve Davis and Ralf Hadzic will turn the tables on their audience members and write a separate review each night for the people who've seen their show.

"I've been performing for years and one thing that you never get used to is that anxiety about whether or not the reviewer understood and liked your show," says Ralf Hadzic, the man who played Fat Cat on television for 17 years.

"Steve has been writing theatre reviews for 20 years so we thought, why not put those skills to work for our show," he says.

But there's more to audience reviews than just a novelty, argues Steve Davis.

"Live theatre is a communal experience," he says. "If you just turn up and sit in your seat passively, you have stacked the odds against you enjoying the show, while you also rob fellow audience members and performers of the energy you could have added through engagement.

"We're not expecting audience members to get up on stage or carry our show, but by writing an honest review of each night's audience, we are honouring the importance of their role in adding the magical spark that makes live comedy worth going out to see," says Steve.

Steve Davis will also be reviewing other shows during the Adelaide Fringe for his podcast, The Adelaide Show, and his audience reviews will be published at theadelaideshow.com.au/reviews.

2 Cats On A Hot Fringe Roof is a 60-minute comedy cabaret show featuring Steve's stand up about kid's television and how we communicate in the "childish" era of social media, and Ralf's exclusive blooper reels of old Fat Cat footage featuring Jane Reilly, Patsy Biscoe, and other favourites in some compromising outtakes and gotcha moments. The show is directed by Glynn Nicholas, who played Pate Biscuit on the ABC's notorious live comedy show, The Big Gig, as well as working on Here's Humphrey. It will run February 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, at 7.30pm at The Historian Hotel. ##