ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:
“Benito di Fonzo’s Dylan-esque stream of consciousness is fun … Fonzo has invoked the spirits of everyone who might have influenced Dylan … with John Lennon and Yoko Ono being a particular crowd pleaser – * * * * ” Tim Lloyd
MEMA SIFA – BLOG:
Mema’s blog has a video review. Click on the link below to watch.
The reviews are rolling in and to the great (and “unearthly”) delight of all of us they are damn good…
Sunday Mail:
You don’t need drugs to enjoy this show, Benito Di Fonzo’s hallucinogenic script will suffice … this is the wackiest show of the fringe … it’s weird but good.
(personally we would probably say weird AND good, but weird but good will do!)
The Chronic Ills of Robert Zimmerman is a well-crafted journey into the life and times of one of the most enigmatic recording artists of our lifetime … Benito Di Fonzo has penned a great ode to a wordsmith of puzzling proportions.
The Chronic Ills… is a freewheeling ‘glissendorf’ pastiche of folk history, interview, myth, song fragment, biography and musical interlude that rattles past at breakneck speed like an angel-headed methamphetamine jive-talking ‘60s hipster … The cast rise to the challenge of an astounding number of words, characters and identities. Joan Baez is as annoying as she should be, John Lennon is hilarious and Simon Rippingale’s musical accompaniment is outstanding in its subtlety and effectiveness.”
“The play is so well written, directed and performed, that this non-Dylan fan was rapt. Director Lucinda Gleeson wrings every drop of talent from her very fine cast and has an obvious eye for humour and emotion that never becomes overdone … Matt Ralph shines as the Man Himself, Zimmerman/Dylan. Looking not unlike the singer/poet, Ralph never … stops performing. This man IS Dylan and the audience never once doubt that … This type of production can either turn out as a load of arty-farty wank or a marvellously engaging theatrical experience – Tamarama Rock Surfers have produced the latter. 4.5 Stars”
So there you have it.
Benito arrived in Adelaide yesterday, just in time for festival first night. To show him the town we all caught the free bus around Adelaide, we did the loop, we did it twice, each time with the view to getting off at each important stop and flyering but we stayed on the bus in order to avoid the extreme and dry South Australian heat – with the plan to flyer later on in the evening. We then settled into the final preview performance. It was a cracker: we played to an almost-full house. Former reviewer from DB Magazine said “The Chronic Ills of Bob Zimmerman … was fantastic and will be a hit of the fringe! I am sorry I was not reviewing!” (David Grybowski). Then we went out on the town, Fringe Bar, Garden, Dodgem Cars and Pizza. Matt, Si and Lennie charmed the socks off a bunch of random partiers at the garden, the proof of which is captured below. It was a really fun night and ended at about 4am…
All pics taken by Jennifer Hamilton.
One: Free Drugs!
So, we were flyering in town, Matty Ralph on his new factory fab el-cheapo busking guitar and Simon on his little ukulele – singing Dylan or something similar. They were walking along the street and stopped at the lights just near our apartment on Pulteney st and we were waiting for the lights to change. There were two groups of people having a beer outside the hotel on the corner. And, one of the ladies from the group asked them to come over because she wanted to book them for a gig, unfortunately the gig was after we leave Adelaide so they had to politely decline. Then, a man from the other table called Matt over because he overheard they were doing a show about Dylan and he was really interested, introduced Matt and Si to his friends and then pulled out a little silver case with some joints in it and said, “would you like a smoke?” And Matt said, “I don’t really smoke, but I’m sure one of my friends will love it, Thanks heaps” So, this strange man then handed matt the joint and said “happy journeys”
THE END…
Two: Joyride (AKA The Dave Moore Story)
Got home from our first preview – solid half a house of very happy campers BTW – and were totally starving. Nowhere was open, or so it seemed. Everyone gave up except Matt and Jen, who went out to “surprise chef everyone’s asses” with the assistance of the service station up the road. We stopped by “Jackpots on Pulteney”, the local pokie den, to ask about food. Jen braved going inside and Matt hung outside and stuck up a conversation with Dave. On the inside Jen discovered that there is indeed an almost-24hr pizza joint on the corner of Rundle and Frome Sts – quite a walk from where we live. Dave said he had nothing to do and would take us there. And, we think he was going to drop us and run, but Matt managed to encourage him to wait and Dave chatted to Mr Matt Ralph for the half-hour while our pizzas were cooked. About half one Jen and Matt reappeared at the apartment with three pizzas and a story and everyone else had written them off, thought they got lost along the way. But we didn’t. And then, we ate shitloads of pizza and then went to bed.
