by Nakkiah Lui. Directed by Paige
Rattray. Sydney Theatre Company. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre. April
3-6.
With elections looming
How to Rule The World is a timely political satire by Nakkiah Lui.
(Although you could run an argument that such stuff is always timely for the
patterns are depressingly repetitive.)
In the curved parliamentary corridors of power (splendid set
by Marg Horwell supported by imaginative lighting and AV from Emma Valente)
three staffers, Vic (Lui), Zaza (Michelle Lim Davidson) and Chris (Anthony
Taufa) plot to derail legislation by creating their own candidate from the clay
that is actor Lewis Lewis (Hamish Michael).
Chris is Tongan, Zaza Korean and Vic is Aboriginal and two
of them are female. They don’t think they’re likely to get elected themselves
at the upcoming half senate election.
So to counter the men in suits and to shift the political agenda they
create their own man in a suit, the vacuous but compelling Tommy Ryan.
This is pretty funny stuff and the transformation of Lewis
into Tommy Ryan is very well realised by Michael.
The play has great comic energy that’s occasionally derailed
by a pause for some serious reflection. It’s not that this is out of tune with
the issues. It just feels stylistically tacked on.
However, the drive of the piece is excellent and once Tommy
Ryan stands next to Rhys Muldoon’s brutally bland Prime Minister it’s chilling.
Lui, Lim Davidson and Taufa make a hard driving fast living
trio of too-clever manipulators and they are given excellent support by Gareth
Davies and Vanessa Downing as a range of mostly eccentric parliamentary
characters.
It is to be hoped that actual events do not outpace this
play.
Alanna Maclean
