THE BROTHERS GRIMM SPECTACULATHON Venture Theatre Company Trinity Uniting Hall Until 30 Nov 2019 Review by Doug Phillips As the title suggests, Venture Theatre Company’s latest offering is an extravaganza of well-loved children’s tales, interwoven into one large story full of laughs and fun. The story, although a little disjointed, is hilariously well-written and executed cleverly by the cast. In his directorial debut, David Giles gives us a fast-paced show full of action, intrigue, romance, and comedy. The actors appear to have been given just enough direction, with also enough liberty to really make the characters their own. Each actor has embraced this freedom and given their all. Not the least of all being ATG’s own Luke Wagner, whose hilarious performance as the world’s largest dwarf is not to be missed. Other worthy mentions include Kristy Mundy for her extraordinary effort as every character in the tale of Cinderella, and Tom Watson’s wide and varied accent abilities. The Cinderella sketch was too long, and the fight scenes were a little cringeworthy; however, the audience participation element was very well done (which feels rare these days). There was no set to speak of, but this was part of the charm. Making a feature out of a complete lack of set is no mean feat, and the cast and production team should be proud of their efforts. As a show full of witches, royalty, neglectful parents, quiz shows, dwarfs, and everything else you’d expect from a Grimm Brothers Spectaculathon, the only thing missing was crab people. Oh, wait… *Luke Wagner is a reviewer for Adelaide Theatre Guide