JOELY POLEY, PUDDIN' & PIE and PONY Come to Adelaide Fringe

They might be just eighteen months old, but regional Victoria's Limelight Touring Company is already taking great strides. Supported by an Adelaide Fringe Fund Producers Grant, founding director Brenda Spilva is bringing two shows to Fringe in 2026, in what will be the company's Adelaide debut.

“We are so grateful to Adelaide Fringe for welcoming and supporting us. Limelight Touring was established to bring independent theatre to regional towns, and while Adelaide is definitely not that, the opportunity to showcase two incredible shows and performers is really exciting”, she said.

Pony tells the story of Hazel, a thirty-something reality TV superfan who has fallen pregnant and is completely unprepared for it. Spilva says performer Laura Gundrill, from Wangaratta in Victoria's Northeast, is a marvel.

“Eloise Snape's script for Pony has been called Australia's version of Fleabag, and Laura brings that gritty combination of charm and chaos to the role of Hazel. There are actually 27 different characters' perspectives in this one-woman show, and Laura takes them on superbly. She's crass, funny, deluded, and yet we root for her to find her way to becoming the mother her unborn child needs her to be.” 

Limelight is also bringing JC Clapham's new storytelling comedy show, Joely Poley, Puddin' & Pie, to Fringe. Audiences may remember JC's two previous shows from 2017 (Humpty Dumpty Daddy) and 2018 (Loves Me, Loves Me Not), where he reflected and riffed on the themes of male mental health, divorce, and parenting. 

Both shows received rave reviews, and Spilva is anticipating a similar response to Joely Poley.

“JC's got a real knack of being heartwarming, humorous and disarmingly honest. He brings the audience in to his heart and talks about some heavy things really openly, interspersed with his cheeky charm. Joely Poley looks at identity and the roles we are given, choose, lose, and create in our lives”, said Spilva. 

Both shows are being performed in multiple venues, giving audiences all around Adelaide the chance to join the Limelight team and share the Fringe spirit.

Pony

5 March: Marion Cultural Centre, Oaklands Park
6, 7 March: 10 Gallon Hat Bar, Port Adelaide
10, 11, 12 March: The Warehouse Theatre, Unley

Joely Poley, Puddin & Pie