AUSTRALIA DAY by Jonathan Biggins. Venue and Dates: The Arts Centre, Melbourne, Playhouse, 21 April to 26 May, 2012. Stars: 4 / 5.

What: AUSTRALIA DAY by Jonathan Biggins

Venue and Dates: The Arts Centre, Melbourne, Playhouse, 21 April to 26 May, 2012.
Reviewer: Joe Calleri
Stars: 4 OUT OF 5.

In Australia Day, Jonathan Biggins has crafted a genuinely laugh out loud, yet biting satire that demonstrates just how damn confused we continue to be regarding our national identity and what our so-called special day, our Australia Day, means to us.

Biggins, channelling our most popular social satirist, David Williamson, has intelligently weaved into his script an enormous grab bag of almost every conceivable social, cultural, and political issue – including some hot off the press – currently affecting Australia and Australians: Racism, confused national identity, climate change, ockerism, indigenous issues, citizenship ceremonies, the carbon tax, xenophobia, sexism, rampant political correctness, political corruption (particularly at the local council level) all get an airing during the performance’s two hour running time.

On a freezing cold July evening, in the meeting room of the fictional Coriole Council (which appears stuck in the 1950’s), Marie (Valerie Bader), Chester (Kaeng Chan), Robert (David James), Wally (Peter Kowitz), Brian (Geoff Morell), Helen (Alison Whyte), meet as the planning committee for the upcoming annual Australia Day celebrations. It would appear that, even mere local Australia Day celebrations take six or more months to plan.

As Biggins’s characters are nicely written cultural stereotypes which most audience members should recognise and relate to, it takes only a few lines of dialogue from each character for us to establish who’s who in the Council zoo: Marie is the do-gooder volunteer, Chester the Australian Born Vietnamese (or "ABV" as he describes himself), Robert the Mayor in waiting, Wally the builder, Brian the hardware store owner, town Mayor and aspiring Liberal politician, and Helen the organic food eating, bleeding heart, hybrid-driving lefty. But, there is more to Helen than first meets the eye.

It’s Wally, though, who metaphorically-speaking, lets it all hang out. He says what many in our polite society only think about, but dare not say, and his words are as damaging as hand-grenades thrown indiscriminately into a crowd. He knows someone will get hurt, he just doesn’t care who it is. And he hurts Helen – deeply.

Meanwhile, Machiavellian political manoeuvrings and shenanigans are at play, courtesy of Brian who cooks up a dirty scheme to scuttle the planning approval process for a new Bunnings store, and Robert who Brian promises the Mayorship if only he will support Brian’s nay vote on the development proposal. It’s all very under-handed and corrupt, of course, and wouldn’t you know it, their conniving is accidentally recorded. This is the first of two occasions when technology proves to be more weapon than tool.

Fast forward to act two, it’s six in the morning and we are looking into Council’s tent at the Coriole Australia Day celebrations, as our not so intrepid planning committee contemplate and organise the monumental day ahead. A white board outlines, hour by hour, the day’s festivities. But, deep down, we all know that this day will end in utter disaster. And what a disaster of epic proportions it is! Widespread food poisoning, teeming rain, ill-conceived entertainment, special guests who fail to materialise all help sink the celebrations - literally and figuratively. Could it possibly get any worse? Yes.

With fine performances from all actors, and only very few flat spots when the characters deliver their lines as if they were lecturing on a topic, Biggins has created a truly great Australian play that should cause most audiences to pause and think about this wonderful country, and the many very real and serious issues confronting those who inhabit it.