Review by Markus Hamence – Duane Forrest’s ‘Tree Of Dreams’ – Performance date: Sunday 01 March 2026. The Courtyard of Curiosities, Adelaide, South Australia
Duane Forrest returns to the Adelaide Fringe for 2026 with his ‘work in progress’ Tree of Dreams, and what unfolds inside The Gallery at The Courtyard of Curiosities (At the Migration Museum) is less a traditional stage production and more a living piece of imagination breathing right in front of you. It feels like we are in Duane’s lounge room and we’re just chillin’ on bean-bags.
This is storytelling that refuses to, figuratively, sit still.
Blending live music, puppetry, shadow play and cinematic projection, Tree of Dreams follows a young boy growing up in government housing who slowly loses his ability to dream – until the universe begins quietly guiding him back toward hope, creativity, self-belief and climbing that TREE OF LIFE/DREAMS. The result is an intimate multimedia theatre experience where reality and fantasy constantly overlap, dissolving the boundary between memory, imagination and survival (Part told by chess pieces).
“The result (of the show) is an intimate multimedia theatre experience where reality and fantasy constantly overlap, dissolving the boundary between memory, imagination and survival (Part told by chess pieces)…”
Markus Hamence
Forrest is a magnetic presence. His soul energy emits from deep inside and what we receive is a man comfortable with himself, able to tell his life in story and embracing to, and for, all. Armed with guitar, voice and storyteller instinct, he moves effortlessly between musician, narrator and emotional anchor. His vocals feel personal rather than performative, grounding the show’s sweeping visuals in something deeply human. Every note and spoken moment carries weight, as though the audience is being trusted with fragments of lived experience rather than fiction. If you walk out of the performance not having connected with this dear human, you need to re-buy tickets and go back the next night, cos you missed something important along the way (said with love and respect). This show goes below the surface of the skin and plays with your insides with a tenderness only some artist can.
“This show goes below the surface of the skin and plays with your insides with a tenderness only some artist can…”
Markus Hamence
What makes Tree of Dreams extraordinary is its visual language. Everyday objects (again the chess pieces, plus more) transform into entire emotional landscapes. Forrest as the puppeteer manipulate small figures that suddenly become towering metaphors for fear, loneliness and resilience, while live projection magnifies these moments into cinematic scale. You’re not just watching theatre – you’re watching imagination being built in real time.
There’s a strong emotional undercurrent running throughout. Themes of childhood hardship, identity and mental health surface gently but powerfully, never overwhelming the audience, yet impossible to ignore. The show speaks to anyone who has ever felt boxed in by circumstance, reminding us that dreaming itself can be an act of rebellion.
“Every shadow, every movement, every guitar string lands with a brilliant clarity, drawing the us, the audience, into a shared collective dreamscape…”
Markus Hamence
The intimacy of the space works beautifully at The Courtyard of Curiosities’ ‘The Gallery’. Nothing feels distant. Every shadow, every movement, every guitar string lands with a brilliant clarity, drawing the us, the audience, into a shared collective dreamscape. We become his friends.
Tree of Dreams is tender, inventive and quietly profound – proof that Fringe theatre can still surprise by choosing heart over spectacle while somehow delivering both. Duane Forrest doesn’t just tell a story here; he invites us Adelaide audiences to reconnect with the part of themselves that still believes possibility is waiting just beyond reality.
You leave reminded of something simple but essential: dreams don’t disappear – sometimes they just need help finding their way back. Remarkable, Simple and the Truth. Bless you Duane Forrest for being the creative man you are.
Tree of Dreams
Saturday 21 February – Sunday 22 March 2026
The Gallery at The Courtyard of Curiosities at the Migration Museum
Tickets
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Duane Forrest is also performing at Holden Street Theatres with his show Bob Marley: How Reggae Changed The World
From Off Broadway to a sell-out Edinburgh Fringe, award-winning artist Duane Forrest takes audiences on an uplifting, deeply human journey through the music & legacy of global phenomenon Bob Marley. Blending soulful renditions of Marley’s classics with heartfelt stories of identity, ancestry & rediscovery, Forrest explores how reggae became a rhythm of unity, resistance &healing. Raised in Toronto by Jamaican parents, wrestling with identity, colorism, and cultural disconnection, he reflects on finding belonging through Marley’s message — reminding us that, in the end, every little thing is gonna be alright.
Bob Marley: How Reggae Changed The World
Tuesday 17 February – Sunday 22 March 2026
The Arch at Holden Street Theatres
Tickets
