Review: The Chasers Age of Terror Variety Hour

In a new writing meme 'Review This' Annie Evett challenges us to review and write about something new every week.


This week's challenge: " Go to a live show - be it your childs play, a comedy show, a theatrical production, a dance or mime. Get out of your comfort zone and go to something you might never usually see. Support a local theatre group or go and see a huge production - be creative!Write a review on the show as if you were submitting it to your regional/city daily newspaper for the Saturdays Arts Edition. You can find more reviews here

Ever wanted to know if Osama discusses occupational health and safety when he gathers his top men together? Is it possible that anyone could out segué Anna Coren? And just how far will the nightly news go to fill its thirty minute quota of stories? All is answered when the boys from the Chaser tread the boards in the all singing, all dancing, all laughing Chasers Age of Terror Variety Hour.

The line up is a little different to what fans of The Chasers War on Everything will be used to. Joining Julian Morrow, Chas Licardello, Craig Reucassel and Andrew Hansen is Dominic Knight. Absent is Chris Taylor, though his satirical genius lives on in his continued musical collaboration with Andrew Hansen.

With ninety minutes to play with, the boys go all out to entertain with extended slots that the confines of a half hour weekly show just don’t allow for. Chas walks us through internet dating, Julian combines PowerPoint and Shakespeare, Andrew sings us through Hillbilly love, Dominic woos the audience with his body hair and finally there is Craig’s taut butt. Enough said!

The show opens with a song and dance number … as Julian and Chas clamber through the front rows on their way to the stage. And that’s not the last we see of the Uni Review-esque performances. The boys take us through the eight days of Frank Ford’s prime ministership, Broadway style. But the highlight is Chas hip hopping his little Sicilian heart out in a gold quilted lamé, wide legged and hooded tracksuit. His dance moves, including the caterpillar are worth the entry fee alone.

There are the usual political references and pokes, though with the Howard Government gone, much of the steam has gone out of what we’ve come to love and expect from The Chaser’s political satire. Making full use of the huge screen behind the stage and the audience, the Chaser combines the best of live theatre, stand up comedy and television in a visual and comic feast.

The Chaser’s Age of Terror Variety Hour is a rollicking ninety minutes that passes so quickly that it’s hard to believe that it is over when the final song is announced, and you wish you had a ticket for the next show. The boys show that their talent is as good, if not better, live. And the ending is just what we’ve come to expect – totally irreverent.

The Chasers Age of Terror Variety Hour scores five grinning Osamas.

.... and in case your wondering what a real journo had to say, here is the Sydney Morning Herald interview with Julian Morrow and Dominic Knight on the eve of their first performance earlier on this year.