''Keating!'' is a
sung-through
A sung-through or through-sung stage musical, musical film, opera, or other work of performance art is one in which songs entirely or almost entirely replace any spoken dialogue. Conversations, speeches, and musings are communicated musically, ...
musical which portrays the political career of former Australian
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Paul Keating. Keating was Prime Minister between 1991 and 1996; the musical follows him from his ascent to the leadership through to his eventual electoral defeat by
John Howard. It was written by
Casey Bennetto, who was inspired to write the show by his disappointment at the results of the
2004 federal election, which saw Howard's
Coalition
A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces.
Formation
According to ''A G ...
government returned for a fourth term. The musical takes a humorous,
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
tone and presents a positive image of Keating while frequently criticising the
Howard government
The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...
. Bennetto describes the show as "ridiculously pro-Paul Keating".
Originally performed by musical group the Drowsy Drivers, the show achieved rapid success from its low-budget premiere at the 2005
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the largest international comedy festival in the world. First held in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks, typically starti ...
where it enjoyed a sold-out run and won an unprecedented three festival awards. In 2006,
Neil Armfield directed an extended
Company B production of ''Keating!'', now with two acts and six new songs written by Bennetto. The Company B production toured Australia, receiving favourable reviews and winning
Helpmann Awards for Best Musical and Best Regional Touring Production. In 2008 a live recording of the show was broadcast nationally on
ABC2
ABC Family is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of family and teen entertainment programming. The channel oper ...
; it was released on DVD in November 2008, through
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, stylized as MADMAN, is an Australian film and television production, distribution, entertainment, and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising ...
.
Background
Paul Keating was the
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
Prime Minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, ascending to the office after two leadership challenges against his predecessor,
Bob Hawke. As Prime Minister, he was interested in a "big picture" approach to government, engaging with issues such as a closer
relationship with Asia,
Aboriginal reconciliation and the formation of an
Australian republic. His government was defeated in the
1996 federal election by the
Liberal-
National Coalition
A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces.
Formation
According to ''A G ...
under John Howard. Writer Casey Bennetto was inspired to write a musical about Keating following his disappointment at the result of the 2004 federal election, which saw the Howard government returned for a fourth term. "It was time to have a laugh at it," he said.
He says Keating's story appealed to him because of its classic dramatic structure, that of a man who struggles, "makes it to the top" and must compete against "three bad guys"—successive Opposition leaders
John Hewson,
Alexander Downer and John Howard.
Bennetto believed Keating's colourful personality made him an "ideal" character for musical theatre, citing the former Prime Minister's reputation for being sharp-tongued, wearing
Zegna
Ermenegildo Zegna N.V., also known as Zegna Group () or the Ermenegildo Zegna Group, is an Italian luxury fashion house headquartered in Milan. It was founded in 1910 by Ermenegildo Zegna in Trivero, Biella, in the Piedmont region of northern It ...
suits and collecting antique clocks.
Bennetto wrote the show in eight weeks,
drawing on Keating biography ''
Recollections of a Bleeding Heart'' by
Don Watson.
He describes it as a "ridiculously pro-Paul Keating" piece which ultimately aims to be funny and entertaining.
Production history
Originally performed by musical group the Drowsy Drivers, ''Keating!'' premiered at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival as a low-budget, single-act show in a 100-seat venue at the
Melbourne Trades Hall
Victorian Trades Hall is the headquarters of the Victorian Trades Hall Council in Australia. It is located on the corner of Lygon and Victoria streets, just north of the Melbourne central business district in the suburb of Carlton. It is t ...
.
Mike McLeish played the lead role, with Bennetto as "the three Hs – Hawke, Hewson and Howard", Enio Pozzebon as
Gareth Evans and Cam Rogers as Alexander Downer.
