We were promised a night full of multiverse-jumping, laundry, taxes, social commentary and political satire. The Law Revue crew dangled the bagel, and left no crumbs behind.
The audience was immediately on board, cheering gleefully at the words “Welcome to Law Revue”. It all began with the late night lethargy of a typical law student, and their word document woes. This came with the opening number, “You Ain’t Never Had a Bot Like Me”, which set a dynamic tone for the show. It was complete with subtitles and graphics displayed on the big screen, an effective mechanism that complemented the musical commentary running through the skits.
The sketches ranged from judicial questions of the executioner, gambling reform discussions, Roe v. Wade, and a racism awareness TEDtalk, to dates with Duolingo, Freudian psychoanalysis, the embarrassment of misapplying the phrase “thanks, you too!” auditions of the voice behind “Authorised by the Australian Government, Canberra,” and the sad reality of doctors who “went to uni during the pandemic”. In a unique choice, some scenes were done over voiceover, which complimented their short format and added a theatrical nuance to the plot
Una Altarac was clearly a standout amongst many talented performers with impeccable comedic timing. She portrayed a range of characters such as the head of Clubs NSW, a netball mum, and flipped through accents in a jiffy. She successfully impersonated Jennifer Coolidge — talking at length about “Marx-sism” and dialectical materialism — plus a Harry Styles seeking to take his career in a new direction.
There was zero delay onstage thanks to the efficient positioning of three sketches on stage at once; spotlighting one and then moving onto the next — a standard in revue tradition. The breaks between sketches were appropriately filled in by the band who, despite being in the background, never felt like a distraction. Rather, their musical timing was fitting in a way that set the momentum for upcoming acts. The revue would have felt incomplete without the band’s presence and musical prowess.
The integration of vlogs and interviews across campus were much welcomed, as well as USyd-based humour regarding the SRC election, satirising the student centre and the menace that is Okta Verify.
While I wish there was a musical number directly referencing the “Everything Everywhere All At Once” film, the pop culture references were very inspired — Gaga and her “bad finance”, Madonna, the obligatory Barbie reference in “Dance the Night”, Pixar for adolescents, and an R.I.P. dedicated to Katy Perry’s music career. However, it was criminal that the Mariah Carey “All I Want for Christmas is You” skit was so short because the audience was just gearing up to sing along when it ended.
The audience understandably roared more at the quips on the Australian political scene in contrast to American or international events — the cameo of one Hunter Biden on a laptop nonetheless, and a Boris Johnson/Liz Truss x ABBA combination. The scenes — centring around Peter “loosen up that” Dutton, a Matildas-lovin’ Albo, a Minns/Perrottet bromance, and Jim Chalmers’s aversion to “Euro Summer” — balanced outrageous comedy with clever lampooning.
Two particular occasions in the second act saw the audience become visibly shocked and turn silent in an attempt to digest the bold humour. There were many catchy songs, but the best of the night goes to “Girl, pay your HECS debt off,” and the lyric relatable to many, including myself (“but I do liberal arts, so fuck me”).
I overheard some audience members saying they preferred the second act, while others loved the first act better. Safe to say, there was something for everyone.
At one (regrettable) point, I wished I studied law just to be able to be a part of this extravaganza — law students sigh everywhere all at once.
Bravo (or whatever the Latin equivalent is to that) to directors Una Altarac and Martha Barlow, choreographers Isla Mowbray, Anna Simpson, and Ellie Zheng, producers Amelie Roediger and Ariana Haghighi, stage manager Veronica Lenard, and the entire cast, band and crew.
Law Revue played at Seymour Centre’s Everest Theatre from 24-26 August.