Musical Comedy / Gladys a Musical Affair. At The Q, Queanbeyan, June 5. Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

Rather too slight to be regarded as a musical, this affectionate parody wears its heart on its sleeve as it traces the rise and fall of former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian.

Written and performed by Tia Wilson and Nick Rheinberger who together with Mel Wishart and Rob Laurie play a variety of recognisable characters involved in an event that was big news at the time, but already surprises by just how quickly it has become a distant memory.

In reminding the capacity audience of the catastrophic bushfires, the worldwide covid epidemic, the Independent Commission against Corruption, which formed the background to the events parodied, Gladys a Musical Affair is firmly, and occasionally hilariously, on the side of Berejiklian as it traces the dot points of an impressive career brought undone by an affair of the heart.

Wilson plays Berejiklian throughout, while Rheinberger represents Daryl Maguire, Brad Hazzard and a series of Armenian suitors. Wishart contributes Kerry Chant and Commissioner Ruth McColl, while Laurie becomes Shane Fitzsimmons and Scott Robertson. Wishart and Laurie also portray Berejiklian’s mum and dad who feature prominently in the narrative.

All four performers are skilled multi-instrumentalists, so besides portraying the easily recognisable characters, employ an impressive variety of instruments in clever musical arrangements to accompany the slight but serviceable songs that punctuate the narrative.

These songs embrace a variety of genres, and the instruments include accordions, bouzoukis, clarinets, banjos, castanets, guitars, drums and keyboards, in deference to Berejiklian’s Armenian heritage, with a kazoo thrown in a one point just for fun.

Memories are jogged as the well-known events recapped. Truth or Lie sets up the premise. Is It a Lie If You Just Don’t Tell, Berejiklian enquires. A faux-romantic Les Miz style duet for Maguire and Berejiklian, If I Dreamed It Will Come True, contrasts with another later, a head-banging rock anthem, I’m the Boss. Is It Too Late to Save the Day? follows the disastrous ICAC revelations, and finally a remorseful My First Love Was My Worst Love for Berejiklian.

While Berejiklian is allowed to retain a modicum of dignity in the telling, Maguire is given no such latitude for his part in her downfall, and while the events portrayed no doubt deserve more serious discussion, Gladys a Musical Affair certainly succeeds  in providing its audience with an entertaining hour of delightfully devious political history.