Chameleon: 2014 Adelaide Fringe Festival; Freya Bennett: The Marvellous Reject Girl, music review

Melbourne-based singer, songwriter and artist Freya Bennett. Image: StarNow.

Marvellously Mellow by Linh

Freya Bennett is a Melbourne-based singer, songwriter and artist who made her Adelaide Fringe Festival debut at a pop-up venue called Tandanya Firefly, which is within the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute of Australia. Her show is titled The Marvellous Reject Girl, which is also the name of her debut album, and features all the songs, spoken word story and some of the photography from the album. The Marvellous Reject Girl is quirky and interesting blend of songs, spoken word, photography and a bit of astronomy.

Freya Bennett promotional photograph. Image: StarNow.

Bennett sings and plays the keyboard, while wonderfully supported throughout by a band comprised of cellist Helen, Nathan on drums and Harry the guitarist. Bennett’s singing voice is soft and mellifluous and she maintains the same sweetness and gentleness while reading the story about the marvellous reject girl and her cat named Mint. The story is written by Bennett’s friend Stefanie Markidis and it is cleverly woven into the show to link with the songs and the photography by American artist Sophie Pelligrini which is projected onto a large screen above the stage.


Night scene photography by Sophie Pelligrini. ©Sophie Pelligrini.

Capturing a contemplative and serene moment. ©Sophie Pelligrini.

All the songs from the show are beautifully sung and have common themes of loneliness, sadness, rejection and self-acceptance, but without sounding dreary or slow. The melodies are whimsical and the lyrics are optimistic, with an uplifting feel reminiscent of indie pop or soft rock ballads.

Pelligrini’s photography is a mix of colour and black and white images, from night scenes to intimate moments and urban streetscapes, that are made more intriguing with some astronomical magic on the screen’s top left hand corner (audience’s right hand side). A large white ball hangs from the ceiling above the stage in front of the screen, and a projector reflects the photographs onto the screen. The large white ball blocks some of the photography, casting a black shadow onto the screen’s top left hand corner. This creates a lunar eclipse effect onto the screen and colours the white ball with parts of the photographs, making the ball look like the planet Earth. In other words, the projector acts like the sun, the white ball as Earth and the black shadow as the moon. This is apt as the performance was at night and lunar eclipses occur at night, thus creating a dreamy or romantic atmosphere for the show.

Freya Bennett performing at the 2014 Adelaide Fringe Festival with her band members cellist Helen, drummer Nathan and guitarist Harry; featuring Sophie Pelligrini's photography onscreen with the lunar eclipse effect. Image: Facebook.

Freya Bennett and her band at the 2014 Adelaide Fringe Festival. Image: Facebook.

Bennett is a rising singer and songwriter to watch for in the future. She is currently writing songs and collaborating with other artists for her second album. She is also a saxophonist, so it would be fun to hear her play saxophone on a few of her upcoming songs. Bennett also is an artist who designs, paints and draws for music albums, greeting cards, gifts and websites. She is a multi-talented and creative collaborator whose music reflects her own aspirations and personal goals in her life to bring people together with music and art.