SIMON BURKE: SOMETHING ABOUT ALWAYS Adelaide Cabaret Festival Adelaide Festival Theatre Stage Until 19 Jun 2011 Review by Jamie Wright A week after playing host to the opening night Variety Gala, Simon Burke is back on the Festival Theatre stage – albeit in its intimate cabaret configuration – to perform his solo show. It opens with a short clip from the film 'The Devil's Playground', which features a thirteen-year-old Burke in his AFI-award winning role; from there we are taken on a journey through his career from that point to now, encompassing his many stage roles in Australia and overseas, and his time hosting the iconic children's program 'Play School'. It's a well-balanced set; the more serious numbers are contrasted by the lighter ones, and interspersed with funny and revealing anecdotes about his escapades in theatre. Numbers include 'Song on the Sand' from 'La Cage Aux Folles', 'My Country', 'Still Crazy After All These Years', a haunting rendition of 'Edelweiss', a dark monologue from the play 'Three Furies: Scenes from the Life of Francis Bacon', and a medley of songs both from and inspired by 'Play School'. The result is an entertaining show, courtesy of an experienced performer who's still able to find a childlike sense of fun in what he does – it may be a few years since he was that thirteen-year-old boy on the big screen, but he's still in there.