Glam Adelaide
Review by Kristin Stefanoff | 12 March 2025
This is no magic show, but there’s no doubt that David Salter knows how to weave an illusion. An Evening With Dame Granny Smith is an interview with the most famous apple of them all, discussing everything from her early life, to her breakout role in Disney’s Snow White, to many significant moments since then. In moments you forget that you are watching a piece of fruit with chunks carved out of it, and become swept up in this larger than life character. Dame Smith (not to be mixed up with her tarty cousin Maggie), is witty and clever, if perhaps a little senile in her old age. She even sings!
David is a master of ventriloquism, and, combined with his acting skills, bounces the two characters (Dame Granny Smith and the interviewer) off each other with expert comic timing and a remarkable level of believability in the characters.
It wouldn’t be a David Salter show without some kind of quirky twist in the narrative, and this tale includes a few! These moments are funny and unexpected, while also moving the plot towards its inevitably crunchy end.
For a finely crafted piece of cabaret, An Evening With Dame Granny Smith is an absolute must see this Fringe.
Such Cliche
Review by Cara Brown | 12 March 2025
In the traditional stylings of light entertainment, an Evening with Dame Granny Smith starts with David Salter welcoming us to the small room for a VIP evening with the famed Dame.
With disbelief left at the door we are introduced to the uncompromising and formidable Smith, a literal apple.
Through ventriloquism, song and Q&A , Salter takes us on a journey of discovery finding out what is at the core of Smith.
You know a ventriloquist has honed their craft when the audience starts watching the puppet and not the performer. The tennis heads of the audience were evident as they moved from Salter to Smith, waiting for her response to his questions and listening intently to her anecdotes.
More than just a ventriloquist, Salter is innately funny, his asides and retorts from Smith are spattered with clever one liners and hidden jokes that dawn on the audience as he passes through the conversation with ease.
Salter’s delivery is fast and flawless, while convincingly flustered with Smith he never drops a line or a ukelele.
The story takes a twist to an unexpected place and the audience were thrilled.
This Evening is an unique one and recommended to any Fringe goer that likes something hilariously different.
This is the new breed of ventriloquist performers and what a welcome sight it is too.
