It’s getting old

The year 2012 is a big one for the University of Melbourne Law Revue. Not only has it been 60 years since the inaugural show, but this time 30 years ago a young Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Rob Sitch were staging their very first revue together.

Those students went on to form Working Dog Productions and became icons of Australian film and television, producing such classics as The Castle, The Dish, Frontline and The Panel.

To mark the double anniversary, the current generation of Law Revuers teamed up with esteemed alumni to stage a clever, original and side-splittingly funny production.

By using filmed skits set in a home for washed up comedians, where alumni inmates raved about past glories, the students were able to cleverly weave past and present revuers into their live show.

An incontinent Gleisner played Thank God You’re Here with a tree, a restrained Cilauro announced vehemently that he was ‘still hilarious’, and a crazed Tony Rickards instructed his handlers how good comedy should be done. Steve Vizard tried to persuade an unconvinced audience that shows such as Fast Forward and Full Frontal were not mere figments of his imagination while Shaun Micallef, a University of Adelaide Law Revue veteran, tried to lure his carers into a dangerous game of his own invention, ‘shark chess’.

Complete with a happy helping of traditional one-liners, political satire, drag, and dirty jokes, the students delivered with much of the polish and timing of their professional counterparts.

Charles Hopkins, who performed in last year’s Revue and inherited the Director’s role this year, said it was a labour of love. “It’s a very special occasion and we feel lucky to be a part of it.

“The chance to work with such clever and celebrated professionals brings the company to a whole new level and it feels great to keep the tradition alive.”

The tradition did die out in the 1960s. However, in 1977, 21-year-old law student Steve Vizard wrote and produced a Law Revue that would re-establish the institution and see it flourish to its 60th Birthday.

This year the Vizard Foundation made a $10,000 donation to support the Revue and foster young talent.

“Melbourne Uni Revues is where we started. If I had not had that creative outlet all those years ago my life would have been very different, and not nearly as much fun. Providing inspired and energetic young people with the freedom and means to express themselves creatively is not only great for them, it’s great for the rest of us who reap the rewards of their creative endeavours now and into the future.”

After an evening of exceptional talent, both old and new, it will be exciting to see what the next 60 years bring.

This year, all proceeds from the show will go to SecondBite, a not-for-profit organisation that distributes fresh surplus food to over 300 community food programs across Australia.

www.youtube.com/user/MelbourneUniLawRevue/