THE HANSARD MONOLOGUES

Camilla Ah Kin, David Roberts and Tony Llewellyn-Jones. Pic Dragana Novakovic
Camilla Ah Kin, David Roberts and Tony Llewellyn-Jones. Pic Dragana Novakovic

THE HANSARD MONOLOGUES, a verbatim play by Katie Pollock and Paul Daley from an original concept by Peter Fray, provides us with a look at the state of Australian politics by the most direct route possible, chosen extracts from  the recently completed 43rd Parliament.

The surprising thing, for me at-least, was that our politicians did not fare too badly from such close analysis. The play even ends on an optimistic note quoting Anthony Albanese wishing everyone well till the first sitting of the new Parliament.

Essentially, THE HANSARD MONOLOGUES  works as a highlights and lowlights reel/record  of the last Parliament with a lot of time allocated to the major issues that dominated the term including the plight of Asylum Seekers and the continuing Australian involvement in the war in Afghanistan.

Each issue was dealt with with independently and then the play would move. A lot of ground was covered over the night. One of the play’s highlights was that we not only heard from the major political figures such as Gillard and Abbott but also from much less well known MP’s who made significant contributions to the relevant debate.

Just three actors, and great actors they were too, David Roberts, Camilla Ah Kin and Tony Llewellyn Jones, said the words of a wide range of pollies, each using a lectern. A large multi-media screen behind verified the name of the politician they were playing. This screen was also used for other dramatic purposes including the posting, one by one, of the names of the Aussie soldiers who have died in Afghanistan.

With the effect of adding emphasis, occasionally through the play, use was made of snippets of radio recordings of Parliament where one actually got to hear the authentic speaker.

At  the play’s beginning, the actors endeavoured to play the pollies neutrally however this did not last for very long and by play’s  end the trio were having a  lot of fun with their characters.

THE HANSARD MONOLOGUES  was an interesting and different night in the theatre. Peter Fray advised that he intended to produce further handard monologue pieces for future parliaments. Such nights can only add to the weight of political debate coming up to the next election.

A co-production of the Seymour Centre, the Merrigong Theatre Company and the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, the HANSARD MONOLOGUES played in Sydney at thbe York theatre, Seymour Centre on July 23 and ran until July 27, 2013.