Local company George Glass has been very successful with its brand of political satire combined with song, having created Abbott the Musical, Sociology the Musical and, also in the 2021 Adelaide Fringe, George Glass Does Art Attack.
Their latest creation, Scomo’s Sunday Service, is a two-header with Braden Hamilton playing Scott Morrison and Nic Conway playing a variety of characters, including the Irish priest greeting people at the door, the Archangel Gabriel who convinces Morrison he needs to poo his pants to become prime minister and, my favourite, Craig, the boy who has just joined Video Ezy and speaks with Morrison about his outstanding debt for borrowing the video RoboCop.
The basic premise of this show is that Scomo has been selected by God for big things but to achieve them he must poo for God. It is risky, risqué, under-graduate humour, and the show – fused with a healthy dose of cynical mockery of politics and politicians and some ribald gags – will likely grow with the season.
Hamilton’s portrayal of Morrison is rather bland and there is plenty of scope for him to capture the smug, trademark Morrison grin more often. Similarly, there is room for the two actors to have more fun when Conway is playing Morrison’s wife, Jenny, and she advises her husband about all matters spiritual, sexual and social.
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Their song “Bureaucratic Love”, with its innuendo and orgasmic joy of filling in forms, will ultimately be a big hit with audiences. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but it is very funny when Conway appears as a large turd and he and Hamilton perform a pas de deux.
There are a few technical issues with the performers and their diction, pacing of gags and rushed dialogue, but, in essence, everything is in place for another George Glass success.
The Fringe should be about performers willing to take risks and George Glass performers have shown over recent years that they are prepared to satirise who they like with biting wit and impressive impressions, boldly going where angels fear to tread.
Scomo’s Sunday Service is being presented in the Ballroom at Ayers House until March 13.
Read more Adelaide Fringe reviews and previews here.
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