The Dismissal The Musical – REVIEW
Image: The Dismissal_Andrew Cutcliffe, Matthew Whittet & Justin Smith_Credit David Hooley
Given that the three writers of this show were born well after the events depicted had evaporated from public consciousness, they do a fine job of tapping into the psyche of the time. Laura Murphy (music and lyrics), Blake Erickson (book) and Jay James-Moody (book and director) have taken one of the most explosive moments in Australia’s political history and compressed it into three hours of hectic frivolity.
It’s an ambitious endeavour and the work itself has gone through quite a gestation. The result is a mixed bag. Much like its full title, The Dismissal: An Extremely Serious Musical Comedy is a bit long, uncertain of what it wants to be, and sometimes lacking in nuance. At the same time it is frequently hilarious, entertaining and filled with subtle surprises.
Ostensibly focused on the infamous ousting of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam by the Governor General, Sir John Kerr in 1975, the scope of this musical is much wider, both in terms of timeline and commentary. The references are specific and micro-level and with much of the humour predicated on knowing them it behoves the potential ticket-buyer to do a little rudimentary historical research.
That prerequisite underscores one of the main issues with the script of The Dismissal, to wit, there is an awful lot in it. There are a lot of characters, a lot of events, a lot of details and a lot of songs. It plays more like a revue than a plot-driven narrative, with a fast-flowing series of scenes and routines. There isn’t any deep interrogation of personalities or motives which makes it hard to connect with any of the characters.
That’s all fine if the show is happy to be a light farce, but the occasional introspective ballad and the tacked on, overly earnest messaging at the end suggest that it was aiming for more.
There is brilliance, though. The performances are all solid, with Justin Smith giving a balanced depiction of Gough Whitlam as both fool and hero; Andrew Cutcliffe being smarmy, elitist, and pretentious as Malcolm Fraser; and Joe Kosky playing Dr Jim Cairns as a hapless lech unable to avoid innuendo.
Octavia Barron Martin and Georgie Bolton both subvert gender, with the former playing a Mr Monopoly styled Sir John Kerr; and the latter a uncouth Rex Connor.
Peter Carroll is delightful as Chief Justice Sir Garfield Barwick, menacing in his black robe and powdered wig, his mischief-tinged portrayal harkens back to his role as the Mysterious Man in Into The Woods.
Vying with Carroll as show-stealer would have to be Monique Sallé who plays Billy Sneddon (and nails the voice), the slimy Tirath Khemlani, and has arguably the best number in the show as Queen Elizabeth II, “I’m Not Listening.”
Shannen Alyce Quan as Junie Morosi, Brittanie Shipway as Margaret Whitlam, and Stacey Thomsett as Anne Kerr are disappointing, not for their performances but for the lack of material they are given.
It’s been said repeatedly that women did not feature much in the political landscape of 1970s Australia, but that is not true. As ever, women were reduced to footnotes in the transcripts (except, of course, unless they were being treated with misogynistic suspicion and subjected to harassment, as was the case with Morosi) but they were in fact being influential behind the scenes.
Seeing this event through a different lens, perhaps one of the women, might have made it feel like a less conventional telling of the story.
And finally, Norman Gunston, played with frightening conviction by Matthew Whittet. Gunston was a character created by actor, Garry McDonald. He was not only a recognisable figure and rigorous commentator during the 1970s and ‘80s, but he was actually on those steps, a pip-spit away from Whitlam during that iconic speech.
Gunston was an extreme character and divided people back then and is likely to again as narrator in this show, however the depiction by Whittet is uncanny and praiseworthy for that alone.
This is a new Australian show with quintessential Australian content, written by, performed by and produced by an all-Australian team. It’s refreshing, vibrant, relevant and in the end, loads of fun.
