Rachael Beck, Douglas Hansell, Jonathan
Biggins and Drew Forsythe in STC Déjà Revue. Photo: Brett Boardman
No doubt about it, Australian politics is the gift that keeps on giving, and the creators of the Déjà Revue, penned by the ever-acerbic and clever duo of Jonathan Biggins and Drew Forsythe, does not disappoint. So far, it never has.
This is the 18th “Wharf Revue”, renamed this year as it is in the much larger Roslyn Packer Theatre over the road from the Wharf Theatres, which are being renovated. This gives this year’s revue a slightly different feel – an audience of 800 rather than 300; a much bigger stage, more emphasis on musical theatre (after many years of service to the cause, Phil Scott stepped down last year and is ably replaced by Andrew Worboys as musical director) – but, never fear, it is still the Revue Sydneysiders know and love.
Trumping around: Drew Forsythe and
Jonathan Biggins Photo: Brett Boardman
That our political scene is a pantomime is a given, and so a “toy theatre” greets audiences and Biggins appears as Buttons in a fairytale where the unprincipled boy (played by Rachael Beck) is a poor sweet thing (born in the gutters of Point Piper), and destined to rise via merchant banking to the highest office in the land only to be backstabbed by nasty self-seeking enemies, among them a conniving bloke called Peter (Douglas Hansell). Who knew? It is both a hoot, and a lament. Mainly a hoot.
The Revue team quickly leaves the pantomime stage behind. A demolition team comes on to tear it down, placards appear declaring “We’re building Tomorrow”s Sydney”, and the audience falls apart in derisive laughter even before Beck appears, this time as Gladys trying to convince us her policies are working. (NB, attendance at the Revue should be compulsory for all politicians)
Beck, a newcomer to the Revue, has an amazing voice and plays an astonishing range of characters, from the aforementioned young Malcontent to Stormy Daniels, via Gladys, Sarah Hanson Young, Melania Trump and Michaelia Cash.
Please explain: Drew Forsythe does a brilliant Pauline.Photo: Brett Boardman
Beck’s forté is song and dance; Forsythe and Biggins are masters of impersonation. Forsythe as Pauline Hanson at a book launch, explaining that it is “a copulation” of her political speeches is a triumph both in delivery and its many malapropisms (“please explain”); Biggins could be mistaken for P J Keating as he points out to his ‘’fellow irrelevant Australians”, that among other things, Tony Abbot will go down in history for “bringing down four governments, including his own”; and he does Trump almost better than Trump does himself (Biggins should, perhaps, not travel to the US, well at least not with that hair).
These are some of the usual suspects (and given the awful predictability of Western politics, they remain mainstays). New this year is the team’s Book of Corman, which is laugh out loud and, of course, our latest PM. If I am being picky, Hansell’s ScoMo didn’t convince – but, hey! Where’s the surprise there? – and although the lyrics in his Barnaby Joyce lampoon are exceedingly clever and very funny, I find I can’t even laugh at BJ. Plenty of others did.
All this and more! There is so much to enjoy in this Revue, including an appearance from Her Maj herself. If only it wasn’t such a dire reflection on our politicians! Still, better to laugh than cry. Don’t miss it.
Déjà Revue plays at the Roslyn Packer Theatre until December 15.
