The cast of the Uni Revue are gearing up for opening night this Thursday, promising a wickedly funny take on local politics with their latest production.
This year’s show, titled “(DIM)WITTED: The Wicked Story of the Pollies of Aus,” draws inspiration from the musical Wicked while focusing on Tasmania’s political landscape.
Director Ben Paine said the annual Tasmanian tradition is known for its local flavour.
“We really focus on the local Tassie MPs. We certainly give a good run to Jeremy Rockliff, the premier. We’ve also got Eric Abetz in there,” he said.
“We definitely see a little bit of Donald Trump … Jacqui Lambie’s probably one of my favourite characters we have this year. And we may or may not see Rebecca White in there as well.”
19 local cast members are involved with this year’s production, with doors at the Theatre Royal to open for the first time this Friday.
With nearly 100 revue’s worth of experience among the production team this year, the cast is confident audiences are in for a treat.
Jessica Muir, who plays Michael Ferguson’s ‘minder’, described her unique role.
“Rebecca White tries to cast a lot of spells but she’s not very good at them, and Michael Ferguson has hurt his arm,” she said.
“When she tries to fix his arm he ends up turning into a muppet, so I actually have to control him on stage.”
The Rockliff family’s much loved Big Spud, known as Kenny the Kennebec, also makes an appearance in this year’s revue.
(DIM)WITTED: The Wicked Story of the Pollies of Aus runs from May 9-24 in Hobart and May 29-31 in Launceston.
