Review: Sydney Theatre Company's Annual Piece of Political Satire Takes To The Larger Stage With THE WHARF REVUE: DEJÀ REVUE

Thursday 15th November 2018, 7:30pm Roslyn Packer Theatre

In its 18th year, Sydney Theatre Company's annual political parody rises to new levels of creative brilliance with THE WHARF REVUE: DÉJÀ REVUE. Regular creators and performers Jonathan Biggins and Drew Forsythe have returned to deliver a brilliant new night of astute entertainment with the aid of a more musical theatre weighted cast.

Given the show's namesake theatre is currently unavailable with the Wharf renewal project underway, the final stop of THE WHARF REVUE: DÉJÀ REVUE tour, which started in Parramatta in September, has arrived at the larger Roslyn Packer Theatre for the 2018 season. As the work is designed for touring, designer Charles Davies focusses the audience attention with a painted proscenium arch stage within the main stage. As with previous years' productions image projections and videos (David Bergman: Sound and Video Design) help transform the space and add detail.

For 2018 the creative dynamic has changed with 2017 being the last year former co-creator Philip Scott added his musical genius to the group. Andrew Worboys steps into Scott's position as Musical Director and performer. The change has resulted in more recognizable melodies with Biggins and Forsythe's trademark wit in play as they alter well known lyrics. There is a bigger influence from musical theatre, both contemporary and classic, for THE WHARF REVUE: DÉJÀ REVUE. This weighting has also influenced the casting with musical theatre darling Rachael Beck joining THE WHARF REVUE for the first time and Douglas Hansell returning from the UK for his second season with the show. Bringing Beck and Hansell onboard has resulted in not only a higher standard of vocals but also better dancing and more creative choreography.

Given the current political climate both domestically and internationally there is an abundance of source material to draw on. The recent leadership changes are presented in pantomime with Beck in the pants role of Little Malcolm of Point Piper bullied by Mother Abbot (Biggins) and her evil 'daughters' in an interpretation of Candystore with the 1980's styling of HEATHERS making way for 19th century crinolines in a twisted Cinderella complete with a Prince Charmless (Hansell) and a prancing Fairy godfather (Forsythe). Naturally Barnaby Joyce's philandering and hypocrisy is referenced as Hansell delivers an amusing country tune and regular favorites like Forsythe's Pauline Hanson and Biggins' Bob Browne return along with Biggins delivering a captivating 'guest' spot from a former prime minister which showed the stark contrast between the eloquence and intelligence of a well spoken leader and another of Biggins' well recognized characters, albeit with a better wig than the original. Whilst Worboys is predominantly serving as Musical Director on keyboard, he does a fabulous feature leading a version of Hello! selling THE BOOK OF CORMANN. In addition to national and international references the work is also tailored to it's Sydney audience with Beck taking on Gladys Berijiklian and The Plastic Wrap providing a percussive response to Craig Reucassel's television documentary series WAR ON WASTE.

This year's production seems to have been given a bigger budget than previous years. There are bigger orchestrated backing tracks for the pieces that require a fuller sound than Worboys keyboard. The costumes and wigs are more convincing, and the video and images projected onto the backdrop have improved considerably.

The Wharf Revue is always an enjoyable night out and Biggins and Forsythe have ensured that the show is a clever crack at politics without being crass or too complex. THE WHARF REVUE: DÉJÀ REVUE has potentially raised the bar of the annual production and definitely worth catching

THE WHARF REVUE: DÉJÀ REVUE

https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/productions/2018/the-wharf-revue-2018

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