Review: Storm in a D Cup – part of the Sydney Fringe Festival

by Erica Brennan

Amelia Ryan is a Storm In a D Cup

A one woman show, all-singing, all-standup; a warm and fuzzy story of being comfortable with the storms and uncertainties of life performed to an adoring crowd at the Supper Lounge in Oxford St.

Amelia Ryan announces on her Sydney Fringe page that she is the winner the Sydney Fringe SpringBoard Mentorship (http://2012.sydneyfringe.com/springboard) and boy is it easy to see why! It’s wonderfully tight show and was playing to an appreciative full house. The show as a whole was not really my cup of tea (cup of D?) but the crowd at The Oxford Hotel’s Supper Room was positively loving it. Calling out, erupting into applause at the end of each reworked song (some favourites by Rodger and Hammerstein, Tim Minchin, 4 Non Blonds) and some friendly cat calling.

Amelia humorously, and with many a musical number, relays to us her rather tragic/comedic life as an actor figuring out love, life and how to be at peace with that fickle mistress that is the theatre. Now this subject matter gets my hackles up quite easily. Maybe because it’s too close to the bone for me but also because I rebel against the idea of thinking that being an actor or artist is something you can fail at. I don’t like thinking of it as a career, like if I fail I won’t do it anymore. Despite personal baggage I might be bringing to the performance I found the stories funny, a little bit gross and pitched perfectly to the Oxford St crowd. In one number she even formed an impromptu band with three audience members in a rendition of ‘Cell Block Tango’. I cannot fault the piece at all – only perhaps finding a venue that had a more open view of the performance for more of the audience.

I have seen quite a few Sydney fringe shows this year and am absolutely delighted that the number of highly skilled performers taking matters into their own hands to create shows that really let them shine. It makes for very enthusiastic performances and puts skill and dedication centre stage, making me very proud to be a theatre junkie.

As for Amelia, well, as a performer, storyteller and singer she is one hell of a storm. She may harbour desires to spirit herself away to Broadway but if we can persuade her to stick around with Storm In a D Cup a bit longer, I am sure will continue to delight audiences across Aus.