Madeleine Martin
It begins like any other festival talk: an earnest moderator, a neatly staged ‘In Conversation’ setup, the familiar rhythm of introduction and applause. The difference is that the guest is an apple.
An Evening with Dame Granny Smith brings us the world’s most celebrated apple for an intimate on-stage interview with ventriloquist David Salter. Born from a chance seedling, and now Australia’s greatest cultural export, Dame Granny Smith is here to share with fringegoers her reflections on fame, family and fruit-world rivalries.
Salter is charming from the outset. Dressed in casual summer wear with an artist pass swinging from his neck, he convincingly plays the interviewer for what we are told is the first instalment of the Courtyard of Curiosities’ ‘In Conversation’ series. His rapport with Dame Granny Smith too is lovely – ventriloquised into status and significance, she sits onstage with a faintly Tim Burton-esque face, carved into a permanent expression of soft melancholy.
The Dame herself is deliciously snarky. She speaks of rivalries with family members and Hollywood bigwigs alike. She is imperious, occasionally cutting, and just a little out of step with contemporary sensibilities. She is, after all, a Dame of a certain vintage.
The show is at its most buoyant in the opening stretch, where the premise feels fresh and the absurdity is allowed to breathe. A few of the late-show turns felt a touch opaque. I never quite worked out what The Smiths’ There Is a Light That Never Goes Out had to do with anything, but as the original topped my iTunes play count throughout the 2010s, I was hardly complaining.
Throughout, Salter’s ventriloquism remains genuinely impressive. The apple itself is disarmingly simple – just a single flap of fruit that moves with the gentle control of a thumb – yet it becomes remarkably expressive in his hands. It’s beautiful work, Salter’s ability to conjure pride, petulance, melancholy – so little mechanism, so much personality.
This show is a clever and playful piece of object theatre that was engaging throughout. Slightly chaotic, occasionally confusing, but consistently entertaining, An Evening with Dame Granny Smith proves that even the humblest fruit can command a stage.
Recommended Drink: Definitely not cider – for obvious reasons, Dame Granny Smith does not approve… Instead, a kir royale: champagne and crème de cassis. Classy and luxe, but still fruity.
You can catch An Evening with Dame Granny Smith at The Crawford Room at The Courtyard of Curiosities at the State Library at various times until Sunday 22nd of March. Tickets are available through the Adelaide Fringe website.
Moss Meunier
Tayla Alexander
