Premier Arts & Entertainment Coverage

Love is a Game: An Adele Song Cycle

February 28, 2026

Review by Markus Hamence – Love is a Game: An Adele Song Cycle – Performance date: Friday 27 February 2026. Holden Street Theatres, Hindmarsh, South Australia

There’s a quiet confidence running through Love is a Game: An Adele Song Cycle – the kind that knows the music already carries emotional history, but still dares to reimagine it. What creator Oliver John has built for the 2026 Adelaide Fringe is not a tribute concert, nor traditional musical theatre, but a beautifully constructed emotional journey stitched together through some of the most recognisable songs of the modern era.

Presented with heart and soul at Holden Street Theatres, this already award-winning South Australian production returns bigger, richer and more emotionally assured, driven by a cast of eight performers supported by a tight three-piece live band, transforming Adele’s catalogue into layered storytelling rather than simple performance.

“…a beautifully constructed emotional journey stitched together through some of the most recognisable songs of the modern era…”
Markus Hamence

The brilliance of John’s concept lies in it’s perspective. These songs aren’t impersonations or vocal showpieces for the sake of spectacle – they become lived experiences, the story. Three interconnected stories unfold across themes of romantic love, queer identity, friendship and personal healing, allowing familiar lyrics to land with surprising intimacy and renewed meaning. You don’t need to be an Adele fan, or even know the songs for that matter, as the story telling connects the song with you regardless. For those that KNOW the songs, you will see them in a different light, visually and with new emotion as to what perhaps the song was originally written about.

Vocally, the ensemble is extraordinary, NO, like REALLY extraordinary – they are some of Adelaide’s finest, easy. Eight distinct voices merge into soaring harmonies (the said harmonies are executed with a perfection found in performers, most often, of only vast experience) one moment, then fracture into raw, solitary vulnerability the next. The arrangements feel cinematic despite the intimacy of the venue, with the live band (Raff Raschella: Keys, Matt Hawke: Guitars/Bass & Ben Waller: Drums) providing subtle musical muscle – never overpowering, always emotionally in sync with the performers on stage.

A feature of the 80 minute piece is the ensemble chemistry. No single performer dominates; instead, the production moves like a shared emotional heartbeat. Scenes blur between concert, cabaret and contemporary theatre, with choreography (thanks to Jay Scott) and staging flowing naturally from the music rather than interrupting it. When the full company joins together vocally, the effect is genuinely spine-tingling.

John’s direction understands Adele’s greatest strength – emotional honesty. By expanding the songs beyond heartbreak clichés, Love is a Game embraces the full spectrum of connection: messy relationships, gender fluidity, chosen family, late-night revelations and the quiet act of learning to love yourself again. The result feels deeply inclusive and unmistakably human.

“… (this show) confirms Oliver John as one of Adelaide’s most exciting musical theatre creators right now…”
Markus Hamence

By the closing moments, the audience isn’t just listening to songs they know – they’re recognising pieces of their own lives reflected back at them. There, at the final bow, was a moment of ‘But, what about that song?’, ‘What about this hit track?’… They didn’t leave us hanging, the rousing encore more than filled that gap. Bravo.

Love is a Game: An Adele Song Cycle confirms Oliver John as one of Adelaide’s most exciting musical theatre creators right now. With dreamy powerhouse vocals, smart theatrical vision and a seamless eight-person ensemble backed by a superb three-piece band, this is Fringe musical storytelling at its most heartfelt and emotionally resonant.

A standout local production that proves with polish that great and classic songs don’t just survive a reinterpretation – they thrive inside it. This is bonkers good, get along quick-smart.