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Fringe 2010 tix on sale now! |
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Thursday, 17 December 2009 09:55 |
 For tickets to Jason Chong's Reel Life, click here!
Tickets for the 2010 Adelaide Fringe are on sale now.
You can see the entire program at www.adelaidefringe.com.au or go straight to the most important page (mine) by clicking this link.
Jason Chong was just awarded the Adelaide Comedy Comedian of the Year and his upcoming show takes stand up comedy and video projection and asks the question “Will it blend?” The answer will hopefully be “mostly.”
Reviews are coming in! Read them below.
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Read more...
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Jason Chong's Reel Life - The Advertiser Review |
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Monday, 15 February 2010 18:54 |
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THERE is some seriously smart, high-tech comedy at play here.
Jason Chong melds stand-up routines with theatre and the latest in computer audio-visual projections to create a world where he gets sucked into the big screen. In an alternate universe which is part video game, part laptop progam, part television and part karaoke machine, Chong tries to keep a balance between his devilish and angelic alter-egos, while also battling his own clones.
All of these characters interact in projected form with the comedian, who leaps seamlessly in and out of the action taking place onscreen.
The sight gags and sleight-of-hand are so good that you'll find ourself doing double-takes. There are flat spots where the technology slows the pace and it could use a bigger, funnier finale, but bonus points to Chong for taking comedy in such a fresh direction.
Patrick McDonald, 15th February 2010
Original article: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/festivals/adelaide-fringe-review-jason-chongs-reel-life/story-fn489y6u-1225830596240 |
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Jason Chong’s Reel Life - dB Magazine Review |
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Wednesday, 17 February 2010 07:58 |
He may be local, but Jason Chong has certainly raised the bar when it comes to comedy at a higher level of production. 'Reel Life' sees Chong stand before, beside and within a projection screen as he sets out to stop an evil version of himself creating havoc around town.
After taking delivery of a giant novelty remote control, Chong becomes torn between his good and bad conscious until the devilish latter of the two runs off with the gadget and begins causing trouble. It's here that events really get going and the protagonist's usually good spirited stand up skills and geekish references are evenly played out alongside his nastier nemesis' prankish reign of terror, possibly providing Chong with a perfectly valid outlet for taking his oft-close to the edge brand of humour that little bit further.
As the story unfolds, we're drawn deeper into the matrix as Chong interacts with a domineering paperclip assistant and forms a cloned boy band that performs covers using 'body part' a cappella, as well as displaying some hilarious sandwich board interludes and foregoing some degree of dignity that culminates in the inevitable final battle. Requiring exact synchronised timing and a whole lot of ambition, 'Reel Life' is a multi-media experience like no other and one that doesn't just rely technical gimmickry.
Despite its sometimes disjointed stand up basis, the story as a whole is solid enough to resonate far beyond its ongoing frivolity, and Chong is clearly relishing in his own cleverness and the immediate reaction and awe shown by his audience. And rightly so, this show is bound to be one of the hits of this year's Fringe Festival, and set to project Chong way beyond Adelaide.
Steve Jones, 17th February 2010
Original article: http://www.dbmagazine.com.au/486/iv-fringereview-JasonChongsReelLife.shtml |
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Jason Chong’s Reel Life - Glam Adelaide Review |
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Monday, 15 February 2010 18:44 |
Jason Chong seems to be turning into more than just a stand up comedian. As one of Adelaide’s great funny men, his engaging nature and ability to connect with the audience appears to be spurning him on to experiment more and more with multimedia. When the audience is on your side, it’s easier to take a chance. Chong not only grasps this opportunity, but he makes it work.
What begins as a stand up routine quickly degenerates into a very complex interactive adventure, where reality and fantasy blend almost seamlessly. Even where things don’t go so smoothly, Chong’s affable nature makes it work regardless.
In Jason Chong’s Reel Life, his routine is interrupted by a devil and an angel over each shoulder. When the angel is accidentally roasted, Chong’s evil doppelganger lets rip and it’s up to the real Chong to fight clones, outwit Diablo and rescue what little remains of his conscience.
With some slight of hand, fast changes and flights of imagination, he steps in and out of the projection, throws and catches things between the two realities and converses with multiple selves. It’s clever stuff, reliant on exact timing and placement, which is what Chong delivers. Even at his preview performance, there was nary a missed beat.
The comedy is hard and fast, ranging from bad puns and fart jokes thought to pop references and biting commentary. There’s something for everyone with the visual escapades just as hilarious as the verbal punch lines.
Kudos go to the un-credited filmmakers and animator for their skills at making the interactivity work. It’s a well planned show, tightly rehearsed and delivered with all the side-splitting madness you’d expect from 2009’s Adelaide Comedian of the Year.
GLAM Adelaide Arts Critic, Rod Lewis, 13th February 2010
Original article: http://www.glamadelaide.com.au/main/jason-chong’s-reel-life/ |
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