Godzone
Written by: Guy Rundle
Starring: Max Gillies
Appearing at: The MTC Theatre, Melbourne

Is Australian politics so petty and benign that satirising it becomes an exercise in mocking haircuts and accents? Did I just ask myself that question to answer, “Not if you know your politics”? Yes.

Our MPs’ linguistic tics – such as our PM’s incessant self-quizzing – are merely the delicious pie crust of the tart and tangy political satire Godzone from Crikey gonzo political correspondent (and Age Book Of The Year winner) Guy Rundle.

The first step in the recipe is baked up by rubbery figure Max Gillies, a man who made his living providing a Bob Hawke caricature that quickly usurped the silver bodgie’s own persona. In Godzone, Gillies gets prostheticised to resemble some of our more unctuous boffins, whom are engaged in an Australia2020-style conference of ideas-sharing. And it’s a perfect launching pad to satirise Australia and Australians without Chaser-esque stunts and cheap shots.

Ultimately, Australian politics is bloodless, bureaucratic nonsense compared to the rough and tumble of the US and UK, where strict ideology and class issues up the ante. But Australia as a culture is no less rich and Rundle deftly reflects the nation from the right and left perspectives, dreaming up satirical speeches for Rudd, Bolt, Abbott, an international guest spot from Christopher Hitchens, and another familiar political face that I would be remiss to mention here, since the first appearance is a rare theatrical surprise.

Each of these finely calibrated speechifications is remarkably well assembled. Rundle has a great ear for each figure’s own particular brand of gibberish and Gillies’ assertive performances (and some fearsome costuming) round them out very well. It’s not absolutely perfect as imitation, but Rundle rivals the acute tone of Dawe and Clarke on The 7:30 Report, with Gillies adding the cherry of outsized characterisation.

Almost better than the addresses from the pulpit are the segments shown on the big screen, which allow Gillies to nip backstage to apply the next victim’s get-up. These are five-to-ten minute cuts, which include scathing video-link skits where Gillies plays divisive figures like Barnaby Joyce, Noel Pearson and Malcolm Turnbull, some pure, uncut PowerPoint propaganda from Rudd’s Australia^TM, and some riotously funny mock-advertisements for the Godzone conference.

Max Gillies? Or our illustrious PM? No, certianly Max Gillies.

Thence we shall begin the mild criticism, since I’m such a soft target for sharp satire. The Godzone title (for the show and the fake conference) is too much of a misnomer and a diversion for me. Even though it’s a reference to a Strine nickname for our great nation, it heavily suggests religion, which has precious little bearing on the proceedings (apart from some brilliantly savage digs at Crikey Arsehat award-winner Steve Fielding in the cutaways).

Also, and I can’t believe it was my father who brought this up, the make-up on Gillies does make him look like a zombiefied version of most of the characters he plays. At the interval of the two hour show, Dad chipped in, “Yeah, he looks a bit like Rudd, but Rudd as a 70-year old” (Rudd being 54 and Gillies indeed being 69).

This only slightly lessens the impersonating impact. And Rundle often gets dangerously close to overkill with the garbled weasel-wording pouring out of each character’s mouth. When The Chaser do this they deliberately go over the top, much to many viewers’ irritation, as the joke gets smothered in smugness. Rundle and Gillies seem to respect the gag.

Even though Godzone is part of the Melbourne Theatre Company’s season, it could equally excel as a marquee show during the Melbourne International Comedy Fest. It will appear in regional Victoria, NSW and SA (I wonder how they’ll receive Bolt’s bogan-baiting), as well as in Sydney, through February and March following the conclusion of Melbourne run on 20 January.

Hopefully it will keep barrelling through the MICF in April, because it’s the zingiest political satire we’ve seen in some time.