Review: FUR BABY, OR: THE LAST CHILD WEARS FUR – ADELAIDE FRINGE 2024 at The Jade

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Friday 16th February 2024.

From her home in Cologne one of our regular visitors, Sylvia Brécko, is back at the Fringe again this year, eager to talk and sing about her Fur Baby, a 28.5kg Weimaraner, a floppy-eared bundle of fun named Audrey who lives under the delusion that she is still a tiny puppy who can fit on your lap.

A brief burst of Who Let the Dogs Out signals the entrance of Audrey’s proud ‘Mum’ and the beginning of an hour of gentle humour in word and song, with a good amount of physical comedy added to the mix as Brécko switches to and fro between herself and a depiction of Audrey.

Anybody who owns, or has owned a dog will relate to everything in this show, from the parallels between dogs and human children, to picking after them in the park, to fighting off amorous males and, of course, those looks that they give you as you eat your meal, attempting to convince you that they are starving, even though they have just been fed. Brécko slips into the role of Audrey and verbalises what dogs mean by the ways that they look at you and the sounds that they make.

Aside from the clever and funny anecdotes and characterisations, there are the songs, familiar melodies, reinterpreted with new words, adding more laughter to the show.

Brécko also interacts spontaneously with members of the audience, almost all of whom either have dogs or don’t have one, but love them anyway. There is even, ultimately, some very funny audience participation in the form of a call and response, Brécko howling as Audrey, and the audience replying as their own dogs. You won’t find that in any other show in the Fringe.

The lighting and sound operator deserves a mention, too, for maintaining a good balance between the recorded music and the live vocals; with everything running like a Swiss watch.

There is only one other performance, at 6pm on the 27th February, and the venue has a limited capacity, so book your tickets to this fun show very soon.