Despite the musical's success in Melbourne, Bennetto did not have any plans for ''Keating!'' after the end of the comedy festival. However, producer Catherine Woodfield (Bennetto's partner and Trades Hall publican) insisted they develop it further. Between 2005 and 2006 they took it on tour across Australia, including a week of shows in the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
, a return season at Melbourne's Trades Hall, a two-week season at the
Adelaide Cabaret Festival, a week of shows at the
Brisbane Powerhouse and two nights in
Darwin.
Also in 2006, renowned director Neil Armfield offered to direct a production of ''Keating!'' at Sydney's
Belvoir St Theatre with
Company B.
For the Company B production Bennetto reworked the musical into a two-act piece, writing six new songs for the show.
Of the original cast, only McLeish, Pozzebon and Bennetto were retained; McLeish returned as Keating and Pozzebon as Evans, while Bennetto took on the roles of Hewson and Downer.
Terry Serio joined the cast as Hawke and Howard.
Bennetto says that both he and McLeish were worried that Armfield would turn "relatively simply staged, roughly hewn" musical into "the ''
Amadeus'' version" without the original show's sense of fun, but instead felt it became a "more accomplished, buffed-up version of the original show".
The Company B version of ''Keating!'' enjoyed sold-out seasons in Melbourne, Sydney,
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
,
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
,
Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
,
Wollongong
Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...
,
Albany and elsewhere (including a run of shows at the 2007 Melbourne International Comedy Festival) before coming to a close on 31 August 2008.
On 20 August 2008, ABC2 broadcast a live performance of the show from Sydney's
Seymour Centre. The recording was released on DVD by Madman Entertainment in November 2008.
Response
The premiere of the Drowsy Drivers' production at the 2005 Melbourne International Comedy Festival was met with enthusiastic reviews. Comedian
Chris Addison praised the musical as "the best show I've seen at this festival in five years" and ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
s Daniel Ziffer described it as "clever and superbly funny". Within the first week it had become one of the most popular shows of the festival, having sold out by the fifth show. By the end of its Melbourne run, the show had won three major festival awards—the Barry, ''The Age'' Critics' Award and the
Golden Gibbo—the first time any production had ever done so.
For the songs of ''Keating!'', Bennetto won both the 2006 Helpmann and
Green Room Awards for best original musical score.
The Company B version also received strong reviews, with a writer in Brisbane's ''
Courier-Mail
''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...
'' describing it as "brilliantly satirical"
and a reviewer in Melbourne's ''Age'' awarding it the top rating of five stars.
However
Paul Sheehan, writing for the ''
Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
'', criticised the musical's pro-Keating bias, calling the script "preachy and safe" and an insult to those who voted for Howard. In 2007 it won the
Helpmann Award for Best Musical, as well as the awards for
best direction for Armfield and
best actor in a supporting role for Serio.
The following year it won another
Helpmann for best regional touring production.
By the end of its 2007 Sydney season, it had taken $500,000 in box office earnings, and by its final show in 2008 its total audience had reached over 223,000 people across Australia.
Keating, who has attended the show multiple times, believes that it is popular because politics and public life today are without humour. "The game is very dour," he says, "But satire can get a lot across. It can cut out the humbug." He believes another reason is an increased interest in the unsettled issues in the national debate, such as the question of a republic. Downer has also seen the show and commented afterwards that he enjoys satire and thought "''Keating!'' the musical was far better than Keating the prime minister."
Synopsis
The following summary refers to the extended, two-act version of the musical.
Act One
The show begins with Bob Hawke introducing the political situation of 1990 and the contrasting personalities of Hawke—with his enthusiasm for "
footy" and cricket—and his deputy, Paul Keating, who is fond of "the works of
Mahler
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
" ("My Right Hand Man").
While Hawke admires Keating's economic prowess, he is perplexed by the other man's "
un-Australian" interests. Keating emerges and shares some of his life story and his hopes to gain the leadership from Hawke as they had agreed to in a deal known as the
Kirribilli Agreement for the
venue at which it was reached ("Do It in Style"). However, Hawke reneges on the deal and Keating returns to the
back bench. In a rock ballad, vaguely in the style of
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
, he sings of his desolation before resolving to challenge for the Prime Ministership ("I Remember Kirribilli"). He confronts Hawke with the
blue-eyed soul-style "It's Time"; the song refers to the name of former Prime Minister
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being ...
