Adelaide Fringe Festival 2017 review: Royal Croquet Club gets new lease of life at Pinky Flat, near Adelaide Oval
THE Royal Croquet Club — forced out of Victoria Square — has been given a new lease of life on the edge of the River Torrens, writes Colin James.
- Council looks at Royal Croquet Club’s future in Victoria Square
- Royal Croquet Club could be forced out of Victoria Square
- ACC puts decision off on Royal Croquet Club
- Ratepayers pay bulk of bill to remediate damaged Victoria Square
The Royal Croquet Club
Fringe Venue ****1/2
Pinky Flat, War Memorial Drive
Operating until March 19
LET me be very clear. I hated the Royal Croquet Club when it was in Victoria Square.
To me, it was a private operation run by some Hooray Henrys who were paying a pittance to operate a giant nightclub, complete with a cover charge, on prime public space.
Worse still, once they had packed up and pocketed their rumoured millions, the place was left looking like a dog’s breakfast.
Cyclone fencing had to be erected while the lawn had to be ripped up and replaced with new rolls of astro turf. It looked bloody awful.
Then, when the heat went on the Adelaide City Council over how much they were charging in rent, which was bugger all in the scheme of things, they got all indignant — as did the Hooray Henrys.
Scrutiny of the liquor licensing arrangements for the event and criticism from the hospitality industry that the giant pop-up bar had been given an unfair advantage over bricks and mortar businesses ruffled even more feathers.
In the end, the council caved under the justified pressure and asked the Royal Croquet Club’s operators if they would move to Pinky Flat, next to the Adelaide Oval, on the edge of the River Torrens.
What a masterstroke that decision has turned out to be.
The Torrens Riverbank precinct around the Adelaide Festival Centre, Elder Park (with its magnificent rotunda) and the superlative Adelaide Oval is about to become the focal point of the Adelaide Festival, which officially opens on Friday night.
One of its centrepieces will be a floating structure on the Torrens, The Parc Palais, near the pedestrian footbridge linking the construction site which is now the Festival Plaza to the Adelaide Oval.
Just down from the bridge on Memorial Drive, opposite the tennis courts, is the Royal Croquet Club.
It is no longer a giant pop-up bar gouging into Victoria Square, its various outlets and tents crammed into the size of an average suburban football oval. It can now hold about 7000 people.
Pinky Flat has provided much more space for it to spread out, with its creative designers cleverly placing performing venues on its perimeters and creating a convivial meeting point around a large pond.
There are various bars and eateries, some of which are double-storeyed, with viewing decks. All up, it has been well thought-out and, for this former opponent, is quite a winner.
The boundary is the River Torrens, where you can sit at various spots late at night, looking at a light show beamed across the waterway to illuminate the Adelaide Casino, InterContinental Hotel and Convention Centre.
Week nights at the Royal Croquet Club are generally quiet, or at least the three times I’ve been there. The weekends, though, go absolutely berserk, with several thousand cashed-up patrons predominantly in their 20s or 30s attending from Friday night through to close on Sunday.
There have been complaints about long queues, popular beverages running dry and congestion around the food stalls. But that’s what happens when something becomes very popular. It’s the only negative I’ve heard about the place, hence the four and half stars.
Despite the shortcomings over food and alcohol provisioning, the new location has created a new Fringe venue to rival the Garden of Unearthly Delights and its irreverent neighbour, Gluttony, down at the East End.
Commuting between the two, depending on where your shows are, isn’t difficult. There are plenty of taxis parked outside both, Eco cabbies with pedals poised, Ubers if that’s your fancy or, be like me, and just walk.
The stroll along the North Tce cultural precinct at night is particularly spectacular this time of year. Just make sure you go past the War Memorial Walk alongside Government House as you cut across to King William Road.
To give credit where credit is due, Adelaide City Council you deserve a round of applause for negotiating such a successful outcome to the problem you were faced with last year.
To the club’s directors — Tom Skipper, Stuart Duckworth and Sam Weckert — take a bow. You’ve done Adelaide and the Fringe proud, even if you are Hooray Henrys.