THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PAUL

 

You may have already seen Jonathan Biggins doing a star turn in The Gospel According to Paul. If not, and if this comedic look at the life of Paul Keating comes your way, do buy a ticket. I have watched Jonathan's performances in shows like The Wharf Review for decades but this is a tour de force of clever writing and engaging performance. Not that Jonathon looks like Keating who is more like a slender stork but he captures some inate physicality that makes you believe every moment on stage. 

On the way to the show in the State Theatre Centre, Susan and I were reflecting on the key moments/outcomes that capture Keating's life in politics:

  • Reform of the financial system
  • The banana republic comment
  • The Redfern speech
  • His fierce wit during Question Time
  • The Kirribilli Affair and the agreement (or not) with Bob Hawke
  • His Zenga suits
  • Native Title Legislation
  • Refocusing Australia to the Asia-Pacific region
  • His collection of antique clocks
  • Floating of the Australian dollar
  • Attempt to get us to become a Republic
  • And of course, his love of Mahler.
All of which seems like a better list and a more interesting list than we might have been able to whip up during a 25 minute car drive for any of his successors.


As Joanathan Biggins says in his programme notes:

"Keating is such a great character to write for and perform – he was funny, sharp, emotional and flamboyant; the bovver-boy from Bankstown who was as comfortable writing an essay on neoclassicism and the architecture of Berlin as he was staring down the Head of Treasury to f loat the dollar. No government has tackled as much difficult reform as the Hawke-Keating ministries and while some of the long-term results have unsettled many, they certainly changed Australia’s perception of itself and where it might find a place and a role in the world."


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