From ScoMo to Gladys, from Michaelia to Tony, political leaders to be lampooned in Wharf Revue
A spectacles case with “Scott Morrison” written on sticking plaster lies on the table where Drew Forsythe and Jonathan Biggins are rehearsing their annual Wharf Revue.
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A SPECTACLES case with “Scott Morrison” written on sticking plaster lies on the table where Drew Forsythe and Jonathan Biggins are rehearsing their annual Wharf Revue.
Yes, Australia’s new Prime Minister is right here in this room at Fox Studios. Not literally, of course, but as a character undergoing speedy rewriting for his starring role in Biggins and Forsythe’s next Wharf Revue.
The Wharf Revue has been a fixture on the Sydney Theatre Company’s calendar since 2000, and has always been in the capable comedic clutches of Biggins and Forsythe who write and perform it.
After last week’s bloody coup in Canberra, the Liberal Member for Cook can expect to be metaphorically stripped of dignity and made the butt of some fabulously funny satire. What else would you expect?
Writer and comedian Phil Scott has been part of the creative team in past years but is taking a break from the Revue. This year’s production will feature the talents of actor Doug Hansell, actor/singer Rachael Beck, and Andrew Worboys as musical director, as well as Forsythe and Biggins, of course.
Outside of the Canberra press gallery, two people more obsessed by the daily theatre of politics than Forsythe and Biggins would be hard to find. It’s not that they love politics. It’s just that they’ve found politics makes people laugh, especially the “eccentric personalities” that litter the political landscape.
“Pauline. Barnaby,” Biggins says.
“Michaelia,” Forsythe says. “She keeps on giving. We were a bit panicky there because we thought she might be dumped at one point.”
Stormy Daniels, Michaelia Cash, Melania Trump and Gladys Berejiklian are all being given the musical theatre treatment and will be performed by Beck.
“We’ve given her quite a few showstoppers,” Biggins says.
One of them will be the Gladys Berejiklian Infrastructure Song, which Beck will sing in a hard hat.
Biggins’ characters will include Trump himself and Tony Abbott “in a dress”. Forsythe will do Eric Abetz “in a dress”, as well as Pauline. Forsythe holds a book with Hanson on the cover.
“It’s all my speeches, copulated into a book,” Forsythe says in character.
“It’s complete copulation.”
Hansell will do the Ballad of Barnaby’s Choice. He’ll also do ScoMo and Peter Dutton aka “Prince Charmless”.
Unlike the hacks in the national capital, the two comedians abhor social media and don’t use it for sourcing the news. They favour newspapers, television and radio, and bring their accumulated impressions to planning meetings which beginning each April.
The Revue keeps the lads busy throughout the rest of the year. It tours to regional towns as well as Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.
As to which politicians are going to get the Wharf Revue treatment, it depends on “who’s causing chaos”.
“We’re not an opinion piece,” Forsythe says.
“We’re more like the cartoons in the daily papers. We try to lighten the mood and give the audience something to laugh at rather than get stressed over.”
Sydney Theatre Company’s Wharf Revue tour starts September 13-15, Riverside Theatre, Parramatta, $30-$69. Other dates include September 20-22, Q Theatre, Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith, $30-$75; November 13-December 15, Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney, $59-$75, sydneytheatre.com.au