NYMPH with Jennifer Trijo
26th February - 5th March at Nexus Arts Venue, Adelaide Fringe Festival 2026 https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/nymph-af2026
“The spiritual significance of a dragonfly, in some belief systems, is transformation”
In conversation with Jennifer, who is a South Australia based composer, songwriter, musical theatre performer, coach + mother, we discussed the making of her 2026 debut show NYMPH which is the first iteration of an overarching musical called Dragonfly. We discussed opening the door to newer performers in the industry + creating a folk-leaning musical that is more raw + poetic than commercial iterations music theatre.
“It was a great non-linear creative process, because art’s never finished, and creativity’s never linear”
Songs from NYMPH started landing when Jennifer was touring South Australia, performing with a particularly special cast. She became inspired by deep conversations, the whimsy of being on the road + noticing that when surrounded by artists, everything feels introspective + alive. Themes of sleepwalkers + daydreamers arose from noticing how certain people in society stay in conscious, unquestioning, surface-level realities + how others, like artist folks, tend to feel deeper, re-imagine + dream the world awake. Sleepwalker was the first song to arrive with the rest of the music ebbing + flowing it’s way into existence over the last 3 + a half years. Jennifer put the songs into notation + voice memos so she could store her ideas as they came through. In 2025, she felt ready to put some feelers out for funding + was successful with the Adelaide Fringe Fund + Cultivate residency which allowed her to get a five person cast onboard. Jennifer’s production team consists of 5 SA-based, trusted collaborators - one of whom is director, Valerie Berry, who has helped to tease more realism out of the performers + associate musical director Emma Knights is accompanying the show on piano.
“One of the parts of the creative process I’ve loved the most is surrendering any sense of how the show should sound, look, or feel”
Being established in the music theatre scene with a network of strong performers around her, there were many people Jennifer could’ve brought into the work, no questions asked - but she wanted to give newer performers a chance + so she put out an Australia-wide self-tape audition opportunity. She was deeply moved by hearing her songs come to life in the talented voices of so many different people + found her cast in good time. The team learnt material remotely + they came together for a first week intensive in December 2025, where they read the 25-page script, co-played the music + really collaborated on a felt sense of the world they were creating in the show. A 4-week intensive followed to physicalise the show ready for the season. Jennifer mentioned that she was blown away by how incredibly wholesome, grateful + caring the cast were throughout the creative process.
“Sleep hygiene, good food + fitness is the foundation + then creativity sits on top of that”
Jennifer coaches artists alongside her performance work + strongly believes that self-care needs to be an absolute priority in order to develop the stamina to both create + perform at a large scale. Jennifer is a performer who is used to the 8-show week + has done 1-2 year tours with this kind of consistency. She swears by getting enough sleep, eating really well + doing strength training to keep her mind body + spirit in good health so she has the resilience for the energetic exchange of live performance. She brings this into how she leads projects - she always starts rehearsals with physical warm-ups, as she knows this will prepare them for not only the creative process, but for the performance season.
“Human connection is just as important, if not more important, than the work we’re creating”
This cast is well taken care of - Jennifer knows the feeling of being treated like a cog in the wheel. And so, as a musical director + leader of this project, she puts wellbeing first. Often, the team would bring food + eat together before rehearsal + check-in to make sure that everyone felt heard + valued. In a show that is inviting the audience to turn inward, there definitely has to be a collective trust + a strong emotional connection between the cast. Jennifer mentioned that it is quite heavy to be an artist at the moment but that she wouldn’t change it. She said that we as artists have a responsibility to shine a light on what it means to be human + this is a thread that runs through her work.
My Review
Expect soaring vocals + grounding harmonies - this is a cast who floats between earth + sky questioning the meaning of life through song. A bold step in the right direction to deliver more heart + humanness to the musical theatre stage.
We are welcomed into a world that reminds us of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream - with a moonlit backdrop + characters, Luna and Sol, meeting in the long night. The premise of this show challenged the status quo of modern Australian life - why do we follow rules + not question things, how do we make space for the wondering poets, muses + rebels of this land + how can we connect despite our differences? I found this theme poignant + timely to reflect on - both from a personal + a political standpoint - an opportunity to return to love in the face of division. That being said, I feel the show needs further world development; I think there is room to define the worlds more clearly in a more detailed + creative when + where, so we can fully rest deeper into a dream space + reflect inward, as Jennifer intended.
It is no easy feat to write a musical + with all of her incredible music theatre experience, touring with shows like Once + Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Jennifer has created a profound musical journey for all. I really want to commend this team for stepping into the more poetic terrains of musical theatre + to start to unravel their training + talents into something deeper. The strongest aspects of this show lie within the choral moments, in-between songs - this is when I really felt the whispers of the forest + the elements, with a particular shout out to the Autumn arrangement. There was also something very moving about the gentleness + simplicity of Luna + Sol’s connection, with the chorus, supporting + echoing their emotional landscapes. More personal, tender + complex than your typical love story which I think sets this show apart from the mainstream. You could feel the essence of the live instrumental accompaniment + the expressive heart of each singer returning the audience back to their humanness with each song. The musical structure of the show was a well crafted tapestry - interweaving our senses, unfolding our subconscious + taking us on a journey through the universe.
Jennifer, the Nymph of the show, introduces herself as Nature. I must admit, while the wise words + influence of her character landed just right, the name, Nature, felt too obvious + enormous for any one person to embody or hold. On the other hand, I can see how simple concepts of day, night + nature are easy to follow for anyone who has forgotten their belonging to the natural world - which is a surprising amount of people in our society. This is the point where I think folk clashes with musical theatre - folk casts us into diverse, complex lore that belongs to a specific place + time, whereas musical theatre, in contrast, tends to stick to more universal + accessible themes of story. That being said, it is a great introductory show for those who are unaware that nature is always communicating with us - one of the songs that re-enchanted this phenomenon was Till You See Me, where Jennifer sang from the perspective of a tree. We are in a time of remembering many lost cultures, languages + stories that mirror our sacred inseparability to animate life - with many different European folk traditions being a part of this decolonial movement both here + back home where I’m from. Dialling up the specifics of this fantasy realm both musically + theatrically will help to emphasise the universal + avoid gentrifying the vast diversity of folk traditions.
From a musical theatre perspective, Nymph is a radical step in a more earthy direction. From a folk perspective, I feel wilder fantasy + world-building is required to really transport those, like me, who already dance in these circles. That being said, I think the heart, power + talent of this cast really blew Adelaide’s socks off with the audience in tears + a standing ovation to close.