Review: THE BOY WITH THE GOLDEN FOX – ADELAIDE FRINGE 2024 at Norwood Town Hall, Don Pyatt Hall

Reviewed by Ewart Shaw, Saturday 16th March 2024.

The Boy with the Golden Fox is a tale with a genealogy stretching back to the dawn of storytelling.

Ewing, a boy moving into manhood, has gone into the woods. He is separated from his father and other members of the clan. He encounters the fabled Golden Fox, about whom many magical rumours swirl. They team up, and the fox leads the boy to safety. These woods are full of strange creatures including the murderous Wommolly, whose hunched black figure scampers across the floor. It’s well achieved, but wait, there’s more. The show has a cast of five in a small space in the Don Pyatt Hall of the Norwood Town Hall. Costume and character changes must take place in a cramped corner.

It's Benji Riggs’s production. He wrote it, composed the music, and plays the fox. Each of those roles marks an impressive achievement.

Interviewed for Arts on Air on 5EBI, he quoted such fantasy writers as CS Lewis, and such composers as Stephen Sondheim and John Williams, as significant influences on his style.

The role of the boy, a feisty young lad, is played by Milla Ilic. The cross-gender casting is a long-standing theatre tradition, and she’s fine in the role. Daisy Jury, Noah Magourilos, and Sebastian Cox are everyone else, human and animal.

While aimed at a young audience, there’s enough theatrical magic in this production, from The Flying Elephant Company, to also enchant older theatregoers and, should it be revived any time soon, near you, go along.

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