Tonight (Thursday 14 February) was the first of two test audience performances of Ryan Stewart’s KINDER—after a redevelopment of the production that won the Geelong Creative Development and Best Emerging Producer awards at Melbourne Fringe last year.
With minimal advertising for this mini-season, the audience had a high percentage of invited guests, friends of the artists, and a few lucky reviewers. These kinds of punters are known for being overly generous, but KINDER really didn’t need it.
As writer and performer, Stewart transforms into Goody Prostate: a bold, lip-synching, coquettish, clownish, Weimar-German, death-dropping drag performer preparing for their next gig. Goody’s act is definitely not suitable for children…and the action kicks off when they find out that the gig is not a typical 18+ crowd, but a library room full of young kids and their parents.
Audiences follow Goody in their 60-minute scramble to get a G-rated act together—a task made more difficult by surfacing childhood memories and questions about the nature of growing up. Through a queer lens, the show interrogates how our experiences as kids shape the way we think about (and interact with) future generations, but it also acknowledges the agency we have to choose how we carry that impact forward.
If you’ve seen any other reviews or star ratings for KINDER, then you might have high expectations. But don’t fear, the show delivers platform-bootfuls of talent, laughs, vulnerability, and some excellently executed drag tropes. Stewart’s command of dramatic acting is sensational and we were fully drawn into each difficult revelation and trauma-informed joke that came Goody’s way.
The set design was well thought-out and intentional, there were no extraneous elements drawing attention from the performance, and the lighting in particular was impressively evocative for such a limited rig. The costume design was my personal favourite and I would love to be the first to know when the Goody line of fashion becomes available.
There were a couple of awkward transitions between moments, but that’s to be expected from the first performance after a re-development and certainly didn’t distract from Stewart’s impressive stage presence or the heart of the story. I have no doubt these will be ironed out by the time the show gets to Adelaide.
KINDER embodies the adage of “leave them wanting more”, as I would have loved for Goody to give us one more song, one more costume, and one more cartwheel.
Stewart’s passion for the subject matter comes across not just in the writing and performance, but in every little meticulous, handmade detail. There has been so much time and effort dedicated to producing the work to the standard it deserves, the only thing left is a 500 pax theatre to put it in.
Ryan Stewart’s ‘KINDER’ plays next at Adelaide Fringe from February 27 – March 4 at Studio Theatre at Goodwood Theatre and Studios and then at The Warehouse Theatre from March 9 – 16. Tickets on sale now.