Pennies From Kevin

Is it really that time of the year already? The Wharf Revue is back, ready to summarise a year of politics and current affairs with some song and dance. Jonathan Biggins, Helen Dallimore, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott have put together some old-fashioned razzle-dazzle to put 2009 into perspective.

The Wharf Revue?
Wharf 1, Sydney??

Friday, 6 November, 2009

Is it really that time of the year already? The Wharf Revue is back, ready to summarise a year of politics and current affairs with some song and dance. Jonathan Biggins, Helen Dallimore, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott have put together some old-fashioned razzle-dazzle to put 2009 into perspective.

Politicians are of course staple fodder at these events. We have Kevin and Julia fighting the forces of the evil Deficit at Hogwarts, Penny Wong and Peter Garrett lamenting their Constant Cave-Ins, and Senators Fielding, Xenophon and Brown proving that Canberra’s Got Talent! The delivery is rapid-fire, with costume and scene changes effected at lightning speed.

One of the funniest elements of the night was also one of the quietest – Drew Forsythe uncannily channels Bob Ellis, depicted here as a surly Samuel Pepys-esque diarist. He regales the audience with his adventures in Sydney’s high society – facing horrors such as being ‘pursued by the lunch bill.’ Biggins, for his part, does a very effective Paul Keating, while Scott has really honed his Kevin Rudd impersonation, right down to his rhetorical tics and certain unsavoury dietary habits. Dallimore is in magnificent voice as Penny Wong and Michelle Obama, but manages to rough up her vocal chords as Julia Gillard.

The cast is at its best when there are personalities to be mimicked and mocked. However when they turn to more general topics, such as Indian students in Australia, various interpretations of ‘possession’ in Jerusalem, or a conversation between atheist-agonistic Democrats in heaven, things are on shakier ground. They all have a knack for imitation and are strong musical performers, but the material is much weaker when they’re dealing with generic stereotypes rather than specific personalities. These numbers feel like filler.

They do save the best for last – the adventures of Amanda Vanstone in Rome, where she and Silvio Berlusconi engage in a battle of appetites. Dallimore is hilarious as our ambassador to Italy. She’s like a butterfly entering the chrysalis and emerging as a caterpillar; having spent much of the evening being immaculate in dress and voice, she well and truly busts out in a raucously vile and coarse performance. Freaking hilarious.

Pennies From Kevin is, for the most part, a great evening of light entertainment. It has toe-tapping tunes, political satire and some really distracting wigs. Funny stuff.

Bookings (02) 9250 1777

??Until 12 December 2009