THE END
Addendum 1: Money
A happy audience member slung Matt Ralph $50 to spend on the bar after the show last night.
Addendum 2: Free Ride
Last night after our second performance we caught a taxi to the garden. Jen sat next to the taxi driver in the front and recognised him from “Jackpots” last night. He was the man who told us about San Giorgio’s, Adelaide’s almost-24hr pizza joint. And, we told him about the play, he gave us a free cab ride in exchange for a freebie on Monday. You give a little, you get a little!
THE END.
We’ve bumped in, plotted and teched: RADELAIDE, here we come.
Anyone reading this can come! $10 rush tickets for our first preview – 17th Feb @ 9.30pm – at the Bakehouse Theatre 255 Angas St, Adelaide, 5000
But here are a couple of pics from the roadtrip. First one is a pic from the first sign we actually saw that said Adelaide. That was very exciting and the second one was an AWESOME late arvo pit stop on the train tracks outback of nowhere.
We just arrived in Adelaide – it took us two hours to drag ourselves out of Albury this morning – finally hitting the road at 11am. And 14 hours later, we’re in “beautiful downtown” Adelaide. Pictures and posts we’ll get onto, not before a cuppa tea and a nap.
Here’s a picture from our late night music party in Albury
It can’t be all work and no play. So, last night we had a little blues party in the rehearsal shed. Where we got out our special lights and played the blues after dinner. There was a little bit of tragic karaoke from the producer, but then the stars of the show Matt & Lenore got hold of the mic and showed us how to sing the blues. It’s fun to be really loud and not have to worry about neighbours!
Then today we went to Albury High School and did a workshop with the senior drama students who were all really great.
And this saturday 13th February we are doing a special preview performance of The Chronic Ills of Robert Zimmerman: AKA Bob Dylan (a lie) – a theatrical talking blues and glissendorf at Albury High Performing Arts Centre – Kiewa St, Albury at 8pm – tickets $10 Concession & $15 Adult.
Any readers from Albury can come on down and see the show before it hits the madness of the Fringe.
In October 2009 we had a week’s development of the show courtesy of the Riverside Theatres. At this point, along with our dramaturg Iain Sinclair, we began seriously playing with the idea of “glissendorf” – one of Bob’s neologisms – and the way glissendorf is central to the logic of the script. Benito has subsequently added this word into the title! You won’t find a dictionary definition of glissendorf, so while slurping icy poles outside Tarcutta service station, the cast and director have decided tell us all what glissendorf means (beware of the volume of the camerawoman at the end busting in loudly!).
The Chronic Ills of Robert Zimmerman: AKA Bob Dylan (A Lie) – A theatrical talking blues and glissendorf by Benito do Fonzo
What is Glissendorf? from Jennifer Hamilton on Vimeo.
Featuring (in order of appearance) Lucinda Gleeson, Andrew Henry, Lenore Munro and Matt Ralph
So, we arrived at the Hot House Farm House last night. Hot House Farm House is distinctly so in early February: a hot and dry 35˚C. Arachnids, bugs and small mammals dwelling around the rusty water tank. This is Australia. Damn it.
The shed is conveniently air-conditioned so the gang are not cooking in a corrugated iron oven.
And, the work is on. Adelaide here we come.
These assorted snaps are taken with iphotobooth from the floor. But, there are more (and more better) snaps coming as well as a little video taken on the roadside near Tarcutta, which is somewhere between Albury and Sydney.
We’re looking forward to a swim after the day’s work is done and the sun has set. Oh yeah.
Over and out,
The Bob Show
(Lulu, Matt, Leni, Andy and Jen) xx
The cast and crew of The Chronic Ills of Robert Zimmerman: AKA Bob Dylan (A lie) – A Theatrical Talking Blues are heading to Hot House Theatre’s Farm House tomorrow morning at 7.30 for a final week of rehearsal before the Adelaide Fringe Season. We’re playing at Adelaide’s Bakehouse Theatre from the 17th – 27th February
This blog is to keep you up to date on our trek across the great south-east of the great southern land.
Last thursday we had a fundraiser at the Old Fitz and made a little spare change to help us along the way, today we packed the van and tomorrow we’re driving with double bass, snare and a stack of suitcases in tow down to the borderlands of Albury/Wodonga.
So, this story is to be continued then…
The Chronic Ills of Robert Zimmerman - Production Blog 