Looking for Al...

First up for the night was the Wharf Review, this time called Looking for Albanese, obviously channeling Looking for Alibrandi.  Also obviously with suggestions of a tentative government, perhaps justified after 2019.  Again the four Wharfies, variously musicians and scriptwriters and singers and performers.  The themes are various characters in Australian and occasional International political matters.  The short sketches are (almost?) always pop or musical numbers rethemed and relyricised.  Oh, and a lengthy rhyme from Katy Gallagher as Finance Minister.  The whole started with four singing dummies then through all manner of pollies.  I noticed a preponderance of skits on Labor matters, no doubt following the election that trounced Morrison and his do-nothing spendthrifts.  I don't think Dutton, leader of the opposition, even appears (think Yepon/Yeppoon: I have no idea of spelling but I'm not from Queensland unlike Dutton).  Barnaby and Katter as apt.  Jackie Lambie appeared as a boot-skooter to introduce and sing at Tamworth.  The Greens got a spot as the alt.Wiggles.  Amusing if pretty obvious.  There was a fabulous scene of Gillard, Keating and Rudd at National Conference.  Similarly, Albanese was consistently believable.  The night started fairly tame, I thought, with limited laugh and applause, but finished with a take on West Side Story and Albo and mates, with dance/song numbers from the Rumble and Gee, Officer Krupke.  Most impressive and the biggest laugh and best received and apt as the last number of the night.  Not the belly laughs of previous Wharves that I've seen, but they are a hoot.

Jonathan Biggins, Mandy Bishop, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott appeared in the Wharf Review called Looking for Albanese at the Canberra Playhouse.

Telling on our times

It's not a good time these days, with Covid and climate and government so maybe that's why I didn't get so many belly-laughs at the latest Wharf Revue.  Yeah, they were funny and I did laugh outright at the skit on Jacquie Lambie.  The swearing helps with its shock value, of course, not that that was the only skit with swearing.  But I also warm to Jacquie: a rough jewel but she speaks truth and owns up to mistakes.  Not so our PM or the party in general.  Not so much some of our media.  Murdoch got a run with Mephistopheles in a skit on selling souls, but, if I caught the humour right, it was a turnaround with Murdoch doing the selling and Satan the buyer.  An interesting twist.  My heart sank with a big skit on housing with Dorothy as a hopeful home-seeker and the Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion as various real estate people and, interesting, the Wizard as Philip Lowe, head of the Reserve Bank.  The ScoMo skit was meagre like the man and Albo didn't even get a skit.  That says something.  His one appearance was as a potential planetary saviour as seen by despairing aliens: one pic on a screen, that's all.  There was a decent Trump skit; a big cabaret number by Michaelia Cash; Barnaby Joyce showing three others through his man (coal) cave; a Kublai Khan rehash for Xi Jinping; an impressive Armenian song, with balalaika, for Gladys B; some ex-PMs, Rudd and Howard; Pauline Hanson, of course.  So on for 90 mins.  All somewhat sad and pretty telling of our country at present.  The response, too, was indicative: supportive but not overwhelmed.  I only noticed one standing ovation.  Nonetheless, good on the Wharf Revue and shame on our politics.  Pretty costly though, but that I can understand: artists don't sell furniture.

The Wharf Revue 2021 was entitled Can of worms.  The WR is created by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phil Scott and Mandy Bishop joins them in performance.

• Thanks to the WR for the use of their banner.  I trust they won't mind.