It’s amazing what you can say when you’re not yourself. Barry Humphries, for example, got away with uttering the unspeakable so often as Sir Les Patterson.
That’s what you can do with satire. And that’s what the team behind The Wharf Revue do and it’s funny and it’s outrageous. There’s not enough laughter in mainstream theatre nowadays, although some of the shows I get to see are certainly a joke.
Which is why I was so looking forward to the return of The Wharf Revue with their new show Pride in Prejudice (a title inspired by the results of The Voice referendum) – on in the Playhouse at QPAC until March 9. It’s a short run, so don’t let it pass you by.
They were hilarious last year and this year are equally funny and clever and occasionally almost offensive. Good. Politics, gender, race … nothing is sacred and that is as it should be.
The team “dips into its Reserve Bank of gags to address the Cost of Laughing crisis”, the Creators’ Note promises. (Was this written by God?)
“We consult with Costa on the future of the planet, examine our ‘mutually respectful’ relationship with America in the South Pacific, hear the conflicting viewpoints of political puppets on Avenue Q&A, and reveal the nightmare that is the British Royal Family.
“We dive into the world of Russian opera, so sadly lacking on our stages, with the tragic story of a flawed hero in Mussorgsky’s unacclaimed masterpiece Raise-Putin. We saw the No Vote arising, and tap into the general mood of the country with the pertinent title Pride in Prejudice. The Wharf Revue (minus wharf) is now in its third year of self-government, and 24th year of existence. Yes, we began our work with the century, and have followed the political fortunes of Australia every misstep of the way.”
The show is written by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott “entirely without Artificial Intelligence or intelligence of any kind”. It features performances by Mandy Bishop, Biggins and Forsythe with guest stars David Whitney and Michael Tyack. Musical direction is by Andrew Worboys, and the show is produced by Jo Dyer through her company Soft Tread.
There is music, singing, dancing, silly costumes, audio-visual stimulation – and it’s all done with no interval in under two hours. Bliss.
The opening scene, a costumed period piece inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, is priceless, not to mention inappropriate in so many ways. They start as they mean to go on, I guess, and they get away with murder really.
There are moments when you think … “They can’t say that!” And yet they do.
It’s social and political satire and everybody gets a touch up. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is lampooned just as freely as “Robo Cop” Peter Dutton.
There’s a brilliant segment that is a take-off of Play School with Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock (not actually them) hosting. It’s hilarious and Mandy Bishop’s Lambie is just as funny this year as it was last year.
There’s a version of The Crown which is as poignant as it is bitingly funny. I won’t spoil it for you except to say that Biggins is brilliant again as King Charles and there are some ghostly goings on, as there were in the series.
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One of the highlights for me was the sketch with Donald Trump (Biggins) and Rudy Giuliani (Forsythe) on the run in the Florida Everglades after escaping from a federal penitentiary.
I’m not going to outline all the sketches, because you want some surprises. It’s sufficient to say that they have done it again.
The Wharf Revue: Pride in Prejudice continues until March 9, Playhouse, QPAC
qpac.com.au
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