The Adelaide Fringe is a community festival that has expanded over the last couple of years from the central business district of Adelaide to the outer suburbs and rural and regional South Australia. In keeping with that expansion, it was time that I ventured beyond concerts in the Spiegeltent to an outer suburban event in order to assess the landscape. The event that caught my eye was a tribute show to the legendary bass-baritone, civil rights activist and socialist, Paul Robeson at the Anglican Church of St Peters, just a few blocks from Glenelg’s popular sandy beachfront.

Gary Sanderson and Damien Mansfield

That said, while I was up for adventure, I didn’t expect to encounter a William Warfield or Willard White when the ticket price was $15, although I was pleasantly surprised nevertheless with the quality of what I experienced. Vocalist Gary Sanderson and accompanist Damien Mansfield both began as choristers at the Church. Both had gone on to study music and perform for local amateur light opera companies and Sanderson has been a fan of the spiritual for 45 years. The show consisted of him interposing biographical information about Robeson with some of...