Wharf Revue 2020: Good night and Good luck

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If there’s an understatement for 2020 it has be, “The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry.”
It’s certainly true for the 20th-anniversary tour of the annual satirical show, The Wharf Revue, which originally planned to hit Canberra in September.
With months of not knowing if any Australian theatres would be open this year, Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott kept doing what they do best, writing and revising sketches that sum up, satirise and stick it to those in power.
Curious about how many ideas had to be thrown away as the world became more and more bizarre, I recently enjoyed a chinwag with the delightful Mandy Bishop, who joins this year’s ensemble as everyone from Jacinda Ardern to Melania Trump, Michaelia Cash and Jacqui Lambie.
Proving that real life really is stranger than anything on stage, Mandy was based in New York when she was told by DFAT in mid-March to leave as soon as possible.
“I had just three hours to pack everything up and be ready to leave…and then watch all the flights back to Australia be cancelled one by one.”
Making it home on 22 March and starting quarantine at home, Mandy knows how lucky she is to have made it back when she did.
Like so many of us though, she’s found a distinct dip in her fitness from the year’s confinements. “I’m very puffed running behind the sets from one side to the other for quick changes,” she says.
Hearing Mandy describe what it takes to transform from one character to another in a matter of seconds is enough to make me lobby the Olympic Committee to include stage dressing as a new sport.
“Dressing yourself in 10 seconds really helps you get into character,” she explains. “You change your mindset very quickly. My process involves getting naked backstage, then start from the ground up with sandals, dress, blazer and wig. We don’t have dressers to help so it’s all hands-on deck,” she says.
“Luckily our wonderful designer Charles Davis is on hand to help me get one costume off and another on in record-breaking time. There’s a degree of accuracy with corsets, if I get it wrong everyone sees more than they bargained on.”
In a Wild West saloon-bar version of the US Presidential election Many plays both House of Reps speaker Nancy Pelosi and Melania Trump, with two distinct looks and two very different songs.
Leaving the stage on the left, doing a costume change of wigs, corsets and gowns, and then back on stage from the right takes some complex choreography. And Mandy isn’t the only one, Drew Forsythe plays Rudi Giuliani and Joe Biden in the same sketch. Give this hardworking cast ALL the awards!

Credit: Rene Vaile.
Jonathan Biggins is also back in the same sketch as Donald Trump, the mayor of the town trying to hold on to power.
“Playing this as a retrospective has been good for Jonathon,” Mandy explains. “He’s been playing Trump for four years and it’s not just satire, he takes it very responsibly to reflect on what Trump’s impact has been.”
It’s that commitment to getting to the heart of politics that’s made The Wharf Revue such as success for the last 20 years. It is always funny, but this year’s outing has some really poignant moments.
I didn’t expect to feel myself get emotional during a version of Sounds of Silence set against projected images of empty New York streets. It’s stark, beautifully staged and sung in heart-rending harmony.
That’s not to say there aren’t laugh out loud scenes, but the laughter is often tinged with a cathartic relief.
“When we premiered the show in Paramatta the audiences felt such relief at having their experiences reflected back at them,” Mandy says.
“Canberra audiences are a little more reserved, as though they’re not quite sure if it’s okay to laugh. But there’s a scene early on when we often audience members call out ‘We’re here!’ It’s always a joy to hear that!”
It seems far longer than just 12 months ago that I was at the Canberra Theatre Centre for the announcement of their 2020 program.
At the time, the Wharf Revue had announced this was their final tour as part of the Sydney Theatre Company.
In retrospect, calling a show “Goodnight and Goodluck” seems to have tempted fate for 2020, but I’m delighted to hear from Mandy that the guys aren’t completely calling it a night, they’re planning to still write and tour the show in other forms.
And with 2021 promising to start with Donald Trump being dragged kicking and screaming out of the White House, I can’t wait to see what they come up with.
THE ESSENTIALS
What: The Wharf Revue: Goodnight and Goodluck
When: Playing until Saturday 19 December at 8 pm each evening and a 2 pm matinee on Saturday
Where: Canberra Theatre Centre
Tickets: canberratheatrecentre.com.au/show/the-wharf-revue-good-night-good-luck