Boasting five stages and over sixty acts, including cabaret, stand-up and even a musical about Scientology, The Producers will be one of the hot-ticket venues at this year’s Adelaide Fringe.
The Producers is operated by writer and performer Marcel Blanch- de Wilt who will also be presenting some of his own productions at the venue. “We have a little bit of everything,” Marcel says.
“We’ve made sure we have a kind of mini-Fringe under one roof. “Pretty much you could just go to our venue: I’m not saying anyone should just go to our venue,” he adds with a laugh, “but you could just go to our place and get a feeling of everything Fringe has to offer, which we really like.
“We have music, comedy, theatre, kids’ shows: we have one of everything pretty much, which we’re really excited about, and we love the idea of being the spirit of the more indie side of the Fringe, which I think people remember from the good, old days.”
Comedians and artists performing at The Producers include established acts such as David Quirk, Alice Fraser and The Bedroom Philosopher, as well as emerging talents from Australia and abroad. “There are also acts that are moving up through the ranks,” he says.
“Pat McCaffrie sold out his season last year; we have acts from Norway, Singapore, UK and Canada. It’s great to be able to offer a humungous amount of acts from around the world.”
Though Marcel is hesitant to name a favourite, he expects one show in particular to be a real highlight for the venue, ‘Scientology: The Musical’. “I’m really hoping that they make a bit of a splash because George Glass Productions – who are putting it on – are a really unique sketch group,” he says.
“Last year they saw success with ‘Abbott: The Musical’ and it's following that trend of topics that are a little bit out there to convert into musicals, but they do it with a strange twist.”
During Fringe, The Producers becomes a tiny mecca for comedy, housing established acts alongside more experimental performances using the space as a testing ground for new and emerging work.
For Marcel, it has been a chance to provide a stage for other artists as well as for himself and his own work. “The whole idea with running the venue is I get to support artists and in turn I get to support myself, so it’s a way to create a venue I’d like to perform in,” he says.
“I could try to play the selfless card; that I’m out there just trying to get all these artists a stage, but I’m also trying to give myself a great stage as well.”
In addition to operating The Producers, Marcel will also be co-hosting Late Night Comedy with Lewis Dowell and presenting two of his own productions: a solo stand-up show called ‘The Best Man’ and the kid-friendly ‘Vampires Suck And Werewolves Smell!’. “The kids show is designed to be as funny and silly as possible, but it also has a message of inclusion and pro-diversity.
“I’m really hoping kids enjoy it and have a wonderful time, but there’s also a message they can take away.”
With over sixty acts and five stages The Producers runs 17 February until 19 March as part of Adelaide Fringe.
