Adelaide Fringe 2015
Salvation Amy
Amy Bodossian
Genre: Musical Theatre
Venue: La Boheme - Upstairs 36 Grote St, Adelaide
Festival: Adelaide Fringe
Low Down
Amy, an obsessive compulsive has worked with the Salvo’s sorting through donations made by those who discard their unwanted clothing, toys, games and other goods, which can be a problem for someone with an OCD about cleanliness. Through a series of stories and song, she takes us on a journey into that period of her life.
Review
The full house at La Boheme’s upstairs theatre first meet Amy Bodossian as she enters the room from the back dragging two bags of cast-off clothes and other oddments through the audience. She adorns some in items of clothing from the bags getting us into the mood of the evening with her character’s persona, a slightly nervous, jerky woman with a permanently startled expression obsessed with personal hygiene and the donations the Salvo’s have received which she has attached some stories and meaning to.
We all laughed when, straight after dressing some of the audience in those clothes, she tells us many donors do not wash them and she can smell urine as she reaches for her hand sanitiser washing her hands liberally. So starts the evening with an eccentric who has us entertained for the whole hour of the show with well-crafted stories and songs inspired by her great imagination and delivered with enthusiasm.
Amy is not just armed with hand sanitiser, but a quirky personality, a great cabaret voice and a wonderfully witty way of seeing this world she takes us into. She is very well supported by a master of the keyboard in David Seedsman, whose amazing musical skills & timing compliment the quirkiness of Amy’s character and provides the perfect score for Amy’s original song lyrics. The stories are entertaining, often amusing and give us an insight into the mind of a person with OCD and the songs are well penned, with great lyrics and allow Amy an opportunity to show off her wonderful voice.
The only letdown for this show was the sound. The microphone volume was often too low and when Amy required adjustments to volume and reverb, they came very slowly. It was distracting for the artist and disappointing for the audience making it harder to enjoy the great singing. This is a top script and the songs worked a treat to continue the storyline and I expect these 1st night glitches will be overcome in future performances.
Has Amy worked at the Salvo’s sorting through donations? Her script of stories of affection for the toys and clothes she has come across and the beaut original songs she’s penned has me believing it completely. Does she suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? Her acting had me thinking she does. And, if she doesn’t…bravo girl, that was one helluva great performance which had me totally convinced that she does!
I was very impressed by the script and the score, the acting and singing, the musical accompaniment by a brilliant pianist and I highly recommend this original and wonderfully entertaining show to all.