's famous 1970s
campaign and uses Keating's fondness for collecting antique clocks as a motif for his belief that it is indeed time for a change of leadership. Keating becomes Prime Minister and sings of his ambitions for the nation—including a treaty with Indigenous Australians, an Australian republic and improved relationships with Australia's Asian neighbours—in a
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
song ("Ruler of the Land").
As Keating celebrates his success, Gareth Evans cautions that the political life of a Prime Minister is limited in the minor-key Latin tune "The Beginning Is The End". Both he and the ghost of
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being ...
counsel Keating to "maintain your rage".
Keating then faces off against Opposition Leader John Hewson in a freestyle
rap battle, arguing over the merits of Hewson's "
Fightback!" policy platform, with Keating winning the battle due to his superior command of colourful invective, much of which is drawn from actual Keating quotes ("On The Floor").
Angered, Hewson challenges Keating to call an early election, but Keating refuses in the song "I Wanna Do You Slowly". The song's title again refers to a well-known Keating quote, but takes on a sexual interpretation in the slow,
Barry White-style funk number. The Keating government contests the
1993 federal election, and in an animated video
Kerry O'Brien,
Michael Kroger,
Robert Ray and
Antony Green report on the incoming results in
scat over
ukulele
The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...
("Antony Green"). Labor wins, and Keating sings about the unexpected victory as "the sweetest victory of all", using a famous phrase from his actual election night speech ("Sweet").
Act Two
In the
ska tune "The Arse End of the Earth", which refers to Keating's private description of Australia, both Keating and Evans complain about the day-to-day issues of the economy and their unfavourable portrayal in the commercial media getting in the way of their larger agenda, including republicanism, a
new flag, and Aboriginal reconciliation.
Alexander Downer replaces Hewson as Opposition Leader for a short and unsuccessful period. In a costume of fishnets, corsetry and lipstick that alludes to a photograph of the actual Downer posing in fishnet stockings for a competition,
he sings his belief that he is just "too freaky" for the leadership ("Freaky").
Meanwhile, Evans has an extramarital affair with
Australian Democrats leader
Cheryl Kernot (typically played by a male) ("Heavens, Mister Evans"). In an understated minor-key
bossa nova song, Keating sings of the need to recognise and apologise for the damage done by white colonisation and subsequent subjugation of the Australian Aboriginal population ("Redfern"), before segueing into a more upbeat
mambo
Mambo most often refers to:
*Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form
*Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music
Mambo may also refer to:
Music
* Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...
about the
Mabo decision by the High Court of Australia and his attempts to use the decision to promote a reconciliation agenda ("Ma(m)bo").
John Howard becomes leader of the Opposition, presenting a new threat to Keating. Howard describes his intense desire for power and his thirst for revenge against the petty humiliations put on him as a child in a menacing minor-key march ("Power"). However, in the media he presents himself as "a normal bloke and nothing more" ("The Mateship").
Through various costume changes, he attempts to cast himself as a sports fan, a friend of the Australian soldier and a farmer, though the song implies that these are only costumes. The song also refers to the
"children overboard" affair, his criticism of
political correctness, and his use of immigration as a political issue, some of which occurred after the actual Howard's subsequent election to Prime Minister. In a slow rock duet, Keating and Howard both beseech voters to "Choose Me". However, as the 1996 electoral polls close, Keating concludes that he is doomed electorally. He sings of his unachieved dreams and with some bitterness at what he sees as the backward-looking message of his opponent in a country-influenced ballad referring to former Labor Prime Minister
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician and train driver who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), and was n ...
's
description
Description is any type of communication that aims to make vivid a place, object, person, group, or other physical entity. It is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as ''modes of discourse''), along with exposition, argumentation, and narr ...
of Labor's overarching goals ("The Light on the Hill").
