The 2026 Adelaide Fringe on Kaurna Yarta (Kaurna Country) features more than 1500 acts across every artform imaginable. Diving into the program can be an overwhelming experience, which is where reviews can theoretically assist keen Fringe-goers sort the wheat from the chaff – though the preponderance of blogs handing out five-star reviews like children’s party favours muddies the festival waters, somewhat.
ArtsHub’s Performing Arts Editor Richard Watts attended the first few days of this year’s Adelaide Fringe; his collected impressions and insights into the shows he’s seen will roll out on the site in the coming days.
Adelaide Fringe reviews – quick links
Neurospicy: The Musical
★★½
Georgy Rochow’s first ever Fringe show – no small achievement in itself, as any once-debutant artist will know – explores her lived experience of being both autistic and having attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
This form of neurodiversity – which can sometimes lead to ‘trait conflict’ (tension between someone’s autism-driven need for structure and routine versus ADHD’s desire for spontaneity and stimulation) – is generally known as AuDHD. Between 1% and 4% of Australians are autistic, of whom some ‘40% also meet diagnostic criteria for autism and vice versa’, The Conversation notes – myself and Rochow included.
In classic cabaret style, Neurospicy: The Musical sees Rochow sitting at the piano and alternating songs with storytelling as she explores life with AuDHD. In this, she is ably supported by a three piece band on drums, bass guitar and trombone/banjo/guitar (though the drums are too loud at times, making the lyrics harder to hear; a drum shield is recommended for future performances).
A beat boxer/rapper jumps up to enrich numbers occasionally; similarly, Rochow delivers some of the less focused, narrative-based sections of the show – rambling observations which are definitely not personal advice, she’s been advised to say – while standing and referencing a helpful list of Post-it notes.
Read: Key considerations for neurodiverse collaborations
The opening number sees Rochow singing about Vyvanse, the ‘little pink pill’ she takes to help focus her hyperactive mind; later songs cover topics such as autistic burnout and the sensory overload caused by overbright or overloud environments.
The closing number, ‘Ableism’, explores the sometimes judgemental attitudes of neurotypicals when neurodiverse people struggle with allegedly simple life tasks such as paying bills or fines on time and always running late for appointments. It’s called time blindness, folks, and it’s an ongoing struggle, ok?
It’s clear that Rochow is a Fringe novice; Neurospicy: The Musical lacks structure and polish – a dramaturg or director would help tighten the show enormously. Killing her darlings by jettisoning an amusing but irrelevant musical aside about living with an opera singer would help focus the show while also reducing its run time.
So too would scripting rather than improvising her spoken, definitely-not-advice interludes, and cutting the colourful but unnecessary costume changes (though the fish-hat should definitely stay!).
That said, Rochow is an engaging, sometimes compelling performer, especially when focused on her piano-playing and vocals; to quote one of her own songs, ‘she’s got potential’ (ironically, the song is about the stereotype of not living up to one’s potential, a common trait among neurodiverse people). Her songs are a pleasing blend of pop and indie stylings with occasional rap interludes, and her delivery and enunciation are strong.
I enjoyed Neurospicy: The Musical enormously despite its flaws, and commend it to all neurodiverse audiences hoping to see aspects of their lives reflected on stage at this year’s Adelaide Fringe.
The final performance of Neurospicy: The Musical is at Nexus Arts Venue Friday 27 February.
Pinky von Sox and the Novel Stand-Up Experience by David P. Tieck Jr. A Novel. The Show.
★★
When the biggest laughs in the room are coming from the tech operator and one’s director at the back of the venue, not the audience, it’s a sure sign that the performer’s material really isn’t landing. Such is the case for David P. Tieck Jnr’s endearingly shambolic but lackadaisical hour of improvised stand-up, Pinky von Sox and the Novel Stand-Up Experience by David P. Tieck Jr. A Novel. The Show.
At each performance of his nine day run, Tieck promises to generate and perform a new novel live on stage, with his improvisations inspired by plot points and book titles suggested by audience members based on books they love or have recently read. On this first Friday afternoon of Adelaide Fringe, the books proffered up by the crowd are Green Eggs and Ham by the late, beloved Dr Suess; Tough Guy, the third book in Canadian author Rachel Reid’s queer hockey romance series, Game Changers (popular television series Heated Rivalry is based on the first two books in the series); and a non-fiction title, Epilepsy.
From these, the bearded, bespectacled and tattooed Tieck concocts the title of tonight’s book-based adventure: Pinky Von Sox and the Eggs Rangers Love Elliptical Monster Day (the Rangers are the only hockey team whose name he knows, thus their inclusion in his improvised narrative, while ‘elliptical’ – as in elliptical machine, better known as a cross-trainer – is an easier reference than epilepsy for Tieck to work into the show.
Where the monsters come from, only Tieck knows – perhaps they’re the embodiment of the mental health struggles experienced by the professional hockey player protagonist of Tough Guy?).
Instead of attempting Dr Seuss-style rhymes about epilepsy and sports romance – an admittedly challenging task for even the most skilled improvisers – Tieck instead embarks on a rambling story about the titular Pinky Von Sox, a farmer’s young son heading off to his first day at primary school.
After Pinky first completes his farming chores – milking the cows, milking the sheep, milking the chickens; Tieck happily embraces the absurdity of using the same simple mime technique for each task, generating some good natured chuckles in response – the plucky young Pinky and his protective older brother thereafter encounters school bullies, time-travelling aliens and more.
Tieck is clearly capable of being quick off the mark – a sudden clatter and a shouted ‘Sorry!’ from outside the room results in one of his best quips of the night – but overall, Pinky von Sox and the Novel Stand-Up Experience… is an underwhelming and chaotic affair.
Tieck’s storytelling is rambling and unfocussed and his plot points – while sometimes brilliantly absurd, such as his unique take on time travel – are rare highlights in an inconsistent and meandering hour.
References to the books he’s allegedly constructing a story around are laboured and largely contrived, and in one notable instance – prompted by his ‘editor’ calling out from the back of the room – very last minute indeed, suggesting to this critic that his central narrative is perhaps not really improvised at all.
Tieck needs to sharpen his improv skills, focus his storytelling technique – including being consistent with character names and personalities – and lean harder into the premise of a story generated by books his audiences love, if he is to generate a more consistently funny and entertaining show.
Pinky von Sox and the Novel Stand-Up Experience by David P. Tieck Jr. A Novel. The Show. plays The Crawford Room at The Courtyard of Curiosities at the State Library for Adelaide Fringe until 1 March 2026.
The writer visited Adelaide as a guest of Adelaide Fringe.
