The Wharf Revue 2022 brings Looking for Albanese to Canberra Theatre Centre

They need to reflect current events on stage. So much so, they've been known to do re-writes almost daily.

Two of the four performers, Mandy Bishop and Phillip Scott, remember one year driving to their Canberra run only to have to rewrite one piece because Malcolm Turnbull had just ousted Tony Abbott.

This year's revue, titled Looking for Albanese, in particular sees Scott continually making changes to his Boris Johnson skit, trying to keep up with the British prime minister race.

"If he won that race to get back into the prime ministership, I'd have to do a major rewrite," he said.

"But we continue to tweak because sometimes the perspective of pieces that are in the show changes, such as if Boris got back in for example. That's a good example of how we would have to rethink the piece because he's having a party, it's his farewell bash and nobody shows up.

"We rarely remove an entire segment and replace it with something else. It's usually not necessary, because the stories that blow up and they're over in a week, we kind of recognise them now. And we can just do a mention when it's a hot issue."

But it's this ability to adjust on the go that means that stories such as Greens senator Lidia Thorpe's resignation from the party's leadership team still get a mention, despite only happening last week.

In this instance, it's a couple of well-placed lines in a segment featuring the greens as a kid's entertainment group, based on The Wiggles, singing an adapted version of Hot Potato.

MUST READS:

"Some people say that they come to the revue for the news. It's funny. I guess it's a more pleasant way of stomaching it," Bishop said.

"But Canberra is a slightly different audience because you work inside the information. Either you work for them or you are them. People have a keen political awareness and love in this town."

The star of the show this year, however, is the Wharf Revue's many satirical takes on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

As this year's production title suggests, the running theme throughout the performance is the four actors trying to find the prime minister in numerous sketches. Each actor has a go at portraying him on stage - this includes a sketch that sees the prime minister as a hobbit in Albo Baggins and the Mountain of Debt and a take on Alice in Wonderland.

"I think partly because we're still looking for who he is. We have a vague idea and he's very popular and everything at the moment. But in terms of nailing the character, the answer is a little bit hard," Scott said.

The Wharf Revue is at Canberra Theatre until November 5. Tickets from canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: