GenQ - For the not so straight individual

From the 'acid-tongued' Dame Edna, a simple housewife-turned-gigastar
from Moonee Ponds, to Sir Les Patterson, the crude-mouthed,
toilet-humour-loving drunkard who just happens to be the cultural
attaché for Australia to great Britain, Humphries' characters have
found their way into Australian culture in a way that no other
characters have. Over the past 50 years, we have grown to sometimes
love them and sometimes hate them, often both at once, but always to
laugh at and alongside them.

In fact, we need look no further than the Australian drag scene to see
what an influence Humphries has had here in his mother country. Simply
walking into a popular club on a busy night will provide a host of
well dressed, highly confident, stylish and elegant drag queens - and
the similarities to Dame Edna don't stop there. For who wouldn't want
to be the 'darling of nations' and a close personal friend of the
Queen, able to humiliate with a single phrase, yet always in good
humour? For Dame Edna shows us what it is to epitomise true class -
and to do it in such a way that nobody minds, indeed in such a way
that everyone celebrates alongside you.

In his new show, Barry Humphries, Back With A Vengeance,
Humphries shares with us the best of three of his most-loved
characters. Of course we receive liberal helpings of comedy, with Dame
Edna and Les Patterson 'hanging around like a fart in a phonebox.'
Humphries' willingness to make fun of himself and his truly Australian
larrikin spirit are prevalent throughout the show, with frequent
derision of 'that bloody Barry Humphries,' and long personal attacks
on some of his other characters.

However, in between the laughs, Humphries brings the tone down for a
while with an extended monologue delivered by 'Sandy' Stone, one of
his lesser-known characters.

Through 'Sandy' we gain an insight into the world of the elderly, the
people forgotten by friends, family and society, left by the side of
the road as we continue on with our lives. Sandy explores the theme of
the 'other', the outsider that nobody cares about, and talks frankly
about things that scare us, such as aging and death. The tone is not
all depressing, however! For through this bleak and empty topic,
Humphries weaves a wry, ironic and bubbly wit that catches you off
guard, giving even the saddest, most uncomfortable topics a touch of
humour.

By exploring such frightening and painful topics with his audience,
Humphries truly asserts his talent and experience as both actor and
writer. Indeed, when questioned about the difference between the
serious, 'theatrical' nature of Sandy Stone and the more acidic comedy
of his other characters, Humphries was the first to admit that the
comedy was fun, but that it was 'very broad', aimed at the vast
majority of his audience for the greatest effect. Humphries treated
this character with characteristic good humour however, saying that as
time went on, he enjoyed the character of Sandy more and more, for two
major reasons: 'I get to sit down for the whole time, and I don't need
so much ageing makeup any more!'

Humphries' wit and intelligence are obvious throughout the show
without making him seem snobbish or intellectual. Indeed, the thought
that such an effervescent and hilariously self-mocking man could be
one and the same who premiered the role of Mr Sowerberry in the first
production of Oliver! in London, or who wrote a treatise on 'Chinese
drama in the goldfields' merely makes the toilet humour that little
bit more amusing. And trust me, there is a lot of toilet humour!

From crudity to elegance, comedy to serious theatre, male to female,
Barry Humphries really is a hard act to follow: witty, irreverent, and
ultimately hilarious.