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Review (from a paying audience member's
perspective):
Barry Humphries'
"Back To My Roots and Other
Suckers"
Opening night 10th
June 2003.
(at
QPAC Lyric Theatre, Brisbane 10th-15th
June 2003.
Bookings: www.qtix.com.au ph: 136 246 )
Last night's opening of "Back To My Roots" proved that Barry
Humphries is just as funny as ever and shows that the Yanks were not fooling
themselves by giving him sold-out performances and standing ovations.
The show opens with mysterious and fairly tedious home-made film documenting
a 1949 private girls' school sports carnival. Barry himself comes on stage to
guide us through even more material meticulously filmed by his childhood
family's real-life neighbour. We see the home Barry
was raised in and the only known moving-film footage of his dad - as well as
Barry making a youthful appearance as a skinny Santa Claus.
Sir Les Patterson then almost steals the show with a rollicking
big-production number "Poofters In The
Arts" - Sir Les says he's been recently appointed by John Howard to a
Sports portfolio, but only turned his back on the Arts with a certain amount
of not-undue caution.
Next we meet Owen Steele, charismatic CEO of an insurance conglomerate who
addresses the audience as an Extraordinary General Meeting to explain where
all the money went.
Sandy Stone is wonderful, and of course rambling - but he always winds up getting
back on track with the story of how his wife is coping at her "home for
the bewildered". Strangely only a few people got the joke when Sandy commented that she doesn't bother to talk to the
nursing home staff, because she doesn't speak "Asian".
After intermission Dame Edna Everage bounces to
life and does everything you've ever expected and more. She is still totally captivating, with the girl-next-door appeal that makes her
so accessible. This is also when you remember that Dame Edna makes the audience
itself a huge part of her show - and if you happen to be anywhere in the
first five rows, you feel the adrenaline start to kick in.
Please make sure you take along enough to cash to get one of the souvenir
CD's - I strongly recommend the four track EP of original Barry Humphries
compositions - "Edna's Show Songs" - which features "Friends
Of Kenny" (definitely a "friends of Dorothy" reference). This
CD was made especially for Dame Edna's "Royal Tour" of the USA which lasted nearly two years, and which saw Barry
positively foster his gay fan-base.
The other CD's are "Colour Me Edna" which
offers more songs for your dollar, if that's an issue, and very good cover
versions of "Fever", "I Will Survive", "Send In The
Clowns" and "Secret Love" - and also a new CD of Les Patterson
classics, which sadly does not include "Poofters
In The Arts", so you simply must see this show in person.
As with all Barry Humphries shows, my face ached all the way home, after
nearly 3 hours of smiling or laughing.
Cannot be recommended highly enough. Barry Humphries is a national treasure.
(sincerely),
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After five years of international success
Dame Edna is finally homeward bound. In the USA alone, eight months of sold-out Broadway shows were
followed by fifty-five weeks of regional touring. Dame Edna enjoyed
nationwide critical acclaim and received a Special Tony Award for a Live
Theatrical Event, as well as a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle
Special Achievement Award. Additionally, audiences across the US voted her their favourite
touring performer and by popular vote, she was honoured
with a National Broadway Award.
The San
Francisco
Chronicle raved: “A breathtaking feat of theatrical genius.”
The New York Post affirmed: “Wickedly hilarious. If I were you I
wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Peter Marks from The Washington Post exclaimed: “I don't want to go home! Please, don't
make me leave!”
But the Dame says: "It's not enough to be a star on Broadway, I need to
go home and get back to my roots.
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