Sarahtonin

Review by Ethan Gallagher

Before I went to see Sarah Bowers ‘Sarahtonin’ I had been in the sun all day and gotten a terrible sunburn. However, I would not attribute the soft, warm feeling I had throughout her show to that; Bowers delivers a cozy, spellbinding performance that I was captured by from beginning to end.

After being ushered into the softly lit performance space, the audience was prompted to write down something that made them happy and put it into a bowl. This began the interactive exploration of the things in life that give us ‘Sarahtonin’. Bowers shares stories from her life, from family history to flirty flings in foreign countries, accompanied by entrancing guitar medleys.

A unique and brilliant aspect was Bowers’ constant interruption of her own songs to question audience members about their lives, which drew the audience in and gave the show an almost collaborative feel. Bowers has a real knack for storytelling, and an extremely inviting and captivating stage presence.

Unlike many confessional shows at the Melbourne Fringe, Sarahtonin is not the most challenging of the audience, but it comforts with unrivalled deftness. Certainly in current times, many theatregoers are looking for that exact thing. I’ll definitely be tuning in to Sarah’s future endeavors, and I think you should too.