The Wharf Revue team is back, currently playing at Glen Street and soon to be at Sydney’s Roslyn Packer Theatre.
It is once again time to celebrate as we bask in the sunshine of their wit and mirth.
I have just finished chatting with Drew Forsythe who will once again be appearing in the Revue, the only one of the original team to appear this year. The other members Jonathon Biggins and Phil Scott have been busy on other projects but will return for next year. Drew noted that that this year’s script had been written together with Johnathon and Phil.
This year Drew will be joined on stage by Simon Burke, Lena Cruz, Helen Dallimore and pianist and Musical Director Andrew Warboys.
Drew spoke of how the Revue team has now been going some twenty years, starting back in the year 2000. He spoke about how it was interesting that some of the issues that were present in the first revue still sadly have currency now. He gave the example of the refugee crisis.
The show comments on the rise of populism around the world such as the rise of comedian Voldedymyr Zelensky to become President of the Ukraine.
The show starts with ‘The Diversity Tango’ sung by actress Lena Cruz in her Wharf Revue debut. Drew spoke of how it was a fun way to start the show. Amongst the characters she performs Lena gets to play Penny Wong.
As if we didn’t know, politicians remain one of the prime targets of the show. Interestingly a lot of politicians come to see the show and Drew said some of them have come up to them afterwards and expressed their disappointment that they hadn’t made an appearance in the show!
Bob Hawke, more than likely in his last ‘outing’ makes an appearance in the show, speaking from heaven, which is a comment in itself.
Drew spoke proudly of how every year the show brings in one of the biggest box office returns for the Sydney Theatre Company.
Interestingly, Drew finds that one of the show’s most appreciative audiences is the Canberra audiences. “The show is filled with public servants and they know the corridors of power so well. They relate so well to what is happening on stage.”
They have had some engaging audience members in their current season at Glen Street. “Zahli Steggall came and said hello on opening night. Zahli told us that she loved the show and was sad that she hadn’t seen the show previously.”
Highlights which audiences can look forward to include the Vladimir Putin and Xi JingPing show, a segment dedicated entirely to Boris Johnson, and there are appearances by Scott Morrison, Peter Dutton, Kristina Keneally, Mark Latham, Pauline Hanson, Alan Jones, Gladys Berejiklian and the Light Rail saga. God even makes an appearance, doing some crowd funding. Drew said his old codger character will make an appearance.
Donald Trump will make an appearance in a parody of the opening of the musical ‘Hamilton’.
Drew spoke of how the team has to always trust the material they have. ” Sometimes audiences can be very difficult to gauge. They can be quiet during the show and then at the end you get this rapturous applause.’
In regards to the age of audiences it can vary. “We get a range of audiences. It has been good that we are attracting young audiences, in their twenties and thirties.”
The show will again make use of video segments which often comprise some of the shows’ funniest moments.
Drew spoke of the creative process involved in bringing a Wharf Revue show to fruition. ” We each work on things through the year then about 3 months before rehearsals we start having meetings and bringing things together. We try to build the show around events and characters that have a long shelf life, that will still resonate with audiences. Once the show is in its run we don’t change things much. More tweaking where needed. We do run a tight show. It has to be that way.”
Next year will be the last Wharf Review for the Sydney Theatre Company. There’s a certain ring to it with the Revue going from 2000 to 2020, some 21 years. Drew said, “The time at the Sydney Theatre Company has been a wonderful time and we have a lot to be thankful for. Particularly Robyn Nevin and Rob Brooksbank who supported us and gave us our initial gig and then continued the gig every year and gave us full reign . This was continued by Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton when they took over the Company. Under the Sydney Theatre Company’s auspices we were able to develop and grow our audience and for that we are very grateful. We are looking forward to the future and will see what the future holds for us as writers and creators of the show.”
The touring schedule for THE WHARF REVUE 2019 UNR-DACT-D is Glen St Theatre 5–14 Sept; Riverside Theatres 18–21 Sept; Sydney Theatre Company 27 Sept-26Oct; Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith 31 Oct–2 Nov; Merrigong Theatre Company, Wollongong 5 Nov–9 Nov; Canberra Theatre Centre 12–23 Nov; Civic Theatre, Orange 26–27 Nov; Civic Theatre, Wagga Wagga 1 Dec; Whitehorse Centre, Nunawading 5–7 Dec.
The show runs straight through for ninety minutes. Get your tickets now. It’s guaranteed to be a lot of fun.
