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| John Wood -Max Gillies - Benita Collings - Geoff Harvey |
Written by
Angus FitzSimons and Kevin Brumpton
Directed by
Angus FitzSimons - Musical Direction by Geoff Harvey
Performed by
Max Gillies, John Wood, Benita Collings, Kim Lewis, Russell Newman, Emily
Taylor and Christian Barratt-Hill.
The Playhouse,
Canberra Theatre Centre. 8th and 9th March 2019
Performance
on 9th March reviewed by Bill Stephens
The
producers of Senior Moments have hit
a jackpot with this delightful production which attracted capacity houses for
each of its four Canberra performances.
Describing itself as “a comedy revue about ‘old’ people and the young
people they have to deal with”, with a
running time of 90 minutes
without interval, the show delivers exactly what it promises, a series of
old-fashioned comedy sketches and point songs around the subject of ageing.
Though the writing
is not as sharp as might be expected, the parody lyrics don’t always scan, and
the targets for the good natured sketches are patently obvious, it’s refreshing
to harken back to the revue format, rather than aging celebrities reprising
their party pieces. The brilliance of this concept however is in the casting.
Max Gillies,
John Wood, Benita Collings and Geoff Harvey are familiar favourites. Gillies and Wood, in particular, are old hands
at this kind of material and in their hands even the most mundane script
produces belly-laughs. It’s more about what they don’t say, as both are masters
of the feigned surprised look, the sustained pause, and subtle physical comedy.
In another
time, Gillies might have been a baggy pants comedian up there with George
Wallace Snr, or Bobby LeBrun. It’s a shame that imaginative television writers
don’t look beyond his fame as a political satirist, to explore ways to harness
his excellent character-acting skills in a dramatic context.
Perhaps
labouring a point about reading a phone book, his delightful delivery of some
instructions to a senior audience, which opens the show, proves he could do
this, and towards the end of the show, his sketch with Wood concerning two
elderly friends who each admit to each other that they are gay, are among the
evening’s highlights.
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| Geoff Harvey - Benita Collings - John Wood - Max Gillies |
Benita
Collings delights with her warmth and charm, although the send-up of
“Play School” is a bit laboured and not as funny as it could be, ultimately
outliving its welcome. At this particular performance Geoff Harvey was
indisposed and Canberra pianist Colin Forbes very capably filled in for him at
short notice.
Though not
as immediately recognisable as the headliners, Russell Newman, Kim Lewis, Emily
Taylor and Christian Barratt-Hill all brought a wealth of experience to the
show, which was given an enthusiastic reception by the audience.
Don’t be put
off by the title, Senior Moments is a
delightfully refreshing entertainment guaranteed to delight its target
audience, and perhaps surprise a few reluctant companions.
PS. Make
sure you collect one of the excellent free programs. It will keep you chuckling
for the rest of the week.
