Bulipun Kwobinyarn

Australia's First Indigenous Prime Minister

Original Review:

The result is a mixed bag, with witty, knowing sketches sitting cheek-by-jowl with those that wouldn’t seem out of place in a desperately naive stage school revue.

However, the eager audience on press night lap it up indiscriminately, greeting every punchline with whoops of laughter. It often seems as if they are just that little bit too determined to enjoy themselves – guffawing and clapping not so much as an involuntary reflex, but to demonstrate their support.

For example, each passing reference to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s much-vaunted apology to the stolen generation appears instinctively hilarious. Just playing a medley of tracks such Who’s Sorry Now? gets a round of applause at every lyric, without the need for any of that tiresome bother of putting jokes into it.

There’s no doubt that all four charismatic writer-performers – Isaac Drandich, Cy Fahey, Melodie Reynolds and Mia Stanford – are expert in working up this enthusiasm, but it frequently comes at the expense of subtlety. They perform each sentence as if it ends with four exclamation marks, not just a full stop.

Yet there are segments that buck the trend. Drandich does a good turn imagining the inaugural speech of Australia’s first black Prime Minister, where the political rhetoric gives him reasonable excuse to ham it up; while the engaging Stanford some playful stand-up (and an associated sketch) about appearing white despite being from the Kungarakan people, which mockingly prods at some stereotypes.

Fahey’s lively stand-up appears promising, too, even if the underdeveloped content can’t match the exciting delivery; while Reynolds proves an effective actress when it comes to comedy grotesques – even if she is prone to over-the-top mugging.

It’s only what the broad, exaggerated comedy of the show demands. But more restrained performance and direction might ultimately prove more satisfying.

Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Melbourne, April 2009