In the final number, "Historical Revisionism", the election tightens dramatically and the results come to hang on a single polling booth—the theatre in which the musical is playing. Keating wins and Howard concedes with the line "Well, I'm sorry... that I lost!" (a reference to his unwillingness to support a formal apology to the Aboriginal people).
As the song's title indicates, the actual Keating did not win the 1996 election. The song segues into a reprise of "Ruler of the Land".
Music
The songs of ''Keating!'' employ a wide range of musical styles, including
bossa nova,
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
,
rap, reggae,
soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
,
swing and beer-barrel waltz.
Mara Lazzarotto Davis has written an academic study of Casey Bennetto's "Keating!" as a generic hybrid - deftly blending vaudeville, theatre and musical comedy (""Flicking the Switch: Vaudeville Traditions and Myth-Making in Keating!" in Sydney Undergraduate Journal of Musicology, Vol. 5, December 2015). The lyrics frequently draw on quotes from the real Keating and other political figures, particularly in "On The Floor" which contains numerous verbatim quotes from Keating's debates with Hewson.
In expanding the show for the Company B production Bennetto wrote six new songs, adding an Act One "curtain" number ("Sweet"), an exploration of Keating's time in office ("The Arse End of the Earth"), two songs on Aboriginal reconciliation and
native title ("Redfern" and "Ma(m)bo") and another song for Howard ("The Mateship"). "Dogs of Damnation", a song from the original version in which Evans warns Keating that his political life is limited, was replaced by the similarly themed "The Beginning Is The End".
A live recording of the original single-act version played at the
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
was released in 2006 by Bella Union Enterprises and is available through the Drowsy Drivers' ''Keating!'' website. In 2007 Company B released a
cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a stage Musical theatre, musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the ...
of the extended show containing all of the musical numbers featured on stage except for "Antony Green". The CD features the Company B production's original cast, with McLeish as Keating, Serio as Hawke and Howard, Bennetto as Hewson and Downer, Pozzebon as Evans and Mick Stuart as Kernot. The band consists of
Alon Ilsar (drums), Eden Ottignon (bass), Pozzebon (keyboards), Guy Strazz (acoustic guitar) and Mick Stuart (electric guitar).
By 2008, the CD had sold over 5,000 copies. Also that year, a live recording of the extended version was performed at Sydney's
Seymour Centre.
Among the audience members who attended the recording, the real-life Keating and
Cheryl Kernot made an appearance. The recording is currently available on DVD.
Musical numbers
;Act One
*My Right Hand Man – Hawke
*Do It in Style – Keating
*I Remember Kirribilli – Keating
*It's Time – Keating and Hawke
*Ruler of the Land – Keating
*The Beginning Is The End – Keating, Evans and Whitlam
*On The Floor – Keating and Hewson
*I Wanna Do You Slowly – Keating and Hewson
*Antony Green – Reporters
*Sweet – Keating
;Act Two
*The Arse End of the Earth – Keating and Evans
*Freaky – Downer
*Heavens, Mister Evans – Evans and Kernot
*Redfern – Keating
*Ma(m)bo – Keating
*Power – Howard
*The Mateship – Howard
*Choose Me – Keating and Howard
*The Light on the Hill – Keating
*Historical Revisionism – Scrutineer, Keating and Howard
See also
*
TONY! The Blair Musical
References
External links
Keating! – The Opera official website for the single-act Drowsy Drivers version of the musical
Keating! The Musical annotations lyrics annotated with cultural and historical references
Keating!, website of the Old Nick Company's production of the musical.
* http://openjournals.library.usyd.edu.au/index.php/SCM/article/view/10455/10321 - Mara Lazzarotto Davis: "Flicking the Switch: Vaudeville Traditions and Myth-Making in Keating!", Sydney Undergraduate Journal of Musicology Vol. 5, December 2015
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2000s Australian musicals
Musicals
2005 musicals
Cultural depictions of Australian people
Cultural depictions of politicians
Satirical musicals
Sung-through musicals
Musicals set in Australia