During O-Week, as a bushy-tailed first-year, I auditioned for Law Revue. I made it to the second round before receiving a graciously worded rejection. As I watched this year’s production, titled Pulp Jurisdiction, I couldn’t help but grimace at the thought that I had once believed I had the comedic timing to be a part of such a talented group.
To be transparent, two of the cast members, Oliver Castellan and Zara Clelland, are close friends of mine, and therefore, I came into the show with high expectations and the knowledge that if it was bad, I would be in an awkward position as a reviewer. Luckily for me, it was fantastic.
This year’s Law Revue, a comedy sketch show, was directed by Louis Inwood, Max Martin, and Monqiue Thorp, and produced by Jasmine David and Layla Brady. Contrary to popular belief, legal knowledge is not a prerequisite for the actors nor the audience, and legal humor plays a peripheral role in the show.
The talent in this year’s production was outstanding. Every actor possessed a stellar combination of talent, comedic timing, and charisma — a compliment to the casting directors (and possibly an insult to me). The cast also included some talented singers who were accompanied by a fantastic live band. Their musicality was displayed in sketches like APS 6, where Louis Inwood sang a rendition of Chandelier and dreamt of climbing the ranks of the public service. It was refreshing and exciting to hear satirical sketches that were so uniquely Canberran.
The Historical Figures Dating Show, in which Max Martin and Archie Allen took turns giving excellent and very dirty impressions of Bill Clinton, Julius Caesar, Fidel Castro, and more, was a stand-out sketch from Law Revue’s second half. Other highlights included Harry Potter being sorted into the Waffle House, and the ad breaks performed by Zara Clelland, whose confidence and stage presence filled the theatre. The show’s most creative sketches included one in which Alice Jordan’s limbs were torn from her one by one in a parody of Wicked’s Popular.
The show faltered in its editing, seen in the mini-skits that acted as comedic intervals. In one, which hinged on the double entendre of the police shouting “open up!”, the lack of time between the joke and the punchline meant that it fell flat. The timing of some jokes was off, as to be expected on opening night, but the charisma of the cast outweighed these flaws.
All in all, this year’s law revue was a jam-packed and incredibly funny performance that displayed the best of ANU’s comedic talent. I look forward to sitting in the front row at next year’s performance.
[5/5 stars]
We acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, who are the Traditional Custodians of the land on which Woroni, Woroni Radio and Woroni TV are created, edited, published, printed and distributed. We pay our respects to Elders past and present. We acknowledge that the name Woroni was taken from the Wadi Wadi Nation without permission, and we are striving to do better for future reconciliation.