Revue / “Looking for Albanese”, The Wharf Revue, written by Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott. At Canberra Theatre until November 5. Reviewed by JOE WOODWARD.

THERE is always a strong sense of audience expectancy when attending a performance of “The Wharf Revue”. 

In Canberra, it is interesting to note the political figures who attend and soak up the lampooning that is to follow. 

The Greens must have had an inkling of what was to come as there was plenty of attention paid to them in this satirical masterpiece that is “Looking for Albanese”, performed by Jonathan Biggins, Mandy Bishop, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott.

But The Wharf Revue is much more than political send-up!

Social issues of religion in politics, abortion, Australia’s involvement in wars, political correctness, media control found moments of engagement. And not all as comedy! 

A highlight of the show was Forsythe singing a particularly poignant lyrical song to the tune of “Ghost Riders in the Sky”. It drew a picture of Aussie soldiers’ experiences in Afghanistan and their lasting impact.

Still, “The Wharf Revue” is designed for laughs. And there was plenty of laughter. With highly imaginative and superbly crafted scenes and characters, there were some surprises and welcomed returns of Wharf favourites. 

Forsythe’s Pauline Hanson was a particularly nuanced and comical performance. Bishop’s “Jacqui Lambie” was equally physical, hilarious and somehow real. We saw more of Scott with his Kevin Rudd persona joining Biggins’ Paul Keating and Bishop’s Julia Gillard. Seeing all three playing the piano at once while singing a parody song was just one illustration of the multi-talented skills of the cast.

With multi-faceted versions of Albanese played by different members of the cast, a truly original version was established by Bishop. Her “Albo in Wonderland” was one of the surprise packages for the evening. She transformed Albanese into Alice who then interacted with some truly weird figures including a Mad Hatter that was Bob Katter played by Forsythe. 

“The Wharf Review” has been developed and presented now for more than 20 years. The writing team has consistently produced very high standards of satirical and pointed commentary through characterisations of real figures and songs. Video and cinematic effects have also allowed for pre-recording of parodied world figures such as Donald Trump. 

In this manifestation of the Wharf, there were certainly stand-out moments. Yet there were also scenes that didn’t quite make it with some lacklustre punch lines delivered without the necessary energy or were the result of a loose structure. But don’t let this deter anyone from seeing the show. Even scenes that were not as strong and exposed the vulnerability of satirical writing were still worth watching. 

This vulnerability is also the strength of the creative team. Their continuous punching up into contentious issues where there is no public consensus exposes the vulnerability of their work. 

Much of the show could not be shown on mainstream television; if it was, there would be an outcry from the guardians of public content. 

And this is a reason to come and see the work. It is live theatre. It is sometimes dangerous; sometimes hilarious; sometimes off-the-mark. But it fills a necessity for social and cultural scrutiny in a most accessible way.