Now it’s Gladys the musical: the all-singing, dancing political saga
The fall from grace of former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has been transformed into a ‘musical journey’ for the Sydney Fringe Festival.
Like many journalists, Nick Rheinberger took reams of notes during the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption’s hearings involving former premier Gladys Berejiklian last year.
The case had all the makings of a political scandal, and the ABC Illawarra Mornings presenter made it his business to be across the story.
“I started (paying close attention) during ICAC just because I was doing a lot of (on-air) interviews and stories on it,” Rheinberger says.
But as the list of notes got longer the evidence grew more explosive. Berejiklian eventually was found guilty of engaging in corrupt conduct, as was her ex-partner, Daryl Maguire, the former state member for Wagga Wagga. She appealed and lost.
The scrawls became grist for Rheinberger’s other mill: music. “Once I had enough material I just started writing songs and formed this narrative,” says the southern highlands-based journalist and musician.
Before Rheinberger knew it, a couple of songs about one of the great “tragicomedies” of politics had turned into a fully fledged all-singing, all-dancing theatre production.
This week, the story comes full circle when Gladys: A Musical Affair, a work by Rheinberger and his partner in life and cabaret Tia Wilson, premieres at Sydney Fringe Festival.
“(As the saga played out), Tia and I said, ‘These are the makings of a great tragedy – a fall from grace’, it’s the phoenix blazing brightly and then falling to earth,” Rheinberger says.
“Everyone I speak to goes, ‘Oh well, we’ve all had a shitty boyfriend …’ ”
The duo (known on the circuit as Rheinberger and Wilson) became real-life partners with the creation of the show, having worked together previously.
“Tia plays the accordion and is a fantastic singer, so I said: Can you do this role? And she did. In fact, you could say that Gladys brought us together,” Rheinberger says.
The show features a four-piece cast of actors and musicians, with 11 songs written by the duo covering everything from power ballads to Armenian romance music, according to the presenter.
Despite having fun with the story, the pair say they have been cautious in their approach to retelling Berejiklian’s tale.
Rheinberger says despite the former premier’s shortcomings, she was a dedicated and distinguished public servant during a time of great need in NSW.
“Humans are endlessly fascinating and that’s why we’re so interested in tragedy,” he says.
“In the end, she is a hero for most of it, but we don’t gloss over the strangeness of it all.”
Wilson echoes this sentiment, and says she wanted to approach Berejiklian’s story from a feminist perspective. “I think a lot of people were conflicted, a lot of women particularly,” Wilson says.
“(Many women wanted) to support women in politics but also we want a democracy. We don’t want corruption, we want transparency. I tried to write a few things in the show that give us that feeling of being torn and hurt.’
The show is now sold out but Rheinberger insists the former NSW boss is always welcome: “There’s always a seat open for Gladys should she want to come.”
Gladys: A Musical Affair is at the Kings Cross Hotel Cabaret Hub in Sydney until Saturday.
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